Prospecting the importance of qualification and probing
Because high-tech products are very technical, salespeople must start working with potential customers early on in order to influence their technical decision. This is even a greater necessity for systems that are subjected to a bidding process.
Whether dealing with the purchase of sonar, a satellite, a robot, or a missile, a salesperson must identify these plans early on before the official bidding process starts and he or she must work with operational managers to
- Figure 7.5 The six sales activities.
guide them in their definition of technical standards. When the bidding process officially starts, it is often already too late. This explains why, for instance, when Brazil wanted to buy satellites, the product description more closely resembled Hughes Aircraft's American satellites than those manufactured by Aerospatiale.
One of the paradoxes of industrial high-tech products or services is that new products succeed each other quickly even though each product needs a long preparation phase and has a longer life cycle due to a better production process. For instance, even though each new model incorporates the latest novelties, the life of a satellite has not decreased: the life of a satellite now averages 13 years compared to a life of 3 to 7 years, 10 years ago;and the sale's life cycle will last between 12 and 16 months before the final order is signed.
A salesperson must know how to manage this time lapse by finding in advance customers who might have a project (and a budget) to which he or she could respond. In order to do so, a salesperson must continuously look into the future and build a customer portfolio by analyzing each customer's and prospect's potential through the use of a qualification checklist (which will be discussed in the next section). This salesperson must sometimes even be able to refrain from selling if optimum requirements have not been met. So the salesperson of high-tech products is not a simple order taker but a true marketing representative who understands customers, can anticipate their needs, and is able to propose suitable products.
In this perspective, listening skills and the mastering of sales dialogue are of primary importance to be an effective sales representative [18]. Indeed, there are still some moments in a negotiation process where it may be important to play hardball, especially at the time of closing of the sale. However, most of the best sales reps do have a unique ability to ask the questions that get the sales, following the ageless Socratic method [19] permitting the customer to develop his viewpoint and to express its needs, wants, and expectations.
They also know how to qualify the value of a customer or a project in order to spend their precious time on the project or the customer, which offers the maximum value. Indeed, the most efficient and successful sales reps or large account managers are usually those who know exactly how to manage their time and energy and do not waste a moment with customers who are not willing or ready to purchase a solution.
Qualifying a customer is a means of being certain that the salesperson has all the necessary information to make a sale and to evaluate his or her chances of success along five criteria: the client's budget, needs, order and delivery schedule, decision-making process, and attitude toward competitors and suppliers. When any of the information in these five categories is missing, the sales representative must recontact the client in order to fill in the blanks. Negative responses represent additional difficulties in convincing the client to buy. Hence, it is only after this information has been collected that the salesperson can realistically evaluate his or her client portfolio and decides on plans of action. Sometimes, it may be best to turn the sales down because the customer is not good enough [20].
Qualification is indispensable because it corresponds to the "right" questions that exceptional salespeople know how to ask. It is so effective that one may wonder why all salespeople do not systematically use this approach.
A checklist of qualification questions follows.
Budget
► How will the purchase be financed?
► Is the client ready to purchase or rent?
► Is the client creditworthy?
► Will the client accept our terms of payment?
Needs
► Does the prospect have a good idea of their needs?
► Do they welcome advice?
► Will a formal and official call for bids be made?
► Can other sales to the same client be foreseen?
Schedule
► Do we know the exact schedule of the project?
► Is the scheduled order date realistic?
► Is the scheduled delivery date realistic?
► Is the client's schedule in line with ours?
Decision-making process
► Are the more important decision makers in favor of the purchase?
► Is an advisor involved in the purchase decision?
► Do we know the decision-making process?
► Do we know who decides? The financier? The technician? The user?
The consultant?
► Do we really want to sell to this client in this market?
► Do we have the "right" products and solution?
► Are we a privileged supplier?
► What is our competitive edge?
► Do we have the support of some of the key decision makers?
► Do we have the references necessary to convince the client?
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