Comments on: Refine and Conquer – DTU Edition http://www.d-toolsblog.com/spin-central/refine-and-conquer-dtu-edition/ a view from the top Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:06:13 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Andy http://www.d-toolsblog.com/spin-central/refine-and-conquer-dtu-edition/comment-page-1/#comment-108 Andy Mon, 24 Nov 2008 16:45:17 +0000 http://www.d-toolsblog.com/?p=682#comment-108 After many years in technology sales, I've learned a lot about qualifying leads--from doing it the right way as well as the wrong way. Overall, I've looked at lead qualification from the perspective of uncovering risks and opportunities, and found four groups of questions (which I've termed the "Four Green Lights" 1. Solution fit. Can my product or service provide the outcomes that my prospective customer requires? 2. Access. Can I get access to the people who will be influential in making a decision? 3. Financial Resources. Does my prospective customer have the financial resources to purchase and implement the required solution? 4. Expected timeframe. Will my prospective customer purchase from me within the timeframe I require. To make all this easier to remember, the by taking the first letter of each, you spell the word 'S-A-F-E' --although a prospect that passes all four criteria is still far from being certain buyer. I've taken a very deep dive into sales lead qualification and how to ask questions in a paper entitled "How to Qualify Customers--A Poweful Strategy for Salespeople and Managers." It's available for sale at www.tidwit.com/outsidetechnologies. Andy Rudin After many years in technology sales, I’ve learned a lot about qualifying leads–from doing it the right way as well as the wrong way. Overall, I’ve looked at lead qualification from the perspective of uncovering risks and opportunities, and found four groups of questions (which I’ve termed the “Four Green Lights”

1. Solution fit. Can my product or service provide the outcomes that my prospective customer requires?
2. Access. Can I get access to the people who will be influential in making a decision?
3. Financial Resources. Does my prospective customer have the financial resources to purchase and implement the required solution?
4. Expected timeframe. Will my prospective customer purchase from me within the timeframe I require.

To make all this easier to remember, the by taking the first letter of each, you spell the word ‘S-A-F-E’ –although a prospect that passes all four criteria is still far from being certain buyer.

I’ve taken a very deep dive into sales lead qualification and how to ask questions in a paper entitled “How to Qualify Customers–A Poweful Strategy for Salespeople and Managers.” It’s available for sale at http://www.tidwit.com/outsidetechnologies.

Andy Rudin

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