It is hard not to trust Dan Seidman when you learn his is the founder of SalesAutopsy.com. Selling Power has an article titled DQ and Move On which highlights some of Seidman’s approach.
I am not familiar with his work, but his advice is spot on. If I could have only one skill in a salesperson, it would be qualifying. It is the backbone of sales success. Every other stage hinges upon strong qualifying.
Seidman hits on an absolute truth (my emphasis):
When reps don’t qualify well, they spend too much time in front of prospects who aren’t ready or able to buy and that has a direct effect on the revenue they bring in. Your ability to disqualify first and fast will keep you in front of buyers who are ready, willing, and able to pay you for your products and services, Seidman points out in his book Sales Autopsy: 50 Postmortems Reveal What Killed the Sale (Kaplan, 2006).
Absolutely true. We see this problem constantly in sales. The problem becomes magnified when you have a extroverted, schmoozing salesperson. Many corporate dollars have been spent on fine wine, fancy meals and rounds of golf for prospects who will never close. It is far easier for the salesperson to spend time (and expense money) on a tease of a prospect as opposed to spending their time prospecting for a new opportunity somewhere else.