We’ve already talked about how the more time you spend doing a thorough qualification means you’re going to win more business. You now know what the most often missed question in the qualification phase is: the decision-making criteria, specifically the priority of that criteria.
Sellers will often ask how the decision is going to be made and who is going to be making the decision, but they don’t ask what is the priority of that decision-making criteria.
[bctt tweet=”Often, #sellers are unclear on these factors when it comes to decision-making criteria.” username=”EngageColleen”]
For example, if the customer says, “well, it has to be a product that gives me a return on investment. It has to meet my technical specifications. It has to be delivered within 30 days and I need proof that it works in the marketplace.” The seller’s next question should be which of those is the most important to the customer?
Does it have to be the best return on investment if I can overload you with proof? If it doesn’t meet all of your technical specifications but it gives you a great return on investment and I can prove that, well, which of those is most important? That is the key question because that most important piece is the compelling reason why a customer will buy.
So make sure you don’t miss that question during your sales qualification.
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This is a great tip and one that I have often missed until much further down in the process. I would love to hear more about qualifying questions in future posts.
I would love to have a list of examples of qualifying questions & when to ask them. I often find that buyers of my service expertise do not want me to question them at all! They just want anonymity until they are ready to come to me. For example, i send out a newsletter with a tag line that says “if you want to know more about this service I do, then please send me an email with this in the subject line “WP PIA 2017” and whoever sends me an email does just that – how can i bring them closer to the sale? what further Q’s should i be asking in the email? Thanks!