The 5 Types of Prospects that NEVER Turn into Clients

I had a very interesting selling conversation the other day where the client really deserved an Oscar for the way she was presenting how much she likes my work, how interested she is in working with me…and of course needed just little more information, just little more taste of coaching to hire me… I think she got surprised that I didn’t fall into that but what I know for sure is that she doesn’t have a clue that there are 4 other types of prospects like her for which I have a scripted way of handling the requests …gracefully. Here they are – the 5 types of prospects that will either never buy from you or are so not ready to guy that will waste your time BIG time if you try to convert them:

1. Buccaneerr
They are your fans – the kind of fans that will never move ahead from the fan stage. They are there with you – the follow you, the like what you write, what you teach in free presentations, they learn from you (from everything you offer for free). They are a loyal, raving fan , devoted student that will follow each and every advise you give but they will never buy from you even if your services are vital for their life or for their business. The old saying – those who need you the most are those who will hire you the least is so true. Believe me!

2. Gamblers
They want to invest less than a dollar and get a 100% return, even more if possible. They will twist and turn, convincing you that they absolutely need your help, until with a couple of well versed compliments you give away the steps on how they can do it themselves and … nobody elver hears of them. I’ve had clients of mine to give into their game and then try to figure out where did they go wrong. While in fact – they didn’t. It’s just how gamblers are. If you don’t allow it - they will go to try the trick on someone else and hope to get it all from there.

3. Secret Agentr
Just like the other two types of clients, the Secret Agents are not necessarily there to hurt your business. They are there to show you that healthy boundaries are a must. There are lots of specialists who are doing just the same as you do, or would like to do exactly the same as you. So, what they do is – start to follow you not because they are interested in becoming your clients but because they want to study how you do your business so that they can do theirs the same, or improve theirs. That type of clients is never going to pay for your services. But can be a fantastic strategic alliance.

4. Art Thievesr
The secret nightmare to anyone publishing anything. There are people out there – they look just like you and me and they live and breathe to make a perfect copy of your intellectual property, or know how and replicate it in your business. They are happy to take your systems and implement it into their business or life, just as you are happy to give those systems to them for a price. The only difference is – they hope to get it all for free. So, check all your links before you publish them, as you might find that one link to your know how information… posted by mistake and - HUGE free downloads over the next few hours. I’ve actually seen that and it ain’t pretty feeling.

5. Know-alls
These are the most demanding potential clients ever. They will tell you – that you need to do this better, you need to do that better. They will always have a prepared answer and they LOVE public scenes – with criticism always aimed at your credibility and their “expertise”. And don’t fool yourself that just because they pointed a finger at you in the virtual space that others don’t read. This is what they pray for – others will read that you are no good and you will be out of business and – they will be the winner. As they said they are experts, right? ..the truth is – most likely they are your competition and are trying to outshine you because you did a great job with whatever you wrote.