If you’ve been alive during the last 10 years then the chances are that you’ve been ‘pitched’ by a salesperson numerous times. You probably knew what was going on and that you were being ‘sold’ to. Some were probably better than others but I’m betting that most were a ‘canned sales pitch’ that did little to qualify you for the product or service being offered. It still amazes me, in the sales enlightened world we live in, to be on the receiving end of such a pitch. Are you guilty of force-feeding your pitch to those unlucky enough to cross your path or have you realized there is a qualification process to be followed?
No matter the method by which you come across a potential sales lead you must qualify all the way to the close. This will ensure sanity for both you and your prospect as well as improving your sales ratios and ultimately your sales commissions.
Here are the 2 basic questions you should ask yourself to generate the qualification questions you ask your prospect.
#1 – Will My Product or Service Solve A Problem Or Enhance The Quality Of Life Of My Prospect?- In Their Eyes!
This applies to all sales environments/types of sales. A new sports car may be just what the doctor ordered for some prospects to improve their social standing. The one important factor for this question is the words ‘as they view it.’ So would a new sports car to improve the prospect’s social standing in their eyes? Who knows – the only way you can find out is to design a question to ask them.
#2 – Can They Afford It? And Willing To Spend!
Whether I can afford something or not doesn’t mean I am willing to spend any amount of money on a product or service. If I have weeds on my path I’d probably be willing to spend some dollars on getting rid of them. Maybe even a hundred dollars on an amazing solution that meant I never had to weed my path again. But most people probably wouldn’t be willing to spend $5000, even if they could afford it, on the ultimate solution. But some people would! Design your questions properly and don’t be afraid to ask about money, budgets, or spend.
A good way is to bracket their expectations – for example; most people looking at this type of insurance have a monthly investment in mind, some $50 a month, some $100 a month, and a fortunate few $200 a month. Which category would you fall into? Most will answer the middle answer because that’s what we’re trained to do. You should be the lower answer – that way you can always get the sale right?
There are obviously tons of different variations on these 2 questions and depending on the nature of your product or service the exact variations that you use will differ. The 2 elements above stand true for any industry and any product. The main focus should be on continually using questions to lead your prospect to the sale through qualification rather than pushing a canned pitch.
Are you interested in selling Verizon Wireless services? Call us at (855) SELL-VZW or fill out the form below. We look forward to talking to you soon!
