This can stop other employees from spending too much time chasing poor-quality leads that aren\u2019t right for the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. What is your primary business goal?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
You can\u2019t help a business unless you truly understand what they\u2019re trying to do. That\u2019s why this first question is arguably the most important of all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your potential client will likely have two different types of goals<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 Strategic goals: these are the long-term objectives of their organisation<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 Operational goals: these are the shorter-term milestones that need to be achieved to meet the longer-term strategic goals<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re able to understand your prospect\u2019s strategic and operational goals, you\u2019ll be in a better place to sell them the services that will help them succeed in the short and long term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An organisation\u2019s target audience is the group of people who are most likely to be interested in their product, service, charity or campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This might be a very niche audience<\/a>, or for the biggest brands it could be literally everyone on the planet. But whoever your prospect is targeting, it\u2019s important you know exactly <\/em>who.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If they\u2019re targeting a niche audience that you\u2019ll struggle to reach, it might be better to politely decline their business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Alternatively, if they\u2019re looking to reach an audience you know very well, you might be able to use your experience to clinch the deal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s possible to do a job quickly. It\u2019s possible to do a job well. And it\u2019s possible to do a job cheaply. But it\u2019s almost never possible to do all three<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If your potential new customer wants to engage your services, it\u2019s almost certain you\u2019ll know more about your area of expertise than they will. Frustratingly, that might often mean they don\u2019t have a realistic idea of how quickly it is (and isn\u2019t) possible to get things done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you know what timeline they\u2019re working to, you can adjust what you\u2019re offering to fit their requirements. If they need a good job done rapidly, you might be able to hire freelancers or pay people overtime to make sure it\u2019s done to a high standard before their deadline. Alternatively, you might be able to reduce the scope of the job so that it\u2019s possible to complete it according to their timescale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But most importantly, you can\u2019t do anything to help if you don\u2019t know what their timings are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your prospect might think of you as a company that only provides a specific service, but if you\u2019re able to reframe yourself as someone who solves problems, it might unlock a whole new set of services for you to sell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, your potential client might come to you saying they need IT support. But on further investigation, it turns out the real problem is how their internal IT teams are structured. This creates an opportunity for you to sell them a consultancy service which helps them restructure their internal team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They get their problem solved, and you get to sell a more valuable service<\/a>. It\u2019s a win-win, but only because you took the time to understand their real pain point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asking why your potential customer is choosing to take action now can be an effective way of understanding the broader context they\u2019re operating in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, if they\u2019re in the middle of a crisis, they probably won\u2019t have time to fix deeper structural issues. Instead, they\u2019ll be looking for someone to fix their immediate short-term problems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Alternatively, if they\u2019re talking to you as part of their normal business planning cycle, it might be the right moment for them to take a step back and look at their issue through a more strategic lens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This question can also be a helpful way of identifying the political context within their organisation<\/a>. For example, if you know that they\u2019re looking to fix this issue now because their CEO has made it a priority, this will then likely unblock many of the internal obstacles you would usually face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asking this qualifying question can also be an effective way of identifying potential blockages. For example, if they say that their issue has not been solved because of a lack of internal consensus over a solution, you can prepare your proposal with the knowledge that you\u2019ll have to do extra work to research the problem and make a compelling case to get buy-in from important internal stakeholders.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n This question can also be a helpful way of finding out what unsuccessful solutions they\u2019ve tried before. That can help both of you save time and money by avoiding ideas that have been shown not to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you\u2019re talking to a prospective customer, it can be helpful to know about the competition you\u2019re up against. The prospect might not be willing to tell you who they\u2019re talking to. But if they are, you can research your rivals and tactfully emphasise where you think you have an advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are they new players in this space? By asking this qualifying question, you can emphasise your long track record and position yourself as a safe pair of hands (\u201cNo one ever got fired for buying IBM<\/a>\u201d). Are they significantly cheaper than you? You can justify your higher prices by explaining the better quality service you\u2019ll be providing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This qualifying question can be a great way of identifying the client\u2019s pain points or pet peeves, without being too direct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, if they\u2019ve worked with a competitor but ended up leaving because of their poor customer service, then you know that your own customer service has to be absolutely spot-on. Alternatively, if you know the prospect used a different supplier in the past but stopped using them because their approach didn\u2019t work, you know you need to propose a radically different solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s be honest, it\u2019s often a little bit awkward talking about money. When you\u2019re speaking with a prospective customer about their problems and how you might be able to help, it can feel almost mercenary to bring up how much they\u2019re willing to pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But even if your prospect is playing their cards close to their chest, it\u2019s worth trying to nail them down on their budget. Sometimes, customers might have a completely unrealistic expectation of how much something will cost. On other occasions, there might be a mismatch as they\u2019re looking for a cheap-and-cheerful option, while you\u2019re offering something top-of-the-range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Often, there\u2019s room for a bit of give-and-take. But if you\u2019re on completely different wavelengths about how much a job should cost, it\u2019s good to know as soon as possible to avoid wasting everybody\u2019s time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lengthy decision-making processes don\u2019t only cost you time and money, they cost the customer too. Of course, for important decisions, there\u2019s nothing wrong with taking time to consider all angles to make sure they\u2019re making the right decision<\/a>. But if you can do anything to speed up the process and reduce the amount of time the customer has to spend weighing up different options, it\u2019ll make everyone\u2019s lives easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Bullseye](\"https:\/\/storage.googleapis.com\/answerconnectbloguk\/1\/2023\/04\/Dart-hitting-bullseye-on-dartboard-1024x576.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n2. Who is your target audience?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/storage.googleapis.com\/answerconnectbloguk\/1\/2023\/04\/Crowd-at-gig-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n3. What\u2019s your timeline?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Women](\"https:\/\/storage.googleapis.com\/answerconnectbloguk\/1\/2023\/04\/Man-calculating-on-phone-and-notebook-1024x684.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n4. What\u2019s the biggest pain point you\u2019re trying to resolve?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Businessman](\"https:\/\/storage.googleapis.com\/answerconnectbloguk\/1\/2023\/04\/Man-stood-on-road-in-front-of-brick-wall-1024x683.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n5. What prompted you to take action now?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Athlete](\"https:\/\/storage.googleapis.com\/answerconnectbloguk\/1\/2023\/04\/Runner-on-track-1024x623.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n6. What\u2019s stopped you from trying to solve the problem until now?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/storage.googleapis.com\/answerconnectbloguk\/1\/2023\/04\/Runners-running-through-mud-1024x683.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n7. Are you looking at other products\/services?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Businessman](\"https:\/\/storage.googleapis.com\/answerconnectbloguk\/1\/2023\/04\/man-with-binoculars-1024x683.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n8. Have you used a similar product\/service in the past?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Young](\"https:\/\/storage.googleapis.com\/answerconnectbloguk\/1\/2023\/04\/Man-in-supermarket-choosing-between-two-items-1024x683.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n9. What\u2019s your budget?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Magnifying](\"https:\/\/storage.googleapis.com\/answerconnectbloguk\/1\/2023\/04\/Magnifying-glass-on-table-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n10. What can I do today to help you make a decision?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Young](\"https:\/\/storage.googleapis.com\/answerconnectbloguk\/1\/2022\/11\/Woman-purchasing-online-through-live-chat-website.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n