Qualifying The Art and Science of Selling
Qualifying The Art and Science of Selling
There are basic selling principles that can make the sales process effective and rewarding for both the buyer and seller. Successful sales people develop and learn these approaches until they become instinctual and second-nature. The sales process is divided into four areas:
Prospecting - Searching for potential customers.
Qualifying - Asking questions to determine interest and viability of a sale.
Presenting - Pitching services or products in a way that meets needs or adds value.
The Close - Write the order and conclude the sale.
Prospecting was discussed in a previous article (see "Prospecting: The Most Important Part of Selling"); now let's examine qualifying. The goal of qualifying is to determine why the prospect should buy. The most qualified person to answer this question is your prospect, but this is not easy. People are not likely to give away their hot buttons; you must qualify the sales potential of each contact. Here is how you do it.
Ask Probing Questions
Create a list of probing questions. They help determine the level of interest in your product or service. Ask prospects about their work and the potential benefits of your relationship with them. Diagnose basic needs and explore options to meet those needs. Check out the budget, scheduling and time issues. Probe the amount of urgency. Ask where they get their information. Ask who makes spending and budget decisions. Make sure you are talking to the right person; if not, find the true decision-maker. Probe and intuit values and loyalties. Inquire about the past, present and future of the prospect and his or her organization. Find out what the customer does and find a way to help him or her do it better.
Keep in mind, if a prospect answers no to any of your questions it could begin a downward spiral that may end the deal. Ask questions that get a "Yes" response. Stay in the question mode, even if a prospect attempts to get you talking. Do not waste valuable time on people who will not buy.
Find Ways to Add Value
People are interested in the value that you and your products or services can bring to their work and lives. They buy based on the benefits they receive from what you are selling. The buyer, not the seller, defines these benefits. Prospects will determine how well your products or services meet their personal needs, usually on an emotional level. It is very important to understand what you are really selling. You are selling how the customer feels after they buy the product or service.
Listen More Than You Talk
If you speak more than you listen, find a career other than sales. Qualifying should consist of 95% listening -- or more -- by the sales person. Control your emotions and focus on what the customer is saying. Keep them talking and listen behind the words. Empathetic listening is key. Take notes and repeat back what you think you heard. People love to talk about themselves and their company. They also love an attentive audience. This builds trust, a key to successful selling and rewarding relationships. In all parts of your life, let people talk about themselves and fight back the urge to jump in and talk about you. This will build strong relationships and lead to mutual benefit. This adds value!
The sales paradox is that you give of yourself in order to get back the sale. For example, give trust and receive trust in return. People will tell you how you can add value and close the sale if you listen more than you talk.
Get Inside the Prospect’s Head
Get into the mind and thoughts of your prospect and out of your own mind. Focus on the needs of the client and how to best add value. The goal is to be the person whom customers want to hear from and to help solve their problems. If you do not understand where the customer is coming from, then ask. Stay focused on what is going on in the mind of your prospect.
The prospect is thinking - - Are you dependable, reliable, honest, and competent? Can you be trusted? Do I like you or do you like me? Do you know my business? Do I need these products or services? Things are fine the way they are. I do not like change. What are the costs? How will this look to others?
Selling is both an art and science. It is creative and analytical. Develop the qualities of the scientist and the artist as you qualify your prospects. Probe and explore like a scientist and listen and create solutions like the artist. This will lead to successful relationships with prospects and customers -- relationships that result in sales
Qualifying The Art and Science of Selling - To learn more about this author, visit Thomas Young's Website.
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Selling may appear to be a simple process. However, it is actually very complex and extremely important. In fact, the sale of products and services is the driving factor in any economy.
There are basic selling principles that can make the sales process effective and rewarding for both the buyer and seller. Successful sales people develop and learn these approaches until they become instinctual and second-nature. The sales process is divided into four areas:
Prospecting - Searching for potential customers.
Qualifying - Asking questions to determine interest and viability of a sale.
Presenting - Pitching services or products in a way that meets needs or adds value.
The Close - Write the order and conclude the sale.
Prospecting was discussed in a previous article (see "Prospecting: The Most Important Part of Selling"); now let's examine qualifying. The goal of qualifying is to determine why the prospect should buy. The most qualified person to answer this question is your prospect, but this is not easy. People are not likely to give away their hot buttons; you must qualify the sales potential of each contact. Here is how you do it.
Ask Probing Questions
Create a list of probing questions. They help determine the level of interest in your product or service. Ask prospects about their work and the potential benefits of your relationship with them. Diagnose basic needs and explore options to meet those needs. Check out the budget, scheduling and time issues. Probe the amount of urgency. Ask where they get their information. Ask who makes spending and budget decisions. Make sure you are talking to the right person; if not, find the true decision-maker. Probe and intuit values and loyalties. Inquire about the past, present and future of the prospect and his or her organization. Find out what the customer does and find a way to help him or her do it better.
Keep in mind, if a prospect answers no to any of your questions it could begin a downward spiral that may end the deal. Ask questions that get a "Yes" response. Stay in the question mode, even if a prospect attempts to get you talking. Do not waste valuable time on people who will not buy.
Find Ways to Add Value
People are interested in the value that you and your products or services can bring to their work and lives. They buy based on the benefits they receive from what you are selling. The buyer, not the seller, defines these benefits. Prospects will determine how well your products or services meet their personal needs, usually on an emotional level. It is very important to understand what you are really selling. You are selling how the customer feels after they buy the product or service.
Listen More Than You Talk
If you speak more than you listen, find a career other than sales. Qualifying should consist of 95% listening -- or more -- by the sales person. Control your emotions and focus on what the customer is saying. Keep them talking and listen behind the words. Empathetic listening is key. Take notes and repeat back what you think you heard. People love to talk about themselves and their company. They also love an attentive audience. This builds trust, a key to successful selling and rewarding relationships. In all parts of your life, let people talk about themselves and fight back the urge to jump in and talk about you. This will build strong relationships and lead to mutual benefit. This adds value!
The sales paradox is that you give of yourself in order to get back the sale. For example, give trust and receive trust in return. People will tell you how you can add value and close the sale if you listen more than you talk.
Get Inside the Prospect’s Head
Get into the mind and thoughts of your prospect and out of your own mind. Focus on the needs of the client and how to best add value. The goal is to be the person whom customers want to hear from and to help solve their problems. If you do not understand where the customer is coming from, then ask. Stay focused on what is going on in the mind of your prospect.
The prospect is thinking - - Are you dependable, reliable, honest, and competent? Can you be trusted? Do I like you or do you like me? Do you know my business? Do I need these products or services? Things are fine the way they are. I do not like change. What are the costs? How will this look to others?
Selling is both an art and science. It is creative and analytical. Develop the qualities of the scientist and the artist as you qualify your prospects. Probe and explore like a scientist and listen and create solutions like the artist. This will lead to successful relationships with prospects and customers -- relationships that result in sales
Qualifying The Art and Science of Selling - To learn more about this author, visit Thomas Young's Website.
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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