The Time I Spent Months Selling to the Wrong Company

Years ago, before automation platforms, sequencing tools, or enrichment databases existed, I made one of the most painful (and embarrassing) mistakes of my sales career.

I had a product I was selling, and one of my key ICPs was retail furniture stores. So, I did what every seller did back then:

I built my own list.

On that list was a company called The Leather Center.

Perfect, right? Leather. Retail. Furniture. Premium positioning. This was exactly the kind of account that should have been a great fit.

So, I started working them.

I emailed them regularly over several months.
I wrote thoughtful notes about retail furniture trends.
I talked about the economics of premium leather goods.
I explained how our tool could support their business.
Every week or two, I’d go back, research a little more, and send something tailored.

It wasn’t spam.
It wasn’t lazy.
It was real, meaningful effort.

In fact, they became one of my “favorite” cold targets on the list.

And then one day, I finally got a reply.

It was from the CEO.

He opened by acknowledging my persistence (which I felt pretty good about for about 5 seconds)… and then he politely explained:

It sounds like you think we are a leather furniture company.
We’re actually a manufacturer of custom equestrian gear like saddles, bridles, and high-end riding equipment.

In other words:

I had spent months building a relationship with a prospect who was never a prospect at all.

All because I made assumptions early in the process and never slowed down to validate them.

And it wasn’t just embarrassing.
It was expensive.

I had probably burned 15+ selling hours:

• researching

• writing customized messages

• building narrative

• nurturing a relationship

…with the wrong company.

The Lesson

In my hurry to “get going” and start generating pipeline, I cut corners on the most important step:

Getting the list right.

I learned very clearly that you cannot shortcut prospecting fundamentals:

• Spend time validating your ICP.

• Confirm that the company is actually what you think it is.

• Verify that the people on your list are real decision-makers who still work there.

• Use tools, resources, and (most importantly) your brain to double-check assumptions.

Because when you get the list wrong…
everything that comes after becomes wasted effort.

Today, we have endless tools to prevent this from happening.
Back then, I didn’t.
But even today, a shocking amount of pipeline is lost not because the pitch is bad… but because the target is wrong.

If you’re in sales:

Don’t confuse speed with progress.
Don’t confuse activity with impact.

Slow down up front… so you can speed up later.

It will save you time.
It will save you embarrassment.
And it will absolutely save you revenue.