How to better qualify your prospects

Every sales professional has the same amount of time daily to invest in their success. One of the actions top producers leverage is their ability to qualify sales opportunities. They only spend time with companies that are either in the market or that can articulate a pressing issue they’re looking to solve.

Effectively qualifying opportunity requires you to have your ACT together! ACT is an easy to remember acronym that will help you remember the 3 key steps in the qualification process:

Step 1.  Alignment. For the purpose of this discussion I will use the example of setting your first appointment. When asking for the appointment it’s common to hear, “Send me some information”. When hearing this request create alignment by agreeing. Respond with, “I would be happy to send you information.” This reduces any tension that might be present and establishes an element of alignment between you and your prospect.

Step 2.  Credibility. Now you are going to uncover if their request is genuine or if it’s an attempt to disconnect. Here’s your response, “I have several pieces of information I could send. To ensure I select one that’s relevant to you, can you please tell me a bit about what you would like to see?” Now listen intensely to their response. If they say, “Send me what you have” you are not dealing with a well qualified opportunity. If they respond legitimately to your request by telling you a bit about their situation then it makes good business sense to move forward.

Step 3.  Test. In the final step you are going to test the prospects intention by establishing next steps. Ask something such as, “Once you have the information in your hands, what are the next steps? And what is your time frame?” Their response will give you insight into their level of interest in taking your relationship to the next level.

We have a fixed amount of time! Qualify your prospects well and watch your sales increase while your sales cycle simultaneously decreases!