Decide When to Drop a Sales Lead
Added 2026-11-02
Use hard signals, not one more follow-up.
I have a sales lead I have been chasing for a long time (details below). Help me decide whether to drop it: 1) list three hard signals to continue and three to stop; 2) check my information against each; 3) estimate the cost of continuing — time, discount, opportunity cost; 4) write a final follow-up that forces a clear answer; 5) explain how to keep the relationship after dropping. Do not decide on feeling alone.
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Chinese original
How to use
销售的沉没成本，是继续投入的最大理由，也是最大陷阱。
Try tweaking it
- Have it state how the hypothesis could be falsified before discussing execution.
- Split the plan into a one-week testable experiment.
What you should get
- A small testable experiment with a failure threshold
- Costs, risks, and what needs outside confirmation
Common mistakes
- Asking for a "full business plan" and getting unverifiable optimistic assumptions.
- No failure threshold, so you never know whether to continue.
How to check the output
- There is a clear failure threshold, testable within a week.
- Costs, assumptions and risks are listed separately.
Where it works
- Good for: turning business assumptions into a small testable experiment with a failure threshold first.
- Watch out: for pricing, contracts and legal points, treat output as a draft needing professional review.