TSE 1260: How To Qualify Your Prospects In Under 10 Minutes
The Sales Evangelist - A podcast by Donald C. Kelly

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How To Qualify Your Prospects In Under 10 Minutes How can a salesperson qualify a lead in under 10 minutes? Jason Swenk can help. He is a self-proclaimed professional Uber driver for his children, who are 13 and 9 years old, but his main job is to work with agency owners grow and create freedom in their company. The downstream sales process The downstream sales process doesn’t start the conversation by immediately selling to a potential client. Launching a meeting by talking about a product is a tactic many sales reps use but it doesn’t often lead to closing. The downstream sales process is more about taking away the risks and making sure that the transaction works for both parties and ensures both parties have good experiences. Mistakes that people often do Oftentimes, people sell their core services right off the bat, and immediately go to the high ticket item regardless if it meets the client’s need. In this scenario a high commission is the goal by trying to capture a major commitment from a client who doesn’t yet see the value in what you’re offering. You’re trying to sell long term or short-term contracts to people who don’t fit the criteria of your ideal client. For long-term gains, you have to know and find your ideal customer. Knowing the profile of your ideal customers takes a while especially if you are just starting out. You need time to figure out who the ideal client is so you don’t waste time or resources. Conversing with clients who aren’t actually your ideal customers is akin to flirting with someone who you were never meant to have a relationship with. This is caused by both desperation and misplaced optimism, which can be common in sales. Another mistake that salespeople can make is the failure to ask questions. Salespeople tend to keep talking with statements and forget that the most valuable aspects of the conversation will come from the client answering their questions. Asking a prospect questions will reveal their pain points, the impact of the problems on their business, and how these problems make them feel. Identifying the right people It is important to identify what kind of client you want to work with and getting to know what their biggest challenges are. For example, say you’re an agency that wants to work with lawyers. Which lawyers are you really going after? Go for a specific type of lawyer. For example, personal injury attorneys. After that, take it a step further, and decide to work with personal injury lawyers who are doing pay-per-click paid advertising After you have the most specific profile you can get, it’s time to make a call. When you do, don’t offer everything, just offer a sneak peek. Sell it as a foot-in-the-door service. This strategy takes the pressure off of the new sales guy and the prospects as well. This benefits both parties because you’re not asking for more than just a small, simple commitment. You’re giving them a slice of the pie instead of giving them the whole pie without even knowing if they like it or not. To join you, you’re client gets three options: Identify everything you’re doing and lay-out a plan you can execute Lay out a plan, love it, and we will help you out. Hate the plan and we give you your money back so that you have nothing to lose. Fixing the problem A great salesperson thinks two steps ahead. This means that as you are in a meeting, you are already setting up the next one. As you’re walking your potential clients through the front door, help them feel they are already partners in building...