The Art of Qualifying B2B Sales Prospects

Qualifying B2B Sales Prospects“You hate on my success like we don't have the same 24 hours”
– unknown

I heard this quote for the first time while in University. Today, I find it interesting how it well it relates to B2B sales. Because the B2B sales cycle is more often than not a lengthy process, properly qualifying B2B sales prospects will help you to ensure you’re spending your ‘24 hours’ on the prospects with the most potential. 

Remember these four questions when qualifying B2B sales prospects to help increase your chances of closing the sale.

1. Explore Your Prospect’s Budget

One of the fastest ways to know if your prospect is able to move forward is to have a discussion surrounding budget and price.

If your prospect doesn’t have the budget for your solution, or if they feel that your price is more than they are willing to pay, it is unlikely that your sales cycle will move quickly, if at all. But don’t be discouraged. An early “no” in the sales process is almost as good as yes. You may not have won new business yet, but at least you won’t be wasting time or resources on an opportunity that would likely never close.

If you get objections relating to budget issues, your best course of action is to try and generate strong interest in your solution and follow-up later on so that when the budget becomes available your prospect won’t hesitate to continue with the sales discussion.

2. What Are Your Prospect’s Sales Numbers Like?

Sales numbers are a good predictor of how quickly capital might become available and how significant of an investment your solutions would be relative to their cash flows. The more capital required for your solution, the more likely it is that the sales cycle will be lengthier. In some cases you may be able to help “>shorten the sales cycle by moving your sale from a capital expense to an operation expense. As an example, the discussion to purchase a piece of equipment upfront may be changed to leasing the piece of equipment in order to pay it off over time.

3. How Big is Your Prospect’s Organization?

The size of your prospect’s organization relative to the size of other organizations in their industry matters.

Larger organizations will have greater needs, greater budgets, and more resources to put towards evaluating, acquiring, or implementing your product or services. A larger organization can also indicate a greater overall value for the potential opportunity. However, selling to smaller organizations is not without its advantages. Smaller organization may be more aggressive and eager to spend in situations where the products or services being sold can help make them leaner, grow faster, or become financially stronger.

4. How Much Can Your Solution Save or Make Your Prospect

If you’ve been in sales for a while, you know that it’s important to sell the solution, not the product. The more your prospect stands to gain from acquiring your solution, the more likely they will be to move quickly through the sales cycle. Understanding how much you can help your prospect save (in terms of costs and/or time), mitigate risk, or generate new revenue is a terrific indicator of how quickly a prospect may progress through the sales cycle.  

When qualifying B2B sales prospects, remember these 4 questions to help you spend your time where it can make the most difference.

Now that you are ready to jump into sales, check out our free white paper, An Introduction to Startup Sales to help you find prospects and opportunities to add to your funnel. 

The Art of Qualifying B2B Sales Prospects