Three Signs That a Lead Is Dead

Too many good salespeople chase too many bad sales leads. As a good guideline, here’s how to decide if it’s time to give up:

Phone calls not returned in a timely fashion. If you’ve left a message for your previously “engaged” buyer, and she’s not getting back to you within 48 hours to at least acknowledge that you called, you’ve got a dying or dead lead.
Status doesn’t change over a two-week period. If the status of your prospect doesn’t improve over a two-week period, either because you’ve done nothing to improve it, or the buyer isn’t interested in moving forward, you’ve got a dead lead…or at least a lead that’s only partially paying attention.
No “next step” scheduled. If you can’t nail down a face-to-face appointment, your lead is dead.

Follow these rules and you’ll spend less time on prospects that are nothing more than a waste of your time.

Other resources/articles on this subject: DestinationCRM, Jeffrey Gitomer Business Journal article, Mal Watlington article at Marketingprofs.com (free registration required to read the whole article).