Qualifying Sales Leads Before the Demo

I was on a “sales qualify call” with a prospect that perfectly matched my ICP (Ideal Customer Profile).

They were in the right industry, had the right annual revenue, location, and employee size, and they had a major problem that I specialize in solving better than anyone else: They had a team of SDRs (Sales Development Reps) who some were struggling with call reluctance, and others were burning through good leads and not setting enough appointments. This is the stage in the sales cycle where most SDRs would set an SQA (Sales Qualified Appointment) and hand off the lead. The Account Executive would then review the SDR’s notes and launch into their presentation or demo with the prospect.

And that would be a HUGE mistake. Here’s why.

Why You Need to Qualify Warm Inbound Sales Leads

For starters, even though I am speaking with a warm inbound sales lead and the prospect has a C-Level title, I still do not know their purchasing process, their time frame for solving this problem, or even what their ideal solution looks like, let alone the exact pain points that lead them to reach out, to begin with – so jumping right to a demo or presentation, could lead to a potential sale, but in most cases, when the Account Executive finishes their presentation/demo and goes for a close, they will hear sales objections that could have been avoided – or at the very least, realize the prospect wasn’t qualified for a demo just yet.

Qualify Sales Leads to Avoid These Common Objections

If you hear one or more of the following sales objections, chances are, you skipped a step (or two or three) in the qualifying process.

• “I have to run it by my boss”
• “I’ll need to take it to the Board for approval”
• “We don’t have the budget”
• “We won’t need this until next year”
• “We’re under a contract with another vendor,” etc.

If Account Executives hear these types of objections and get mad at the SDRs, their anger is misplaced. They should be mad at themselves for ASSUMING the SDR properly qualified the lead (Besides, I’m not a believer in having SDRs handle the entire qualification process – but I will talk about that at another time)

Before an Account Executive ever goes full-throttle into a demo or presentation, they should always “back up” and cover the basic qualifying questions with the prospect to make sure all the boxes are checked.

How to Back Up and Qualify Sales Leads Before Giving Demo/Presentation

Getting “qualified” leads sent to you from an SDR? Knowing how to back up and qualify your sales leads before starting the demo/presentation is a must-have sales skill if you want to be successful. And it’s very simple to do.

Here’s a basic sales script that you can customize and make your own for this type of sales situation:

“Mr. Prospect, I know you spoke with my associate regarding (PAIN POINT / PROBLEM AREA) Before we get started, would it be OK if I recap some of the challenges you’re having just to make sure we’re all on the same page and so I can show you the right solutions for you to consider?”

Who says “no” to that? If you’re about to do a presentation or a demo with a prospect, you and your prospects want to make sure what you are about to show them will help solve their problem. Asking to ensure you fully understand what they want to achieve quickly will only increase your prospect’s bond with you as you seek to help them.

And now, as you recap the prospect’s challenges, you “pepper” in the qualifying questions that you need to know before moving on, and in case the SDR missed a step or two in the qualifying process, you can catch it handle it before doing the demo.

You’ll greatly increase your chances of closing the deal.

– Michael Pedone – Founder of SalesBuzz.com

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