Identify Real Opportunity

You worked hard doing market research, developing a good prospect list, prepared a good value proposition, and crafted a snappy sales script. Now you begin contacting prospects and making appointments. Is your prospect truly in a position to buy? Only qualified prospects are worth your effort – otherwise you have wasted valuable time and resources.

What can you do that will increase chances of success for closing more deals? How do you know if a prospect is a real opportunity? Following is a guideline of vitals steps required for every business proposition.

Identify the Decision Maker - The first step in qualifying a prospect is to identify all the decision makers. Sometimes it is a single person and other times it could be a committee. You also need to identify their decision-making procedures; learn how they make their decisions. Identification is the number one rule before proceeding further. Do Not skip this step. If you do, you will set yourself up for disappointment. Know if you are speaking with a decision maker – if not, you need to find out who is the right person. Learn if anyone else is involved. Ask about their decision process so you know how to proceed and set expectations.

Pain-Points and Motivation - What will make your prospect buy from you? What you perceive what the prospect needs is not always what they want. Your value proposition should offer a solution that satisfies something the prospect desires. What are the prospect’s pain-points and how does your product solve it? Probe with open-ended question relative to a perceived need for your product, but focus on the prospect’s pain-point. Open-end questions engage the prospect revealing clues how to address a solution with your product. The prospect needs to believe your product is their solution.

A Sense of Urgency - You have identified the decision maker and your product provides a solution they want. Now, find out when they are in a position to buy. What is their sense of urgency to make the purchase? Knowing when a prospect makes their decisions will help you plan a better strategy. Uncover the length of time it will take for making a buying decision. How soon is the prospect making a final decision to buy? Does the prospect perceive a current need for your product? If they are not ready to buy now, ask when they will be in a position to decide. Does your product fit in their short-term or long-term planning? How often do they make similar purchases? What happens next?

Competition - The competition is calling your prospect, too. Prospects are always receiving offerings and contemplating choices. You cannot always know if your offer is under serious consideration unless you know what you are facing. It is likely your prospect is also someone else’s customer or may soon be. Unless your product is truly unique, chances are your prospect is already buying it or considering an offer from a competitor. You must position yourself against the competition. A good value proposition demonstrates solutions to motivate buying decisions. When facing the competition roadblock, go back to your open-ended questioning to understand your prospect’s choices.

Why Not? - Objections and rejections do not always mean no. How you handle the objection may save the deal. An objection may simply mean the prospect was not convinced your offer was the right solution wanted. It may also mean that you have not provided enough information for the prospect to make a sound decision. This is your opportunity to understand the buying motive and use other tactics to turn the objection into a yes. Acknowledge the objection, restate it, and present an alternate solution based on what the prospect is telling you. Even if you cannot turn every rejection into a sale, you will gain valuable feedback that will prepare you better for future presentations.

Once you have a prospect’s attention, it is imperative that you make sure they are qualified. Qualifying techniques are used immediately after gaining an audience and delivered during your presentation. These techniques can be used equally as well for many business proposals, not just sales presentations. The foregoing qualifying points are to be used as a guide to reveal opportunities and facilitate closing more deals. Do not try to avoid any one of the steps presented here because all are equally important to close the deal.

© 2009 gmh