Balanced Qualifying

Interested
But not interrogating
Patient
Yet not wasting their time
Focused
Yet listening to what’s not being said
Optimizing
To discover a match
Respectful
Cutting to the quick.

As conceptual selling becomes more accepted, when cold calling, sales professionals commonly start by saying: “I’d like to learn a little bit about you and your business”.  Although this is a step in the right direction, as a prospect it at times feels like an  interrogation. Open ended questions about “my business”, that could have been easily found on the website, seem disingenuous. What the seller’s looking for is an opening to uncover some issue that they can help. It’s best to be straight with the buyer, saying exactly who you are, what you do and how you help clients. Then asking the prospect “is this an issue you’re struggling with too?”  to see if they fit in that category. This optimizes the entire process and treats the buyer’s time with respect.

Respect your prospects time, remain patient yet get to the qualification question quickly, practice before calling, cut to the quick.