STOP FOR RED FLAGS! THE THREE CRITICAL AREAS YOU MUST EXPLORE TO QUALIFY LEADS R & R – REWARD & RECOGNITION OR RANDOM & RECKLESS? NZ’s e-mag for sales leaders NZ SALES SEPTEMBER 16 TH 2009 / ISSUE 29 THE ANT PHILOSOPHY LIFE’S LESSONS FROM A LITTLE CRITTER
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Stop For red FlagS!the three critical areaS you muSt explore to qualiFy leadS
r & r – reward & recognition or random & reckleSS?
nZ’s e-mag for sales leaders
NZSALESSEPTEMBER 16Th 2009 / ISSuE 29
the ant philoSophyliFe’S leSSonS From a little critter
Tony hillyard specialises in giving sales teams around the world smart solutions to help them win more business in
difficult or very competitive markets. Visit Tony’s website at www.TheSalesAcademy.co.nz for more information..
STOP FOR RED FLAGS!
the three critical areas you must explore to qualify leads By Tony hillyard
In this turbulent, recessionary climate it is very tempting
to chase down every deal on the prospect list, even the
ones that you know in your heart you have very little
chance of winning. This can actually make matters worse by
diverting sales effort away from the better deals and reduce
your chances of winning both the marginal possibilities and
the more likely leads. With this in mind, sales opportunity
qualification becomes one of the most valuable skills for a
professional salesperson to develop.
Too many salespeople chase large, time consuming deals
that they have very little chance of winning. We do this
because in a tough sales environment it naturally makes
us feel better to go after every deal we come across - even
when we know we shouldn’t. This just ends up eating into
productive selling time.
Salespeople can also often lose deals without knowing why.
In many cases it could be that they simply failed to ask one
straightforward question that would have flushed out an objection
or a problem that could have been handled quite easily.
Using a sales opportunity qualification process will enable
you to get a good perspective on where you stand with any
sales opportunity, but it is particularly important for your
larger deals. You must address and resolve these three most
important issues before committing a lot of resource to a
sales campaign:
NZSM / SEPT 16Th 2009 / 5
1. Is it real for us?
Although there might be a genuine sales opportunity •
available - it might not be available to you or your
company for a variety of reasons.
2. Do we want to win it?What is the risk involved? •
Will it take more work and effort than it’s worth? •
Can we adequately resource the sale?•
3. Can we win it?Do we have the right solution? •
Do we have a good relationship with the customer? •
how strong is the competition?•
This qualification process will help you answer these
questions and tell you when you have what I call ‘Red Flag’
issues to resolve.
Sales opportunity qualification is a critical and unequivocal
Here are the 27 critical qualification questions you must
answer:
1. IS IT REAL FOR uS?
The Decision to ChangeDo they have a compelling reason to change?•
Is there Senior Executive support for the need to change?•
have they discounted a ‘do nothing’ option?•
The MoneyHave they explained the cost justification for this •
project?
Do they have an approved budget for this project?•
Are our costs within their budget?•
The Timeframehave we agreed a decision process timeline with them?•
Does the decision process timeline suit us?•
have they allocated enough time to evaluate our •
proposal in detail?
Can we meet their delivery and implementation •
timescales?
The Commercial Realityhave they accepted our commercial terms and •
conditions?
Are we compliant with all of their mandatory •
requirements?
Do we have our company's approval to submit a •
proposal or a quotation?
2. DO WE WANT TO WIN IT?
The Risk versus the GainIs the value of the sale enough for the effort involved?•
Will implementation be straightforward?•
Can we adequately resource the sales campaign?•
3. CAN WE WIN IT?
The SolutionAre any of our unique features and benefits in their •
decision criteria?
Do the Key Influencers favour our solution?•
have we aligned our solution to their Key Business •
Drivers and Critical Success Factors?
Are we proposing a low or reasonable risk solution?•
process. You must answer: 'Yes', 'Don't Know’ or 'No' with
complete honesty for all the questions in each section.
If you have Red Flag issues then sales activity is required.
Wherever you have answered 'No' or 'Don't Know' to a
question, you have uncovered a Red Flag issue that could
potentially stop you from winning the sale. You need to stop
and think about what sales activities and sales calls you must
undertake to get a 'Yes' response to those questions and get
yourself into a winning position.
If there are too many Red Flag issues, you may decide that
you just won’t have enough time to resolve all of them before
the sale is due to close. In those circumstances you might
need to consider negotiating for more time. Or you may feel
that it is just not worth chasing because it will involve more
effort than the sale is worth to you. If so, you will have saved
yourself a lot of wasted time that you can invest in finding a
better sales opportunity.
If there are too many Red Flag issues...you may feel that it is just not worth chasing because it will involve more effort than the sale is worth to you. If so, you will have saved yourself a lot of wasted time that you can invest in finding a better sales opportunity.
NZSM / SEPT 16Th 2009 / 6
The RelationshipDo we have a good relationship track record with •
them?
Do we have good access to the decision-makers?•
Do we have a well-placed Coach?•
Are we allowed to 'sell' to all the Key Influencers on this •
project?
The CompetitionDo we know which of the competitors are favoured by •
the customer?
Do we know the strengths and weaknesses of the main •
competitors?
Do we know the sales strategies of the main •
competitors?
There are Three Parts to the Sales Opportunity Qualification Process: 1. Gaining an accurate perspective on a sales opportunity by answering all of the qualification questions with complete
honesty.
2. Developing all of the sales activities and sales calls that are still necessary to get you into a winning position for the
opportunity.
3. Early identification and elimination of the deals you can’t win and the ones you don’t want to win!
Use this qualifying large sales opportunities process to dramatically improve your chances of winning the significant sales
opportunities on your prospect list that you choose to go after – and stop chasing the ones you are unlikely to win or don’t