There is a very important step within the sales process that many entrepreneurs and sales professionals overlook far too often. The important step I’m speaking of, is none other than the sales qualifier. The sales qualifier is simply taking the time to qualify your prospect aka lead to determine their likelihood of purchasing.
What is a qualified lead? A qualified lead is a prospect that has been flagged by the seller, as highly probable of converting into a paying customer.
Qualifying prospects in the sales process is essential because it allows the seller to determine the validity of the sale from the buyer’s standpoint as well as confirm if both the seller and the buyer have invested their time wisely during the sales process. Sales qualifiers enable you to convert leads and sell more effectively in business.
In any business, there is a path that all prospective leads take in order to go from a lead to a paying client (purchasing a service) or customer (purchasing a product). The path includes the following process:
- Identifying the target audience
- Connecting with the target audience
- Exploring the target audience
- Advising the target audience
- Converting the target audience
Before your prospects matriculate through the pathway of the sales process, you must score them based on their readiness to become a paying client. If you do not take the time to evaluate their readiness, you are indeed skipping a vital step in the sales process that will slow down your conversions.
Here are 2 very important reasons why you must always qualify your prospective customers or clients in any sales situation.
- It saves time.
There is nothing worse than investing time in a prospect only to find out that they are not a good fit for whatever you are selling. Determining the relevance that your product or service has to the potential consumer is vital.
2. It saves money.
Many times, a seller has to make an investment in marketing dollars to obtain leads to get prospective buyers interested in whatever they are offering. If the seller spends money wisely on targeting the right audience, the prospective buyers are more likely to convert into a sale. On the contrary, if the seller has not done a good job in targeting the right audience, he or she will lose money.
Now that we have dealt with the reasons to use sales qualifiers with your prospective customers, we must talk about the top 3 sales qualifiers that you must practice in the sales process.
1. Budget – Determining the budget that the prospective buyer has available or allocated to spend is critical in the sales process. It is pointless to attempt to sell a $1,000.00 product to someone who has only budgeted $250.00 for the product or service they need or want. Not knowing a specific amount of money that the prospect is prepared to spend is failing to qualify your customer and could result in not obtaining the sale or getting less than is available.
2. Need – Determining the need a prospect has is vital because it lets the seller know if the prospect is serious, browsing, or simply doing research. The seller must determine if the prospective buyer is in a “ready to buy” situation, meaning they are currently in the process of researching options and ready to make a buying decision. If the prospect’s need is great, he or she is far more likely to convert into a sale.
3. Perfect Timing – Determining if the timing is right for the prospective buyer is essential because many prospective buyers begin obtaining quotes and doing research long before they are actively seeking to make a purchase. If a seller takes the time to ask a simple question about the timeline that the buyer is seeking, this will provide vital information as far as how to approach the sales process and schedule follow up scenarios. Perfect timing is everything in sales.
4. Authority – Determining if the prospect has the authority to make a buying decision is vital in the sales process. If the prospect has to consult with someone else before they can make the purchase, they are not the sole decision maker. Therefore, as the seller you could be wasting time speaking to the person who doesn’t have the authority to pull the trigger and close the deal.
5. Trust – Determining if the prospect has a foundational disposition of trust when it comes to their belief regarding whether or not the product or service you’re selling (and they’re considering) is valuable. If the prospect has any doubt in the value of the product or service they will not likely convert to a paying customer or client.
Now that we have discussed the top 5 sales qualifiers that must be completed during the sales process, it’s also a good time to remind you that each of these qualifiers should be discussed during the initial sales conversation. Waiting too long during the sales process to uncover the answers to budget, need, and will result in wasted sales effort. And considering that when it comes to sales, time is money, and there is none that should be wasted.
These are just 5 of the top sales qualifiers you should pay attention to when you’re in sales situations. To learn more, inquire about our VIP training consortium that encompasses masterful selling.
But before you go, I’d like to hear from you. Now it’s your turn. Have you used these sales qualifiers in your business or career? If so, how did it save you time or money?
Leave a comment below. What’s your take on sales qualifiers?
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Dr. Lori A. Manns, CEO of Quality Media Consultant Group, a business consultancy firm specializing in advertising, media and sales solutions for your optimal success. Dr. Lori is the founder of Trailblazer Business Academy;™ where purpose-driven entrepreneurs go to learn next level strategies to grow their businesses as well as, the Sponsorship Sales Secrets System;™ that shows you how to get more sponsors and sales for your business, guaranteed. To book consulting services on marketing, advertising/media, or sales and learn how to increase your revenue and grow your business; please visit www.qualitymediaconsultants.com.