Some Prospect Qualifying Questions

Often knowing which questions to ask from a prospect and what specific answers to look out for is the key to qualifying prospects and getting them to the next stage of the sales cycle As usually it is critical for the Sales folks to ask the right qualifying questions when first talking to prospects. As I have noticed that too often, sales reps are so focused on presenting their sales pitch that they end up doing way too much talking and not nearly enough listening. I have listed some questions I believe are to be best practices for qualifying prospects.

Introductory Questions:

•    What are the main objectives of your company?
•    Are there any specific products/services/solutions are you looking for?
•    What are your immediate needs?
•    How familiar are you with our company?
•    Have you had any experience with our products/services?
•    How familiar are you with our new products?
•    Whose products/services/solutions are you presently using?

Qualifying Questions:

•    Tell me more about your specific situation.
•    What are your top three criteria for buying?
•    What qualities are you looking for in (product/service/solutions)?
•    What do you like most about the products you are presently using?
•    What would you like to change?
•    What specific features are you looking for?
•    What are your major concerns?
•    Are you part of a buying team? If so, what specific information are you looking for?

Demonstrating Questions:

•    What do you think of this product’s performance?
•    How does it compare to your present product?
•    How do you feel it will stand up to your specific needs?
•    What do you think about incorporating our products/services/solutions into your specific strategy?
•    What specific concerns do you have regarding our products/services/doing business with us?
•    How do you plan on using this in your organization/department?
•    What do you see that you particularly like?

Closing Questions:

•    Who else other than yourself is involved in the decision-making process?
•    When are you looking to make a purchasing decision?
•    What are your budget constraints?
•    Who else should we be contacting?
•    What would you like to see as the next step?
•    How do you propose we get started?
•    How soon would you like our sales representative to contact you?
•    What is your time frame for making a decision?
•    What else would be important for me to know?
•    What else would be important for you to know?

If you want some perspective on how you or  your company needs to enhance their Sales/Client Management Capabilities, please email me at shubhanjan.saha@gmail.com

Twelve Essential Attributes of Effective KPIs

Often I have been asked to choose or recommend KPI's that would portray the performance of a project, I have usually chosen metrics based upon the following characteristics

1. Aligned. KPIs are always aligned with corporate strategy and objectives.
2. Owned. Every KPI is “owned” by an individual or group on the business side who is accountable for its outcome.
3. Predictive. KPIs measure drivers of business value. Thus, they are “leading” indicators of performance desired by the organization.
4. Actionable. KPIs are populated with timely, actionable data so users can intervene to improve performance before it is too late.
5. Few in number. KPIs should focus users on a few high-value tasks, not scatter their attention and energy on too many things.
6. Easy to understand. KPIs should be straightforward and easy to understand, not based on complex indexes that users do not know how to influence directly.
7. Balanced and linked. KPIs should balance and reinforce each other, not undermine each other and suboptimize processes.
8. Trigger changes. The act of measuring a KPI should trigger a chain reaction of positive changes in the organization, especially when it is monitored by the CEO.
9. Standardized. KPIs are based on standard definitions, rules, and calculations so they can be integrated across dashboards throughout the organization.
10. Context driven. KPIs put performance in context by applying targets and thresholds to performance so users can gauge their progress over time.
11. Reinforced with incentives. Organizations can magnify the impact of KPIs by attaching compensation or incentives to them. However, they should do this cautiously, applying incentives only to well-understood and stable KPIs.
12. Relevant. KPIs gradually lose their impact over time, so they must be periodically reviewed and refreshed.

If you want some perspective on how you or  your company needs to enhance their Sales/Client Management Capabilities, please email me at shubhanjan.saha@gmail.com

I recommend reading Wayne W. Eckerson's - Performance Dashboards: Measuring, Monitoring and Managing Your Business, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Publishers