Qualifying Prospects & Opportunities

“In business you get what you want by giving other people what they want.” 
by Alice MacDougall

The early prospectors were looking for gold. The current prospectors are looking for golden opportunities to win relationships and make sales. The important thing is to make sure you are looking in the right place.

Two important distinctions to make in qualifying.

• 
  
  The first distinction is that you need to qualify the prospect by answering the following questions: Are they the right buyer for your product or service? Do they have the ability to make a buying decision? Can they influence a buying decision? Do they have the ability to get you information on how buying decisions are made?

• 
  
  The second distinction is that you need to qualify the opportunity. So now that you have found a prospect who is the "ideal buyer" of your product or services, you need to make sure that the opportunity is the right one. What is the prospect's expectations on the outcome? Is the project just right for your company to handle? Is it too large or too small; can the prospect afford your pricing? Is their timing for your type of service a 3-month or a 12-month decision making process?

Once you have answered these questions, you are ready to begin the selling process. It's crucial to make sure you "hear and listen" to all their needs. Spend time learning how they want the relationship to proceed once they have engaged your company, how they want issues to be resolved, and how often they want to communicate on the progress of the project. get a clear understanding of these relationship issues during the qualifying process. Even if your price is higher than the competition, if you structure the delivery of the service as they envisioned it, you will win the sale.

Are you ready to win? If so, register for Sales2Win, an eight-session sales and marketing training course designed to increase your sales by 20% to 30%! Each one-hour telephone session will unlock the mysteries of successful selling and teach you how to differentiate yourself in the marketplace.

Hiring a Winning Team

“…the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion.” – Mia Hamm, Hall of Fame American Soccer Player

One of the biggest challenges business owners face is hiring employees. It’s essential to get the right people working at the right jobs so that you can move the company forward toward its stated objectives.

Interviewing candidates takes time and effort, but better to invest the effort up front than to deal with someone long-term who is not right for the job. Many of our clients have told us they put off hiring for positions because they just don’t have enough time to wade through stacks of resumes.

Here are some tips to streamline the hiring process and help you find the cream of the crop:

1. Take some time to write a questionnaire about the available position. Include all the skills that the perfect candidate will need to be able to hit the ground running, such as computer software experience, sales experience, managing people. Be specific, and ask for what you need.
2. In the questionnaire, ask the candidate to rate him/herself from 1-10 on each of these specific skills. Be sure to make this questionnaire very comprehensive. You want your candidate to put some thought into the answers.
3. Place an ad for the position in publications or on networking sites where you are likely to get the attention of the candidates you want.
4. This is key – in your ad, ask them to email you to request the questionnaire. If you can attach the questionnaire to the ad via a link, that will save you some time. Instruct them to fill out the questionnaire and fax it back to you along with their resume and cover letter. Provide a deadline for this action to be complete.
5. See who can follow the instructions! We have heard from many clients who have asked candidates to follow simple instructions for submitting resumes. They will receive hundreds of resumes from people who neglect to complete the questionnaire or who don’t fax it back by the deadline. Those people have already de-selected themselves from the process because they didn’t follow instructions. If they aren’t listening to you before the interview, chances are they won’t listen on the job.
6. Only review the resumes of those who correctly followed your instructions in the ad. Of those, select the ones you want to pursue. Read their questionnaires to see where their strengths and weaknesses lie and be sure to discuss those topics in your interview.

When it comes to hiring employees, spending a little time up front will save you headaches later. With all the talent in the marketplace today, be sure that your business is hiring the best of the best. From there you can work with your employees to build the winning team that will help your company win the game of business.

Are you ready to win?

Why Do I Need Sales Training?

"The key is not the 'will to win' - everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important." Bob Knight - Former NCAA Basketball Coach

Our company works with a lot of experienced salespeople who sometimes don’t see the need for additional training. We understand the thinking – why should I do a sales training program if I am already a successful salesperson?

Here’s why – because the game is always changing. There are always new rules, new techniques and new resources. And if you are not willing to spend time every year refining your skills, I guarantee you, your competition is!

Sales is a game where each month you start over with a zero as a score. Therefore, you always need new motivation to generate a new game plan to keep you in the winner’s circle. Just like an athlete who must consistently train in order to compete, business people have to train to stay sharp to effectively play the game of sales.

How you perform in sales is very much related to how the situation occurs to you. Through sales training you have the ability to develop different views or perspectives on how the sales world occurs to you. Those perspectives generate different action plans and when you implement disciplined action plans you will have different results.

Possibilities Unlimited is offering a cutting-edge new sales course called Sales2Win. Beginning October 7th, Sales2Win is an eight-session program open to anyone interested in creating better results. The course is conducted via conference call and webinar, so you don’t have to take time away from your office to attend.

Sales2Win is designed to give you a new view of your sales world. From that view you will see many more possibilities for sales. And when winning business people take advantage of possibilities, they create incredible results.

Interested? Contact us today to learn more about Sales2Win and to register for the course.

Are you ready to win?