Sales professionals should do it more often.
But, most are scared out of their pants at the very thought.
For some reason, when people begin a sales career, you lose your nerve to do the things that really make sense. If someone (one of your customers) is taking up all of your time with questions, problems, and/or unreasonable demands for your service, it would make sense to not work with that customer - especially if they were a low volume customer or new prospective customer. 
"But Dan, what if they were going to become a big, big, BIG customer?" It's unlikely. Big customers usually don't make you jump through those kinds of hoops. Little customers who are demanding, do.
Seth Godin's post on the subject makes sense. When I was in outside sales, I would always ask myself, "At what point is it not worth it to put up with this demanding customer?" I'd advise all sales professionals to ask themselves the same question. In fact, if you have any stories or suggestions on this subject, leave a comment.
I look at my role as "salesman" more as an "assistant buyer."
I'll stop working with a customer as soon as they stop working with me - for them. A case in point was a recent business blog project.
The customer became uncoachable. When they told me that my window of opportunity to get them blogging was about to close, I assisted them in closing the window.
But still, I didn't slam it or lock it. I gave them information and benchmarks for little successes. Once they reach those, I'd be open to working with them again.
Posted by: Mike Sansone | May 1, 2006 7:56 PM | Permalink to Comment