A salesperson must determine the ability of the customer to make the decision to buy. This is called “qualifying the buyer.” We must be confident that the person or persons that you are talking to has the ability to make the buying decision.
Who makes the buying decision? Will this prospect turn into a customer? Can this person be your buyer? Does this prospect have the capacity to become the right kind of customer you are looking for? Are you even talking to the right person? Can they even buy anything?
It’s not necessarily the title that you are after, but the ability and power to make the decision to buy. Your intent during the qualifying stage is to identify the person, or persons, that have influence over the discretionary use of funds. You want to know who will do the purchasing, and in what manner. Who will need to sign-off on the investment?
Knowing the qualified buyer early in the sales process is crucial in order to establish the decision process, as well as finding out what is important to buyer. You will want to know what the decision maker needs “to see” in order to make a purchase. Why is this important? As a sales person, you need to know what is on the prospect’s “shopping list,” and what they expect in a vendor.
Written by : Chip
Exploring the known and the unknown with a beat writer’s eye for truth