For many business people, their professional New Year’s resolution as we kick open the door on January revolves around getting new clients. Hard to blame them – it’s often said that new customers are the balm that cures any business hurt.

But not every potential customer is a good potential customer. Most of us have learned that the hard way by chasing after a prospect who was never going to buy.

See if this sounds familiar:

You get a call or an email. You resist the urge to jump up and down. Boy, these people sound good. They fit your client profile and they contacted you. Their buying signals are flashing like the Bat Signal in the sky, they’re so blatant. You know you could truly help their business.

You might as well print off the contract now, right? Not so fast, my friend. With a little bit of digging, you discover one (or more) of these to be true:

• They already know they want to hire your competitor but need to demonstrate they’ve done due diligence by getting a few bids.

• They’re using the “put it out to bid” pressure tactic to get their current provider to snap back into line.

• Their RFP (request for proposal) is awfully detailed – they’re fishing for free ideas so they can do it themselves.

• It’s a bullet point on their strategic plan, but no one is quite sure how you would actually add value.

• You would be their fourth or fifth (fill in the blank with your profession) in the past few years.

So how do you figure out if they’re really a buyer? Here are some signs that you can at least put the champagne in the fridge to cool:

1. Do you have access to and time with the CEO and other top leaders? If not, odds are that whatever you sell isn’t a priority for the organization. It might be that your contact is trying to prove a point or get you to make the sale they haven’t been able to make.

2. Are they used to paying for services like yours? In the same price range? You don’t want to be the one to break in the new kid. This is one of those times when it’s not to your advantage to be first.

3. Does your sweet spot match up with one of their biggest pain points? They’re going to want pain relief and look for a partner who can promise them that, via past experience or great ideas. It’s tough to land on solid ground if you can’t deliver a quick win or two.

4. Are they the ones driving the process – being flexible about getting together and reaching out for more information, a demo, etc.? If you have to chase them, odds are this matters more to you than it does to them.

5. Are they quick to answer email, return phone calls and get you data that you request? Yes, it could be that they’re swamped. Or it could be that they’re just fishing for now.

If you answered yes to all five, does it mean you are on easy street? You know better. But at least it means the opportunity is probably a good one. Now it’s up to you to earn it.

Before you get too giddy when your phone rings, do some due diligence. Far better to invest your time and energy into the prospects who could genuinely become that next great client.

Drew McLellan is Top Dog at McLellan Marketing Group and blogs at www.drewsmarketingminute.com. He can be reached by email at Drew@MclellanMarketing.com. © 2012 Drew McLellan