September 15, 2016 | By RGR Marketing Blog

Top Salespeople Know That Lead Disqualification Is Key to Success

If you’re new to the sales world, then you might be extremely reluctant to disqualify your sales leads, especially if you’ve purchased them some time in the recent past.

After all, it’s your job to close leads, not to get rid of the ones that may be sitting on the bottom of the pile. But the reality is that some leads just aren’t worth your valuable time. Here are 14 ways that you can sort the actual gold from the fool’s gold when it comes to the sales leads that may be sitting on your desk right now.

Make Sure The Lead Prospect Has the Budget

First things first: to be a viable sales prospect, your potential client must have the budget to afford whatever it is that you’re offering, whether it’s solar power or mortgage refinancing. Make sure they have the means to take you up on your offer, or you’ll end up haggling with an unprofitable lead.

Speak to the Decision Maker Before Disqualifying Leads

As a salesperson, you’ll encounter plenty of gatekeepers when you’re trying to close a deal. By all means, persuade them of the value of your offering, but don’t spend too much time trying to sell them. Convincing them won’t help if the real decision maker isn’t on board.

When It Comes to Disqualifying Leads, Make Sure You Verify the Need

Your leads won’t close unless they have a real need for what you’re offering. They may have known about this need before they heard from you, or you may have to convince them that your solution solves a problem they didn’t realize could be fixed. Either way, be sure the need is there, or you’ll be wasting your breath.

Establish a Timeline for Your Leads

When there’s a genuine problem, most clients would prefer to solve it as quickly as possible. Try to get your prospect to commit to a definite timeline for getting the ball rolling. If they’re too wishy-washy about when they’ll be ready to commit, then you may be better off spending your time working leads that have a more acute sense of urgency.

Find Out What’s at Stake With Your Prospects

It can be really useful to find out what will happen if your prospective client can’t solve their problem. Will their business lose profits? Will they be priced out of the housing market in their city? Clearly, the particulars will vary, depending on what you’re selling. Find out what’s at stake, and use that information to spur action.

Define Your Client’s Goals

Whether you’re selling to a business or to an individual consumer, your client has goals, and you may be able to help them reach those goals. Of course, you have to find out what those goals are, first. If a prospect doesn’t have clearly defined goals that you can help them meet, it may be time to disqualify.

Know Your Client’s Pain Points

You’re not just a salesperson; you’re a problem-solver. Do your best to understand the pain points spurring your prospect to take action. Knowing them will make it much easier to effectively communicate the value of your offering.

Why Now? Why Not Even Sooner!

If your prospect has been tolerating the same issue for months or even years, it’s a good idea to learn why they’ve decided to take action now. Was there an event that brought their need for your solution into stark relief?

What’s Really in the Way?

If this is the first time your sales lead has decided to pursue a solution for their problem, find out what stood in their way before, and make sure those previous obstacles can be overcome. If not, move to disqualify the lead.

When It Comes to Leads, Always Go for Commitment

You don’t have to go for the big commitment right away, but you should always try to get smaller commitments along the way. For example, you might ask the client if they agree that your offering seems like it would solve the problem they’re facing.

Get as many small “yesses” as you can before going for the big one. If you can’t get commitment on any level, then you might be wasting your time and it could be the right point to disqualify the lead.

Too Much Competition

Are you the only provider your prospect is considering? Probably not! Competition is part of the sales game. But if your potential client is already courting plenty of would-be suitors, you’ll have a difficult time being heard over all the noise.

Establish Your Value

People only purchase things that have value to them, and value is in the eye of the beholder. Before you expend too much energy trying to woo a client, make sure they appreciate the value you bring to the table. If they don’t see it, then you’re looking at a tough sell.

What’s in it for You?

You’ll encounter sales prospects who want you to “give away the store” just to make a deal. There’s no point in trying to hammer out a deal with a client who will end up costing your business money. Move on.

Be Straightforward With Your Prospects

This is a bold stance to take, but it can be very effective. If you don’t feel like your solution is a good fit for your prospective client, then say so. If they agree, you’ll have saved yourself a ton of time. If they start trying to persuade you that they are a good fit, then you may have a legitimate lead on your hands, after all.

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