Before we move on to the sixth step in the professional selling process, it is good to pause here and review what has been discussed with the prospect thus far.  Here is what we have accomplished:

Step 1: Get Up Off Your Knees – This is about mindset before going in to the sales call.  The professional salesperson must behave like they don’t need the business.  Know your rights and rules of engagement before you meet the prospect.  If the prospect violates your rules, you get up and walk.  It is acceptable and professional to fire prospects.

Step 2: No More Maybes – If you are tired of getting stalls from prospects then don’t give them the option.  Set an Up-Front-Contract at the beginning of the call.  Tell the prospect what you plan to do, get their buy-in, and then follow through.  Tell them “No” is okay and that it won’t hurt your feelings, but a “Maybe” is unacceptable.  Ask for clarity on the outcome of the sales call so that you avoid having to follow-up or chase when the call is done.

Step 3: It Has Got to Hurt – Buying decisions are emotional and the strongest emotion that motivates decisions is pain.  Be prepared to ask the questions that will uncover real pain that you can fix.  Keep your mouth shut during this phase.  While it may be tempting to dump your features and benefits right here, you must instead allow the prospect to completely verbalize their pain and get emotional about it.

Step 4: Show Me the Money – It is not advisable to present solutions to prospects who are broke.  I know your mother taught you that it is rude to talk about money, but that parental instruction that continues to spin in your head becomes a detriment in the sales call.  You must ask the prospect for their budget and if they don’t have it or don’t tell you what it is, it is highly unlikely there is a sale at the end of the call.

Step 5: Who Signs the Check – It is not advisable to present solutions to prospects who can’t make the decision to buy it.  You as the sales professional must understand the decision process of the prospect before you start sending out proposals.  Who make the decisions?  How does the prospect decide?  When will a decision be made?  Why would the prospect buy from you?  What has to happen before you get a purchase order?

Did you get through all of the steps above with the prospect during the sales call?  Did you set a contract for the meeting that the prospect agreed to?  Did you find real pain in the prospect that your product and/or solution can address?  Does the prospect have enough money to pay for your solution?  Can the prospect make the decision to buy your solution?  If the answer is “No” to any of these questions, what you have is an unqualified prospect.  My suggestion here is that you tell the prospect that your solution is not a fit and end the sales call.  What’s funny is that sometimes, right here, the prospects will qualify themselves because they want what you have and they don’t want you to leave.

What if the answers to the above questions are all “Yes”?  Now what you have is a qualified prospect and the time you invest going forward with the prospect is more likely to produce income.  Review everything you talked about in the sales call with the prospect:  pain, money, and decision.  Get validation that what you understand as the key qualifying elements are correct and there are no misunderstandings.  Then set up another contract with the prospect about what happens next.  What happens next is Step 6 which we will discuss next month.  Keep in mind that this system works whether you are in a one call close business or a multiple call close business.

If the prospect fails to qualify through Steps 1-5 you are done.  Save your time and move on to another prospect.  If they do qualify, tune in next month to find out what to do next.

Sandler Training is a global training organization with over three decades of experience and proven results. Sandler provides sales and management training and consulting services for small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) as well as corporate training for Fortune 1000 companies. For more information, please contact Karl Schaphorst at (402) 403-4334 or by email at kschaphorst@sandler.com. You can also follow his blog at karlschaphorst.sandler.com