How to Use Qualifying Questions to Find Out If a Prospect is Motivated

When speaking with a prospect on the phone many sales people will get appointments with unqualified prospects. Having appointments is great however having appointments with those that can actually afford your product or service now or in the near future is better.

This doesn't mean that you have to grill a prospect in order to find out their financial details however finding out if a prospect has motivation is extremely important.

Having a prospect jump through at least 1 hoop that you set in advance will help you find out the motivation level of a prospect. In other words asking them to perform a task or answer a question will help you qualify them to determine their level of motivation.

The rule that I recommend that every salesperson adopt is to have at least 3 hoops however having at least one will put you on your way to success. The hoop may be a question they have to answer or a task they have to perform.

The more hoops you have the better. I have a client who has 5 hoops and he is always #1 in sales in his particular area and industry.

Let's cover a quick example of a hoop that you would like your prospect to follow in order to find out if they are motivated. When you are on the phone with a prospect a hoop for your product or service may be to consume a free report or audio training. You may also have a question that they absolutely have to answer in order to work with you.

Let's discuss a hoop that may help you decide whether the prospect is interested in improving themselves or just looking for free consulting advice from you and taking your valuable time.

I recommend to all of my clients that they have a free guide, training call or mp3, or both that they can have prospects consume prior to meeting them in person.

Why?

The materials should be helpful and specific to the industry. Having a prospect consume these materials will do two things for you:

1. Pre-sell you and your services to the client. By having valuable materials (not brochures that just talk about your product) you will be separated from your competition and your prospect will realize how you are different and focused on their needs.

2. Eliminate those that just want to have you come and chat so they can do research on you only to use your bid or estimate with your competition.

Often times you may have this material online or in video format and asking the prospect to visit the website or video while you are on the phone with them is another hoop that you can use to qualify the prospect.