If you know there could be an issue with a potential client, the best time to bring that up is before it actually comes up. That’s Sandler Rule #23: The Way to Get Rid of a Bomb is to Defuse It Before It Blows Up.

That’s true in sales, but you can do it with your marketing as well.

One of the reasons marketing and sales are often at odds in larger organizations is because the sales department doesn’t like the leads that the marketing department is sending them. If your marketing actually gets people to disqualify themselves because they’re not a good fit, then the quality of leads the sales team ends up with is automatically better!

Marketing should defuse the bomb before it goes off in the middle of the sales department.

That’s great, but how can you do that? Here’s one way to get you started.

Often websites have sections that talk about who would be a good fit. Have you considered adding a page that talks about who a bad fit for you would be? If you already have a page titled, “Why Us?” think about adding a page titled, “Why Not Us?” List some red flags you see in people who end up not being a good fit for you.

Yes, your marketing material should include the right people, but it should exclude the wrong people as well!

If you defuse the bombs with your marketing, you’ll save everyone’s time.