If the one thing you do differently as a salesperson is to really qualify your suspects better… you will become more productive and sell more, guaranteed!
Minimize or eliminate all of the actvities that are time wasters and get in the way of closing business. There are many tools to help become more productive but the biggest time waster of all is you! That’s right, we all waste too much time by spending time with people that are just not good prospects.
Qualify, qualify, qualify before you start down the slippery slope of demos, trials, chasing….If it’s not a match, move on. Have the guts to get a straight answer from the buyer if there is a real opportunity. If there isn’t, politely end the process and put them on in the nurturing loop or whatever process you have.
How many times have you got to the end of the sales process to find out that there is no money, they aren’t really a buyer…? Doesn’t that piss you off? Well have some guts and get to the basic question before both of you waste a lot of time.
Time is all we have – don’t waste it!!!
Brick
Amen, I would argue there is nothing more important in selling than this. Hope kills more sales people
thanks paul. it’s amazing how we all fall into this trap…
In the first meeting you should know:
1- Is there money and desire to buy?
2- How are decisions made?
3- Is there pain and or discomfort your product can solve?
If you don’t have the answers to these, you’re chasing your tail.
Thanks, steve..still owe you that test…sorry. yes, i agree that we need to get to the point quickly and see if there is a real opportunity or move on..it’s amazing how many times I still see deals falls apart at the end of a sales cycle because of poor qualification.