My worst sales call lasted 47 minutes. I knew in the first 3 I'd lost the deal.

Six years on sales floors taught me one thing that no course will put in a syllabus.

Bad deals have a smell. You learn to recognise it early.

This particular call started wrong. The prospect had rescheduled twice. Joined three minutes late. Said "remind me what this is about?" in the first 30 seconds.

Those aren't neutral signals. They're data.

I kept going anyway. 47 minutes of my best discovery questions, a solid demo, three objection handles I'd refined over hundreds of calls. He said "send me something in writing" and disappeared.

Four follow-ups and six weeks later I accepted what I knew in minute three.

The lesson nobody tells new salespeople: closing rate matters less than knowing which deals are worth your time. Every deal you stay in too long is a better-fit prospect you didn't call.

Three signals I learned to watch for in the first 5 minutes:

• Late + unprepared = not the real buyer (you're likely pitching the wrong person)
• "Remind me what this is about" = the request didn't come from them
• No questions back in the first 10 minutes = you haven't found the pain yet

None of these alone is a deal killer. All three together? Qualify harder, cut it short, or move on.

I still stay too long sometimes. But I lose a lot less time than I used to.

What's the earliest signal you've learned to trust?

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