Much has been written on the conversion of leads to qualified opportunities and ultimate closure. Today we will discuss a generic approach to qualifying deals.
Step 1: Define a lead :
what constitutes a lead is a raging debate and often creates tension between marketing and sales. Ask any salesperson if a purchased list from KnowMarkets.com is a real lead, and they will tell you, "Absolutely NOT!" Once you decide organizationally what a lead is, you need to implement a standardized process by which you qualify and move it forward.
Step 2: Qualify:
If you do not have a standard process by which you qualify leads today, an excellent place to start is the well established BANT Process. BANT, which was formalized by IBM, stands for:
Budget
Does your prospect have a budget for the proposed service?
If no, is there a process in place to get approval? What are the steps? Who is involved?
Authority
Does your prospect have the authority to execute the deal?
If no, who does? Do you have access to this person?
Need
Is there a compelling business or environmental event that is motivating this project?
Timeline
What is the decision timeframe?
Any serious buyer will be comfortable providing you with this data. They are aware you need it to understand how to proceed. Resist "strategic selling" anything to the prospect until you understand basic qualification questions. An example: A customer may have budget, authority, need, but the timing is 8-10 months out due to another ongoing project that has precedence. This customer still qualifies as a lead, but the strategic selling approach will be different from the project we're starting next week, and vendor selection is imminent.
Conceptually, we can take qualification much further. Additional qualification dimensions can be implemented such as Lead Ranking which can be broken down into subcategories like Lead Source, Events and Solution fit. Envision an ultimate score being derived based on the combination of algorithms and questions asked by lead qualification professionals. For example:
Budget
Does your prospect have a budget for the proposed service?
If no, is there a process in place to get approval? What are the steps? Who is involved?
Authority
Does your prospect have the authority to execute the deal?
If no, who does? Do you have access to this person?
Need
Is there a compelling business or environmental event that is motivating this project?
Timeline
What is the decision timeframe?
Any serious buyer will be comfortable providing you with this data. They are aware you need it to understand how to proceed. Resist "strategic selling" anything to the prospect until you understand basic qualification questions. An example: A customer may have budget, authority, need, but the timing is 8-10 months out due to another ongoing project that has precedence. This customer still qualifies as a lead, but the strategic selling approach will be different from the project we're starting next week, and vendor selection is imminent.
Conceptually, we can take qualification much further. Additional qualification dimensions can be implemented such as Lead Ranking which can be broken down into subcategories like Lead Source, Events and Solution fit. Envision an ultimate score being derived based on the combination of algorithms and questions asked by lead qualification professionals. For example:
Step 3: Work the deal:
Once the opportunity is qualified, it is time to start a more detailed discovery process, and solution fit analysis with the prospect. The process might include presentations, meetings, reference checks, RFP's, RFI's, etc.
Summary – every single deal is different. Every prospect has its unique buying patterns and evaluation criteria for selecting a vendor. There is no real answer to the timing question posed here because decisions have many factors that influence them. The best approach is to adopt a framework that will optimize interactions on deals with a real chance of closing.
Summary – every single deal is different. Every prospect has its unique buying patterns and evaluation criteria for selecting a vendor. There is no real answer to the timing question posed here because decisions have many factors that influence them. The best approach is to adopt a framework that will optimize interactions on deals with a real chance of closing.
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