Do a Better Job Qualifying, Do a Better Job Selling
Skip Anderson | April 7th, 2009 - 11:13 pmAccording to Salesopedia.com, the definition of qualifying the prospect is “asking questions to discover whether a prospective buyer has a need for the product, can afford it, and has the authority to buy.”
Wow, that’s a lot, isn’t it? Qualifying the prospect includes discovering whether a prospective buyer has a need (that’s a subject for an entire book – or an entire series of books – not just a blog post!). It also includes determining if the prospect can afford your product, which can be one of the most challenging issues to address with prospects. And to top if off, we need to see if the prospect has the authority to buy? Wow. That…is…a…lot.
Despite the significant breadth and depth of this topic, I offer seven qualification tips to help you do a better job at completing one or more of the aforementioned tasks that we call “qualifying:”
1. When dealing with your prospect, develop in yourself a spirit of discovery, not a spirit of pitching. You can’t accurately qualify your prospect if you are in pitching mode all the time.
I was working with a client’s salesperson some time ago who had prepared a canned sales pitch for her product. In working with her, it was very difficult for her to break away from her pitch mentality in favor of the spirit of questioning, learning, and asking that I was advocating.
After several coaching sessions about this topic, her eyes lit up and she turned to me and said, “I think I get it now “ (you could almost see the light bulb over her head). “You’re telling me I need to have a spirit of discovery!”
I said, “YES, you’ve got it!” We continued to talk and I saw a transformation take shape before my very eyes. Almost everything you need to know to sell to your prospect is within your prospect. Discover if your prospect needs your product. Discover if they can afford your product. Discover if they’re authorized to make the purchase. You don’t get that information by pitching; you get it by discovering.
2. If you sell to businesses, ask, “Who else—in addition to yourself—will be involved in deciding to move ahead with this purchase.” If you sell to consumers and have only one individual who is part of a couple in front of you, ask “How do you want your husband (or wife/girlfriend/boyfriend/partner/etc.) involved in the decision to move ahead with this purchase? Then, follow up with the second question: “How will your husband want to be involved in the decision to move ahead with this purchase.” These are two similar questions, but they’re very different, and will often garner two different responses.
There are other good ways to address this issue, too, of course, but what we need to accomplish is finding out who has authorization to make the purchase, and where that authorizer is on this potential purchase at the moment. The more complex the sale and the bigger the purchase for the prospect, the more care needs to be taken with making this determination.
[I dislike talk about “decision-makers” That’s a term that we use in the sales profession, but it should never be used with a prospect. I cringe when I hear a salesperson as, “Who’s the decision-maker on this purchase?” Argh. I just cringed typing that question.]
3. Whenever possible, link your future sales activity to getting increased clarity from your prospect about the authorization for the purchase. Get the prospect to walk with you down the path to the sale. Don’t let the prospect stand on the sidelines as an observer.
Get and give. Get information and then give information. Get that prospect alongside you!
4. In selling to businesses it’s okay to ask about “budget” but if you sell to consumers, avoid using the word budget.
Instead, ask about what investment level the prospect is comfortable with. Even if they lie (and prospects do often lie when asking this question), you’ve succeeded in getting the price issue on the table where it can see the light of day. Once there, it can be examined, analyzed, studied, debated, and verified.
5. One of the greatest qualification questions ever is “If I can get you what you need for a price you’re comfortable with, tell me what would prevent you from moving ahead with this purchase?”
Prospects love to shop and dream and hope and get ideas. But as salespeople, we need to understand if they’re shopping and dreaming and hoping and getting ideas, or if they’re in the process of buying. The best way to develop this understanding is to ask closed questions that will encourage the prospect to give accurate answers and not avoid the subject. It can be uncomfortable, but I’d rather be a bit uncomfortable early in the selling process rather than going home and kicking my dog later on because I missed out on the sale.
[WARNING: Don't try this at home. I've never kicked my dog. Or any of the dogs I've owned. I love dogs. A lot. I don't condone kicking animals, especially dogs. I was just trying to dramatize the frustration salespeople feel when they lose a sale they thought they had in the bag. This illustration was for literary purposes only, not a suggestion about how to treat your dog or any other animal.]
6. Never assume anything.
Yes, I said anything.
But, I guess you can assume one thing, and that one thing is this: if you assume something about your prospect’s qualifications, go ahead and assume you will have unsuccessfully qualified your prospect, because your assumption will probably be correct.
7. Be skeptical of everything.
Yes, I said everything. Especially things that appear to be obvious. And don’t kick your dog.
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