We begin with CHALLENGES because this is the most important element in B2B sales today. Figure out what challenges your prospect is dealing with, what pain they suffer on a regular basis. Once you have that pain, you can start aligning your product as the solution.

The next qualification step is identifying AUTHORITY. This doesn’t mean dismissing or disqualifying low-influencing or low-impact contacts. Rather, authority as part of your reps’ qualification process means asking questions and finding information to help you map out the company’s organizational structure.

As much as we like to downplay the concepts of cost and price in pursuit of real value, the truth is that MONEY matters. In terms of qualification, don’t jump right into quoting prices, but rather ask some softer probing questions, such as:

• What type of investment do you think this project or solution requires?
• Have you allocated any of your (quarterly, monthly) budget to addressing this issue?
• When do you plan on asking for budget allocation, and who (CFO, CEO) would you be asking?
  

Finally, you need to know your solution ranks on the buyer’s list of PRIORITIES. This will also help firm up your timeline; if this is a pressing issue, then the sales cycle will likely be much shorter. However, if this is a nice-to-have, not a must-have, then you might see your product fall down the prospect’s priority list. They might still buy from you, but only when they’ve solved other top-of-mind issues. Getting the answer to this question will help establish the next steps – should you follow-up immediately? Or maybe back-off for a month or two before putting in another all-out blitz?

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