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.

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  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?

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  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.

Keys to Effective Business Prospecting

“Never mistake activity for achievement” - John Wooden, Legendary UCLA Basketball Coach

Prospecting is separate from sales. Prospecting is discarding all the unqualified leads and retaining the qualified leads that are likely to buy your product now or in the future. Selling begins after this process is complete.

Prospecting takes time. Commit to prospecting two to eight hours every week, depending on your pipeline. Lock in that time in advance and build the rest of your schedule around those regular sessions. Work smarter, not harder - focus only on qualified leads and your sales should follow.

Lead Generation:

1. First, ask every existing satisfied client or customer for ideas on where you might find new business opportunities. Satisfied customers will often give you recommendations, leads and introductions if you ask for them.

2. Develop a pool of partners who share common prospects with you, but perform different or complementary services. Cultivate those relationships to stay “top of mind” and gain the most from your partnership.

3. Obtain a list of participants from key industry seminars, symposiums, and conferences. These participants may either be good prospects for you or they may become potential partners.

Other lead sources can include: webinars, seminars, third party reports, conferences, and podcasts. Use these tools to offer industry updates in which you can work synergistically with your partners. That way you share the cost and get access to their clients and prospects. You can also buy lists from many industry sources. They are usually harder to qualify, but you may be able to get a bigger pool of prospects.

Qualifying Criteria

Key criteria in qualifying your leads are: identification of decision makers, current supplier situation, their financial situation, decision timeframe, and price issues. Research every company and key executive on your target list.

Even if they’re not yet ready to buy, cultivate all long-term qualified leads. When they're ready, they will remember that you stayed in contact and offered good solutions to their needs. You will have already gained credibility. This persistence pays off when they are ready to commit to and buy your product.

Follow Up Activities:

1. Send out key information that provides value to the prospect and demonstrates your expertise in the marketplace. Provide white papers, case studies, research reports, press releases, or invitations to trade shows. Follow up with a phone call or email to make sure they received it, and schedule a time to discuss the material.

2. Have your follow-up materials at hand and make sure you record next steps into your calendar, CRM software or contact manager.

3. Your messages and talking points should include value statements that will provoke interest or action at each level of contact you have with an organization. Be familiar with your script it so it does not sound as though you are reading it. Have responses to all the common objections posed by your potential customers. Turn them into benefits wherever possible. Take notes and record key points, so during the next call, you can recite what they said last time and show you were listening.

Work with a coach to help you plan, prepare, network and hone your skills in the area of prospecting that lead to new opportunities.

Identifying Prospects - Knowing Where to Win

“The harder I practice, the luckier I get.” Gary Player, South African Champion Golfer

One of the first and most important keys to successful selling is identifying and qualifying prospects. It’s well worth your time to search out and pursue prospects who have a high likelihood of buying your product. The more calls you make to people who have a need for what you’re selling, the more often you will convert those calls to paying customers.

Assess your product – Know what you’re selling, what it costs, and how it can help your prospects. Start thinking about who is in a position to buy that product. If it costs $10,000, don’t pursue clients who have a $5,000 budget.

Ask questions. Determine what your client needs and wants. If they want pizzas, don’t try to sell them caviar. If you sell caviar, look for places where there are likely to be people to buy caviar. If you have a broad range of products or services, take time to zero in on what your prospect feels will fill their needs. If you sell pizza and caviar and your prospect wants pizza, sell them pizza. Maybe you can interest them in extra toppings, but don’t waste your time asking them to buy caviar if that isn’t what they want.

Go where the good prospects are. Join networking groups where there will be people who need your product. Professional associations, leads clubs, chambers of commerce, all of these are excellent resources for meeting new people and potential clients. The more specific the association is to your ideal client type, the more likely you will make contacts that are useful.

Check the competition. Who are your competitor’s clients? Are they buying what you’re selling, but not from you? Maybe you can offer a better deal or a more customized product. Study what’s selling at other companies and consider how you can distinguish your product in the marketplace.

Research other available data. The internet is an amazing resource that can provide you with lists of companies that are in your industry, are of the size range you market to, are in your geographic area, or match up to some other indicator of being an ideal prospect. Spend time daily reading blogs or annual reports to learn more about your target market.

Referrals, referrals, referrals. The best way, hands down, to identify a prospect is for someone to refer you. If you have good relationships with your clients, ask them for referrals and ask them often. You will be surprised at how many times your clients know people who can use your product or service. With a referral, your client has laid the groundwork that gives you an automatic edge. Your client has, in essence, prequalified the prospect for you.

By taking a little time to research and focus your efforts on reaching out to the right people, your sales efforts will be more productive and profitable. And you will be winning the game of sales.

Are you ready to win?