Here are four categories of sales questions you can ask to help you with figuring out how to qualify a prospect.

 

TLDR

  • The key for how to qualify a sales prospect is asking good questions.
  • We provide four categories of questions to help with this.
  • Need to purchase questions: determine if the prospect needs the product.
  • Ability to purchase questions: determine whether the prospect has the funds to purchase.
  • Authority to purchase questions: determine if the prospect has decision-making authority.
  • Intent to purchase: determine if the prospect intends to purchase from you.

 

What’s Qualifying?

Qualifying is the process of determining whether a prospect is a good fit for what you offer and the likelihood they will move forward with a purchase. When a prospect has a real need in the area where your products and services can help, as well as if they have the authority to make the decision and have the budget to purchase, they’re qualified.

 

Ask Pre-Qualifying Questions In Your Phone Sales Script

Use probing questions to determine the need, authority, and available budget to thoroughly qualify a prospect. We may have only a few minutes with the prospect during our first conversation. It is helpful to conduct preliminary qualifying on the first call to ensure there’s sufficient fit to continue the discussion, with the option to meet another day. To figure out the amount of qualifying to do in your sales script, focus your questions around the prospect’s possible needs in your area. When they have no needs, it doesn’t make sense to keep speaking with them. You can confirm the authority and budget details during your first real meeting.

 

Four Categories of Qualifying Questions

Once you get beyond the cold call and progress to a sales appointment or meeting, you can then progress to asking qualifying questions. We break qualifying questions down into four categories:

  1. Need to purchase
  2. Ability to purchase
  3. Authority to purchase
  4. Intent to purchase

Using these four categories will not only make it easier for you to organize how you remember and ask questions, but it will also help you to understand what the answers you get from the prospect mean in terms of their level of qualification.

1. Need to Purchase

First, determine whether the prospect has a genuine need for the products and services you’re selling.  Is it more of a “want” than a true “need” that the prospect has?

By doing so, you could have active discussions with a prospect and secure meetings to demonstrate your products.  Keep in mind that this does not necessarily mean that the prospect is qualified because it could be a scenario where they really like what you have to offer, but do not truly have a need for it.

We could find ourselves in situations where our deals hit a dead end near the close of the sales cycle, when it is time for the prospect to pull the trigger on the purchase, even though there is no need to buy.  To avoid this and qualify a prospect, look for pain points and challenges in the areas where our products and services have an impact.

Here are some need to purchase questions:

  • What motivated you to look at us (brought you to us)?
  • Do you mind if I ask why you took time out of your schedule to meet with us?
  • What improvements could you see if you make this purchase?
  • What will happen if you do not purchase something?
  • Is there a date when this purchase needs to be made?
  • What happens if the purchase is not made by that date?
  • What is the time frame that the project needs to work along?

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2. Ability to Purchase

Next, when qualifying a prospect, does the prospect have the ability to purchase from us in terms of funding and budget?  Your prospect is not qualified if they have an enormous need for what you’re selling but cannot afford it.

It can feel like a sensitive subject to discuss when determining whether the prospect has the budget to spend.  There are some very direct sales questions that can be asked to determine whether the prospect can purchase.

Here are some ability to purchase questions:

  • What is the range that you need your budget to stay within?
  • Is there a budget approved for this project?
  • Have the funds been allocated to this purchase?
  • What budget (department) will this purchase be made under?
  • Are there other purchases that this funding may end up being used for?
  • How does the project fit with other initiatives from a priority standpoint?

 

3. Authority to Purchase

Next, determine whether the sales prospect has the authority to purchase in terms of decision-making power. Does the prospect have the authority to say “yes” and sign the paperwork?

For example, if you’re an auto salesperson who has been talking to a prospect for two hours and has checked all the boxes in terms of building interest and finding needs, but the ultimate decision maker is the spouse who isn’t there, the prospect isn’t qualified.

By simply asking the prospect what their decision-making process is, you can easily determine whether they have the authority to purchase and how to qualify them by having them explain it to you step-by-step; the explanation typically uncovers the ultimate decision-maker and whether the prospect is that person.

Here are some authority to purchase questions:

  • What is the decision-making process?
  • What parties will be involved in making the decision?
  • What are the key factors that a decision will be based on?
  • What functional areas (departments) will be impacted by the purchase?
  • Is there a committee that this type of purchase has to go through?
  • Who is the ultimate decision maker?
  • Who is the person that will need to sign the agreement/contract?

 

4. Intent to Purchase

The prospect might need the product, have the money, and plan to buy. But do they plan to buy from you? We need to answer that also when working on how to qualify a prospect. Here are some questions to help with this:

  • What other options are you considering?
  • How far along are you in discussions with them?
  • How do you feel about your other options?
  • What do you like about them?
  • What do you not like about them?
  • How do they compare with what we have to offer?
  • Is there a reason why you would choose us over them?
  • If you had to make a decision today, which way would you lean?

 

We hope these cold call questions help you with how to qualify a prospect.