One of the toughest things about selling is qualifying leads – they just aren’t all created equal. What makes some leads better than others? Hopefully, we can tell you in this article, and save you some time.

Power Line. Sometimes a person appears to be the perfect person to talk to! When you speak to them, they are receptive, and they want to take the time to learn more about your product. But when it comes time to pull the trigger, they just can’t do it. It’s not because they don’t want to. It’s because they are below the power line; they just can’t make the call to move forward. Bummer, huh? You’ve spent time before the call reviewing the company and thought you had the right person, and all because someone didn’t want to say no, you just blew an hour on a call. You could have been doing a million other things! (And so could they.) It is important to determine if your point of contact can actually make the call to move forward.

Access to Power. Even if someone does not have the authority to sign the deal, they may just be the right person for you. They may have access to power – they may be trusted to make decisions below a threshold of materiality, or they may simply be able to do your sales job for you. This can apply to a trusted personal assistant or secretary. The fact that this person is able to listen, receive information, and get the deal done is invaluable. The problem: they will have to be coached to actually make the deal and sell for you. This isn’t an easy thing, but it can be done. (Or they may be a gatekeeper who opens the door for you, but that can be another story.)

Qualification. Our Maverick PROSPECT RECON™ allows you to create criteria for prospects in the system. This means that you can select a set of criteria so that the leads Maverick feeds you are consistent with the demographics of your typical buyer. For most of us, that will go a long way in qualifying prospects. You will still have to do some work to qualify the prospect and ensure that their budget can support whatever it is you are selling. But if you know that your product is only affordable for certain-sized companies, or only attractive to companies in certain geographies, we will ensure that you aren’t wasting time on people who aren’t ever going to buy – no matter how great you are at your job.

Honesty. This is a strange one, right? If you have a good relationship with your prospect, they can be honest with you. It is incumbent upon you to ask the right questions of your point of contact to ensure that they are honest with you. Having been in a variety of sales roles over the years, and having barked up multiple wrong trees, I can tell you this: now on the other side of the table, I am far more likely to give an honest answer to a sales rep than to lead them on. Better to allow them to move on to a real prospect than a tire-kicker like me. But having been in this situation before, there are times I’ve told a salesperson no, and then called them back months down the road with a need for their product. A “no” now doesn’t have to be a “no” forever. (And this is where Maverick ENGAGE™ can help tap former prospects on the shoulder much later.)

There are many other ways to separate great leads from the ones that will never come to fruition. Maverick can help you prospect and then engage those prospects in a friendly, not-annoying way. For more, drop us a line; we’d love to hear from you!