In yesterday's eZine I said that marketing problem number three is when "your prospect knows more about your business, but is not yet sure your service is the appropriate one for them." This is when you need to provide information to qualify that prospect. But just as important is to disqualify that prospect.
I found a great article by Tom Varjan that talks about the importance of disqualifying prospects. You can find the complete article at this link. He're the opening of the article:
While in traditional sales we talk about qualifying prospects, I think it's even better to start disqualifying prospects.
I can't remember the exact words of Gill Wagner, author of Honest Selling, but the essence of his article was this: "Throughout our interactions with buyers, we're looking for a reason why we can't do business together. The sooner we find the reason, the sooner we can go home." He even used this phrase with prospects: "I guess we've just found a reason not to do business together. Would you agree?"
I loved his approach and being true to his company's (and book's) name, Gill's approach sounded honest to me.
Disqualification is a great way of finding committed buyers, but only if we can detach ourselves from the outcome. Of course this is easy for independent consultants, but an uphill struggle for consultants who work for a firm that pressures them to turn every piece of warm meat into paying clients.
Check out Tom Varjan's Blog with a collection of thought-provoking articles at this link.
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