Of Cold, Coffee and Closing

This is not the way to start your day – it is -20 degrees here this morning in New Prague, MN. That’s pretty cold even by our standards.

Next I read that there is going to be a coffee bean shortage next season which certainly means that prices will be increasing. Not what you want to read on a -20 morning.

However, I was thinking about the importance of qualifying in successful selling based on this post from yesterday. A key point to understand is that qualified deals close themselves. If a salesperson can successfully qualify the prospect, they do not need to use slick closing techniques.

The obvious question then becomes, “What defines a qualified deal?” The parameters for a qualified deal depends upon specifics involving the company’s value proposition, market, pricing, etc. But here are 6 points that are required for any sale:

1. Need – sometimes described as pain. The prospect must have a compelling need or pain driving them to change their current situation. All successful selling starts here. No need, no prospect. A “prospect” without a pressing need is a tirekicker and better referred to as a suspect.
2. Budget – many salespeople struggle with this topic. There are 2 aspects to it – what the salesperson’s solution the need costs and what the prospect is willing to pay. Many times salespeople will avoid this topic until springing the proposal onto the prospect. Never let salespeople qualify budget with a proposal. This topic must be discussed in the early stages and, at a minimum, framed into a general range.
3. Decision Process – this topic must be handled adroitly by the salesperson since most prospects overstate their decision-making power. It is wise to acknowledge their importance in the decision but it is mission-critical to sort out all the other players. A good approach is to ask how they have made decisions like this one in the past.
4. Timing – prospects that are not qualified for the timing of their decision often end up welded to the forecast at “90 days out.” Timing must be qualified and requalified during a sales cycle. Any number of unexpected occurrences could derail the close. If the need (from the first step) is compelling and defined, fewer occurrences will be able to delay the deal.
5. Competition – only a foolish salesperson believes they have no competition. There is always competition and it may not come from an expected area. It could be an internal solution (different method, reassigned personnel, termination of the need, etc.). It could be the company your salesperson typically encounters. All strong salespeople know who or what they are up against and adjust appropriately.
6. Dealbreakers – remember Murphy’s Law at this stage. There are always potential roadblocks in any deal no matter how small. A good question here is to ask what could happen to make this deal go away. It is a fair question and one that always elicits an answer from the prospect.

A qualified deal in any sales situation will be defined by those parameters. If a salesperson is unable to clearly explain those 6 topics (no fuzzy phrases), they do not yet have a qualified deal. Send them back to clean up the missing information before allowing the deal to land on the forecast.