I was reminded the other day just how important strong qualification is in the sales process.

A bumped into a contact that I had met some 9 months previously. When we last met they were launching their business and were considering our services. At the time, they had already engaged a "lead generation" company to help find opportunities for them and wondered how we could help. In the end, because the other company was delivering a steady stream of "leads", they decided to run with them. I wished them good luck.

However, this time around it was a different story. Sure, they got lots of leads which, of course, meant lots of meetings, and then more meetings, and then more meetings...

9 months later they hadn't landed a single deal and had basically run out of cash. Part of their problem was the ongoing (and escalating) cost of sale.

In my book, when it comes to building a strong sales pipeline that will deliver results, the key is in qualification. Understanding which deals to pursue, and which ones to keep on the back-burner (or drop) is essential.

As my old Sales Manager told me many years ago when he handed me a wad of leads from a trade-show "your job is to make these go away".

As if to underline this point, on The Apprentice last night, the teams were set a task to sell second-hand cars. When their Sales Manager gave them the some training what did they emphasize again, and again? "Qualification". Once the selling day started it became obvious why.

Poor qualification = time wasted with the wrong punters = lost selling opportunities.

Set a strong qualification criteria and only pursue those where you have a high probability of success. And the scary thing is, when you do this you'll find the ones that would have wasted your time, will start to get much more serious.

Labels: sales, small businesses