Write down who you’ll turn away

What it does

Every founder has a customer they wish they’d never signed: twice the work, no results, and they left angry. On paper they looked like a fit. Somewhere there was a sign. Write those signs down, and you stop chasing companies that won’t buy, and stop signing the ones that will churn.

What you need

• Your customers who churned early, never got results or were hardest to serve
• Your deals that dragged on for months and died
• Call notes, emails or recordings from those deals

How it works

1. 1

   List your worst fits

   The customers who left in their first months, never got results, or took far more work than they paid for. Add the deals that dragged on for months and died.

2. 2

   Find what they shared before they signed

   Prompt for Claude or ChatGPT, with the notes, emails or transcripts attached

   Here are notes, emails and call transcripts from [NUMBER] customers who churned early or were hard to serve, and [NUMBER] deals that dragged on and died.
   
   Find the signs that were there before they signed or before the deal died: what they said, who was involved, what they wanted, what they'd tried, and how they talked about budget and timing.
   
   List each sign with how many of these companies showed it, and quote where you saw it. Only use what's in the material.

3. 3

   Keep the signs you can spot early

   A red flag is only useful if you can see it in time. Sort the ones you keep by where they show up: on a list, on the first call, or before you sign. “Hard to work with” doesn’t count. “Wants results in 30 days on a job that takes 90” does.

4. 4

   Write the list, and where each one gets checked

   Copy into a doc and fill it in

   WHO WE TURN AWAY: [COMPANY]
   Last updated: [DATE]
   
   ON A LIST (drop them before anyone writes)
   - [E.G. FEWER THAN 20 PEOPLE]
   -
   
   ON THE FIRST CALL (say so on the call)
   - [E.G. CAN'T NAME THE NUMBER THEY WANT TO MOVE]
   -
   
   BEFORE WE SIGN (stop and talk it through)
   - [E.G. WANTS RESULTS IN 30 DAYS ON A 90-DAY JOB]
   -

   The list items go into your sourcing spec. The call items go into your sales process.

5. 5

   Say no early, and kindly

   When a red flag shows up on a call, say it plainly: “From what you’ve told me, I don’t think we’re the right fit, because [REASON]. Here’s who might be.” People remember being told the truth, and some come back when the reason has changed.

What good looks like

A short list everyone uses, and fewer customers who leave in their first months.

Mistakes to skip

• Red flags you can’t see before you sign, like “bad to work with”.
• Ignoring the list when the deal is big. Most bad fits are big deals someone badly wanted to win.
• Turning people away with no reason. Tell them why, and point them somewhere better.