The importance of prequalification

[jrineakter]

Whenever we ask this question of sales professionals, we often hear an awkward silence in response. Sometimes that silence is because the person or team has a lot of “opportunities” in the pipeline that everyone knows are not only unqualified, but in fact very unlikely to close. And sometimes that silence is because the person we’re talking to works on a team where there is no accepted definition of the term “fully qualified.”

Pre-qualifying leads is absolutely critical to having a strong pipeline. That means making sure you have clear answers to all of the following questions before projecting revenue:

Pain: Is there a problem or pain that you and your organization can solve? How do you know?

Budget: Is there a budget to address this issue? Are resources other than money needed to address it, and if so, are they available?

Decision: What is the decision-making process that will determine whether the problem is solved? Who will be involved? How will we know?
If you don’t have the answers brazil telegram data to these questions, hit the brakes, get the information you need, and don’t project revenue from this opportunity. It’s not qualified.

This type of three-phase research is absolutely critical to having a strong pipeline because it allows you to focus your time, effort, and energy on motivated buyers. Motivated buyers move through the sales cycle faster . Those buyers are your priority.

The principles laid out here are actually pretty simple, though they may not be ones you’re used to thinking about. So remind yourself (and your team) of the principles regularly. Here they are again in absurdly simplified form:

Without knowing who makes the decision and how? There is no sale.
Put these three simple reminders in a place where everyone can see them, every day. Why? Because deskilling is just as important as qualifying. Because you and your team deserve to focus your valuable time, attention, and resources on the deals you’re going to win.