Questions Qualify

Let’s take a slightly different look at the qualifying portion of the sales call. If you fail to qualify well, you dramatically reduce your ability to close. In qualifying, you begin the process of guiding the customer to making his or her own buying decision. That’s right. Today’s customers don’t want to be told what to buy. This process involves you leading the customer to make that decision through strategic qualifying questions. Even though you haven’t conducted a detailed benefits presentation at this point, your goal is to gain the customer’s attention by asking the right high-value questions.

In the strategic qualifying method you do the following:

• Establish credibility as an expert in the customer’s situation

• Uncover your customer’s real needs

• Deepen your customer relationships

• Lay out a foundation of how you are going to present your sales solutions

If you don’t qualify well, you won’t get the customer’s attention. Remember, customers are busy and are not really thinking about buying your product when the phone rings. The way you ask the customers questions tells them if you are interested in their business and if you are listening—really listening.