QUALIFICATIONThe next phase of the sales system involves qualifying or qualification of prospects. The key objective of this phase is to separate out the curious from the serious. This part of the sales system also builds value and system analysis needs for each potential new customer. You will start the qualification part of the process at the face-to-face meetings you arrange in the Approach phase. As with the other parts of the system, there are five keys to success in the qualification phase.
These five keys are good recommendations for any business professional, not only for the sales people you have in your business and for the qualification part of your sales system. And most of us that have been in business for a while know these because we’ve either learned them the hard way or someone else showed us how important they are. Taking them one by one, you know how important presentation and packaging of your qualification discussions and materials are. Someone once said, “You only have one chance to make a first impression.” And, this is certainly true when you are qualifying a new prospect. Presentation and packaging and the image you project about your company can make the difference between a successful face-to-face meeting and a not successful one. Similarly, having the confidence to present well is critical to your success as well. In the qualification phase, your confidence will partly be built from knowing your qualifying sequence well. And, practice is always a good idea before you get to the actual face-to-face meeting. By going over your qualification sequence ahead of time – and the more times you go through this part of the process the more confidence you will have – you gain experience with knowing how best to use the sequence and knowing which parts are easiest for you to present. The ability to make small talk with a new prospect face-to-face is also at least partly a confidence issue. Stay up to date on current events, sports scores, and the latest information about your prospect’s company. This information will be useful to you as you think of ways to make small talk during the qualification discussion. The next skill you need to develop is the ability to spot pain points and hot buttons. Once you have these clearly identified you will need to be able to discuss with the prospect the pain or continuation of pain that comes from not buying your products and services. And, you can begin to help the prospect understand that there is pleasure – and relief from pain – when he or she buys your products and services. Sometimes these abilities are more like art than they are science. You will need to stay focused and watch for opportunities to present your case when the prospect gives you and opening to do so. To take the qualification phase a bit deeper, consider this sequence and specific steps to qualify new prospects and sales leads.
We know this sales process works. Take a look at the following testimonial from a recent client that used the sales system we are presenting to you here.
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