The Leads Are Weak!

The leads are weak is a well-known phrase from the movie Glengarry Glen Ross starring Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Alan Arkin.

The movie is an examination of the machinations behind the scenes at a real estate office. In one scene Jack Lemmon, after working all evening on the phones trying to sell real-estate, says with a rather large amount of frustration “the leads are weak”.

Only to be lambasted and humiliated by Alec Baldwin in a scene watched over 4 million times on YouTube alone.

Our excuses

While Jack Lemmon may have thought that the leads are weak, what are some of the excuses that you make up when you go to call a client or visit an advertiser?

Here are some I have heard.

1. He or she won’t advertise I tried them once and they were just not interested.
2. Our prices are too high, and the other media is always discounting to get the business. It happens all the time.
3. The other company has a better product than me. They are rating better than my media company.
4. My sales manager doesn’t understand the business, its different now; she never comes out with me to see for herself.
5. The client list is weak; I always seem to get the clients that do not buy, while the other sales people have all the best clients.
6. I have been set a certain part of town to service and build business, and to be honest it’s not great. The prospects are just not there.
7. I do not get a compensation plan that rewards my efforts and it’s not fair I work as hard as the other guy.

Yes, the leads are weak, and selling was meant to be easy, and life is tough. Selling anything in this changing world of media and consumer choice is difficult.

My question is:

What beliefs do you have to shed to move forward in your sales career?

Good selling