The End of Qualifying As You Know It


Past sales training taught you the importance of qualifying your customers on the first sales call. You want to "discover'' (using the more popular and softer term for the harsher-sounding "qualify'') the answers to four questions. You usually start with the first question, and then ask the other three in any order that pops up:

  1. Do they have a need to buy your products?

  2. Do they have the money to buy your products?

  3. Do they have the authority to buy your products?

  4. How soon do they want to buy your products?

Finding the answers to these questions makes perfect sense. Neither customers nor you want to waste time and effort on opportunities that do not pan out. Yet, one slight problem exists with this traditional view of qualifying. You should not qualify customers first; they should qualify themselves first—but not about whether they can buy your products (notice how the four qualifying questions end).

Let customers qualify themselves on two points. First, on whether they chose the correct goals; and second, on whether they have the ability to achieve them. Once they gather enough facts to confirm both, you qualify (but not in front of them) any potential product selections by using the same information. You do this step before you mention any specific products to customers. When customers qualify themselves first, they discover new things. They discover that you can help them to make wise purchasing decisions, which fulfill measurable expectations. You will discover how customers reward you for providing this service.

As a customer expert, therefore, your initial responsibility is to help guide customers through this self-qualifying process.

Note

If you find that you are disqualifying more than qualifying customers on initial contacts, rethink your choices of whom to call on. You are probably in market segments where customers' goals do not connect to your unique strengths.




The Science of Sales Success(c) A Proven System for High Profit, Repeatable Results
The Science of Sales Success: A Proven System for High-Profit, Repeatable Results
ISBN: 0814415997
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 170
Authors: Josh Costell

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