Do you remember the tale of the ugly duckling -the one that turned into the swan? The morale of that story is that appearances can be deceiving and you should not judge a book by its cover. Your sales prospects are the same. Sometimes the ones that on the surface appear to guarantee you an infinite revenue stream and all the riches you imagine turn out to be the exact opposite. But how can you tell?

So how can you ensure that you are directing your prospecting efforts to potential customers that will deliver you the best possible returns? The first step to nirvana is to realise that sometimes those 'perfect on paper' customers can be duds for your business. You may have the best product or solution in the market but it is not going to fit every customer, every time. It just won't. So you need to face the facts and sometimes, simply let it go. But do you know when you need to let it go and when to vigorously chase a lead?

To pursue the right opportunities, determine what your ideal customer looks like by placing information in three columns.

1. Identify your best and worst customers - who are they?
   
   
2. List the characteristics of those ideal clients (loyal, open communicators) in the first column.
   
   
3. List characteristics of your worst clients (secretive, always angling for better deals, disloyal) in the second column.
   
   
4. Pinpoint the most significant best client characteristics and transfer them into the third column.
   
   
5. Pinpoint the most significant worst client characteristics and transfer their opposites (willing to provide information) into the third column.
   
   
6. The traits in your final column compose your ideal customer profile.

By balancing the very best and worst characteristics you have removed the extremes and provided your business with a realistic check list of the type of client you can work best with. When you are faced with a new prospect, run them against the check list. If it matches the criteria you have set then you know they are a better match for your time and resources and a better fit for your business. They are also far more likely to turn into that proverbial swan.