Sorting out your sales prospects

Every prospect you approach falls into one of four categories:

• Category 1: They need, want and can afford your product and will buy it
• Category 2: They need and can afford your product, but don’t want it
• Category 3: They need and want your product, but can’t afford it
• Category 4: They need, want and can afford your product, but won’t buy it.

Unfortunately, the only one that’s likely to lead to a sale, of course, is Category 1.

If you ask a lot of salespeople what their main goal is when prospecting they’ll tell you, “It’s to set up a face-to-face meeting.” But wait a minute. Unless someone is absolutely, positively in Category 1, why would you waste your time meeting with them? Shouldn’t the first goal be to disqualify dead-end prospects, while getting real prospects to qualify themselves?

Problem is, when you meet with a prospect, they don’t have a number stamped on their forehead. They don’t say, “Oh, by the way, I’m a Category 4. Don’t waste your time with me.” So what should you do to find real buyers – those in Category 1?

Here’s one way: Pay attention to what they will do. Category 1 buyers are active buyers. They have no problem telling you what they’re going to do next. Buyers in the other three categories can’t.