Effective Sales People Qualify Opportunities Early

We've all seen the optimistic sales forecast where the pipeline looks promising but fails to deliver sales results. So what's behind this problem? The pipeline report relies on the how well your sales people qualify leads and as you might have guessed, forecasting the probability of closing a sale starts with qualifying the lead.So why do sales reps do such a poor job at qualifying opportunities? 

Let's face it, no one likes asking hard questions especially if they have something to do with money. We are programmed to avoid the word "no" and we are programmed to avoid confrontation. One of the reasons top performing sales people close more business is that they are willing to lose early.They know that when you ask the hard questions upfront in a disarming way, prospects will answer them. Here are a couple of tips on how to improve your sales productivity by qualifying leads early:

• Have your sales people use language that gives the prospect permission to end the conversation. ..."if you come to a decision that we are not a good fit, just tell me and we will end the conversation. Your time is valuable and I don't want to waste it. Okay?"
• If your sales people sell a product or service that can be quantified in a dollar range, use that range as a gauge to determine the comfort level of your prospect with regard to budget. ..."John. I've never been comfortable talking about money but I've learned that if you ask the tough questions first there are fewer surprises later. If I said this service would cost between X and Y, would that cause you to rethink your direction?"
• Most importantly, know whether you are above or below the green line. Are you speaking to the decision maker? Are there others who will have input (influencers) that need to socialize this decision?

By employing these three simple steps, your sales team will find they are closing more business over time. You will also recognize reductions in the cost per sale.

Call us today for a free sales and marketing consultation and to receive a free copy of our integrated sales & marketing toolkit. 410.782.0360.