Qualify your clients better.
I think we would all agree that we’d be better at selling our product or service if we were qualifying our clients better.
It’s very frustrating for owners and sales managers, when their salespeople do not qualify correctly.
Don’t make this mistake.
If a call is going well, you’ve done your work correctly and solved a problem for a client, for them to then say that they need to take it to someone else, is heartbreaking.
I’ve run large sales teams, carried out thousands of sales calls both face to face, and on the phone, and have made this mistake.
That’s because maybe, just maybe, you’ve not asked these questions.
Ask powerful questions
Here are three questions that you might find useful.
You have to get the right answer from question #1 first, as this often determines the next two.
1) “What role do you play in helping your decision maker make the decision?
The answer will determine if the person can help you secure the business. If you feel that “hey this dude I am looking at here is not going to help me” then stop and start again.
2) “How does the decision process work in your company?”
Ask them to take you through the decision-making process.
It gets better conversions.
For example; if your lead channel or pipeline is full of potential clients and the conversion rate is low, then those questions might need to be asked a lot more.
If you do not have enough leads, you have a marketing problem. If you have too many leads and they are not converting, you have a sales problem.
3) “Is there anything you can think of that might stand in the way of us doing business in the next few weeks. Do you like the proposal, and what specifically do you see that you like?
You have to be satisfied with this answer, it’s an attempt to see how serious they are when it comes to making a decision.
We used to call it a ‘trial close’, (they are still around) and all you were doing is making sure you did not get the run-around.
While some sales journeys do take a little longer, it’s important to qualify, qualify, qualify.
I can assure you that asking these questions will get you more sales, and ultimately that is what we are after, that’s what we are in the business of.
Have a great week.
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Mike Brunel started mikebrunel.com after being a successful entrepreneur and founder of NRS Media. He co-founded NRS Media in Wellington, New Zealand, expanded it into a global powerhouse in media sales and training, and was eventually responsible for opening offices in London, Atlanta, Toronto, Sydney, Capetown, and Bogota. He has hired hundreds of salespeople around the world.
He made a lot of mistakes when it came to hiring his superstars. Check out his How to Hire A Super Salesperson Each and Every time – It’s packed with tips and ideas on how to hire great salespeople. Don’t ever Hire Bad Salespeople Ever Again. Promise!