Skill: Qualifying

OBJECTIVE: The Prospect feels understood!

The skill of qualifying is measured by your ability to ask questions that:

• allow the other party to feel understood …
• while establishing whether a viable sales opportunity exists.

To be proficient at this skill, you develop your ability to ask excellent:

• Open-ended questions.
• Closed ended questions.
• Questions that confirm understanding.

You know you are proficient if as a result of your line of questioning:

• Your prospect or client increasingly trusts you (feels more at ease with you and opens up).
• They feel that your questions are helping them clarify a problem.
• Your line of questioning helps them identify the real problem they face.

A framework of questioning covers the following bases

• Need
  • Do they need what you have to offer in the first place
• Want
  • If they need what you have to offer, what are their wants in relation to a potential solution
• Roles
  • Who are the role players involved in making a decision on the solution that is to be selected
  • What are their respective roles in the decision making process. These roles can be categorized into
    • Decision Maker (Has the final say in the solution selected)
    • Influencer (Influences the decision maker)
    • Administrative (Facilitates the actual purchasing process)
• Affordability
  • All factors that affect the ability to afford a solution including
    • Cost of the problem
    • Budget to solve the problem
    • Credit worthiness
    • Access to other sources of capital to solve the problem
• Timing
  • How soon are they willing to invest in solving the problem
  • When will a decision be made regarding selection of a solution