As I mentioned in our last post, qualifying leads has become a lost skill. One of the reasons is because difficult conversations aren’t as common in business as they were a decade or two ago. This outcome is mostly for good reasons, but we also lost a lot of valuable parts of our workday because people are afraid to initiate sensitive topics or ask tough questions.
In today’s environment, people more often than not are offended when asked a direct question because they’re so rarely asked. It’s become much harder for salespeople to collect the information they need while continuing to develop a positive relationship. Whether there is an argument to this or not doesn’t really matter – the fact is that salespeople feel uncomfortable asking direct questions of new prospects. Which brings us to our next thought about qualifying leads...
When competing for a sales opportunity, knowing the prospect’s budget is not only an advantage over competitors, but it’s a necessity to qualifying. If you’re Del Frisco’s and they have an Applebee’s budget, I can tell you who ain’t winning. If you don’t know the budget, then a ton of time can be wasted. So, knowing the prospect’s budget – or at least an approximation of their budget – is critical to ongoing success.
In today’s world of overly sensitivity to delicate questions, how can one ask about such a delicate topic like money?
Idea #2 to qualifying leads: Indirectly ask about their budget.
There are ways to accomplish our goal by indirectly asking about their budget. Follow the sequence of questions below and you’ll gain more information than from directly asking for their budget.
- When will a budget be set for this project?
This answer will let you know if they have a budget, plan to have a budget, or are planning to wing it.
- What factors will go into / have gone into setting the budget? Would it make sense to propose ongoing service, premium product lines, etc.?
This answer will loosen up the conversation so you can get an idea of where they are.
- Can we do a quick budgetary verbal quote before creating the full scope? I’d hate for everyone to invest a bunch of time to be disappointed if we can’t come close to the number.
This question is setting up the next one, and also a back-up in case the next one fails.
- Actually, I should’ve just asked – that’ll make it easier for everyone … what is the budget?
This may or may not work, but that’s ok either way. Your answer to question #3 will get your there. If they don’t reveal the number, then as soon as you have an idea of where you’ll be, ask them if you’re in the neighborhood. Something like: “Off the top of my head, I’m thinking the final number will come in about $65k - $75k. Am I out of the ballpark?”
If you don’t get the budget answer after these four questions, no one else will either. Notice that the questions didn’t position them vs. you. There was no “your budget” or “my price”.
Looking forward to next week’s final post in this series.
