"Qualify in or out"

A phrase often bandied about - but how many salespeople actually do it?

It's a discipline everyone working in sales needs to learn...

requiring brutal honesty & realism.

Yet sales is filled with optimists...who can quite easily veer off into the realm of fantasy land if left to their own devices.

Any glimmer of hope and most salespeople will hang on by the skin of their teeth.

This is exactly what I used to do - and it ain't pretty.

Just listen to the enthusiastic feedback of a salesperson who actually managed to speak to a 'decision-maker', fuelled purely by emotion...

"They're keen!"

"They really liked it!"

"They seemed to really like us!"

Which in turn drives the wrong kind of behaviour.

The dreaded 'just checking in' / 'touching base' emails.

The relentless chasing of prospects, where a little piece of the salesperson dies at every attempt to 'pin them down.'

They have ZERO control.

The time wasted in pursuing a pipeline full of hopes & prayers should NEVER be underestimated.

The best way to qualify in / out?

If you can honestly say 'Yes' to the following questions:

- do they have a problem you can solve?

- do they recognise it?

- do they actually want to invest the time, money & resources in fixing it?

- are they emotionally invested?

- do they think you can help?

That's it.

Be ruthless in protecting your time.

It's your most valuable resource.