How to qualify sales opportunities. Sales qualification articles presenting best practices.
This page presents sales qualification articles, reports, and papers that address the challenges of only selling to those who will buy what you are offering.
Many of our sales skills, sales process, and sales management articles include best practices and recommendations for more rigour in sales qualification because it increases a salesperson's control of business flow and leads to more accurate sales forecasts. Yet there is more to be said, particularly if the aim is to reduce the cost of selling, improve business predictability, and increase sales competence. This collection of sales qualification articles serves these three purposes.
Browse the titles listed here or use the search box at the top of the right-hand column to find what you are looking for.
- Sales Win Predictor
- Why is accurate sales forecasting such a challenge? Part 1
- Why is accurate sales forecasting such a challenge? Part 2
- Why is accurate sales forecasting such a challenge? Part 3
More on B2B Sales Qualification
Budget: Ask about the prospect's budget to ensure that it aligns with the pricing of your product or service. Questions could include:
"What budget range have you allocated for this solution?"
"How do you typically budget for similar purchases?"
Needs and challenges: Gain a deep understanding of the prospect's needs, pain points, and challenges to determine if your offering can address them effectively. Questions could include:
"What specific challenges or goals are you looking to address with our solution?"
"What pain points are you currently experiencing in your business that we can help alleviate?"
Decision-making process: Understand the decision-making process within the prospect's organization to identify key stakeholders and decision influencers. Questions could include:
"Who is most impacted by the issue that this initiative is intended to address?"
"What is the typical decision-making process for investments like this?"
Timeline: Determine the prospect's timeline for implementing a solution or making a purchase decision. Questions could include:
"When are you looking to have a solution in place?"
"What are the likely consequences of delays for this project?"
Existing solutions or alternatives: Discover if the prospect is currently using a competitor's product or has alternative solutions in place. Questions could include:
"Are you currently using any other solutions or providers to address these issues?"
"What has led to you considering alternative solutions now?"
Implementation and support requirements: Assess the prospect's expectations and requirements for implementation, onboarding, and ongoing support. Questions could include:
"What kind of support or resources do you expect during the implementation phase?"
"What level of ongoing support or maintenance do you anticipate needing?"
Previous experiences: Understand the prospect's previous experiences with similar solutions or providers. Questions could include:
"Have you worked with any other providers in the past to address this need?"
"What has been your experience with previous solutions or providers in this space?"
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We sometimes publish sales qualification articles by other experts. To suggest articles for inclusion, We will be pleased to review any articles put forward. Alternatively, email custserv@salessense.co.uk, use the contact form here, or call +44 (0)1392 851500.
