When I had a ‘real job’ I spent most of my career in Sales and Sales Management in the Telecommunications Industry, and not to brag, but I was quite successful. The strange thing is, I am basically an introvert, and the thought of asking people ‘For the Order’ petrifies me. Not really the typical profile of a successful sales person right? So how was I able to outsell all of the Hey Ya sales people, exceed my quota month after month, and forecast my deals with accuracy?
I am a really good qualifyier. I was good at asking the right questions, and trying to find every reason why a person WON’T buy. Most sales people don’t want to know if a person has reservations about moving forward, and only focus on why they would buy, but focusing on why someone wouldn’t and having the guts to ask them about it will allow you to spend your time with the right people. If I look at my sales statistics over the years, I was very bulldog like. I was really too lazy to run a bunch of appointments with prospects, but I was really good at sniffing out the organizations that had a genuine need and desire for what I was offering. If you feel like you are chasing your tail, and would like to be more productive with your time, here are some tips for you.
1. How hard did you try to set the appointment? Most of the time, if people say they aren’t interested, I say thank you, ask them if I can check back with them in a few months and call somebody else. If you have to work super hard to get in the door, how much time and effort will you have to spend to get a signed contract from them? Chances are, eventually they will see the value of what you are doing, and a nice incubated lead is better than a cold call any day of the week.
2. Look back at the last 3 deals that either said no, or just stalled out. If you really think about it, did you see it coming?
3. If so, What questions could you have asked that would have allowed your prospect to tell you the truth and bow out gracefully?
4. If not, What weren’t you paying attention to? Now that you have the answer, go back to step 2 and think of what questions you could have asked to get to the truth a little sooner.
5. Was the solution you were trying to sell them a good fit? If they would have bought, would they have been 100% satisfied? Sometimes we try to make something work when we know deep down inside that we can’t meet all of our prospects needs.
Becoming a great qualifier means that you really care about the relationship with your clients, and it just about closing a deal and moving on to the next one. Not only will your clients love you and refer people to you, but if you have an implementation or customer service team that has to go in behind you, they will love you too.
Comments