Top Trainer Asks Salespeople: Are You Barking Up The Wrong Trees? |
Abe Lincoln said if he had five hours to fell a tree he'd invest four of them in sharpening his axe.
Had he been a salesperson, given those same five hours, he'd develop and refine his prospecting list for four hours and do one hour of contact work.
Qualifying our potential customers is one of the main activities in which sellers engage, and for good reason. If we invest time with the wrong prospects:
(1) That time is utterly wasted. It can't even be chalked up to "practice," because practicing before fools is, well, foolish.
(2) It degrades our attitudes. When I pitch the wrong people, and by that I mean people who cannot buy or that definitely do not want or need to buy, I kick myself, knowing that I've needlessly exerted myself. Moreover, I've prostrated myself before losers, and that doesn't feel good.
(3) Pitching the wrong people keeps us from finding and pitching the right ones.
Who then is a qualified buyer?
There are three vital characteristics, says Dr. Gary S. Goodman, top keynote speaker, seminar producer, best-selling author, and Fortune 1000 consultant.
|
