Sales EQ

12Shaping Win Probability Begins with Qualification

You don't have to swing hard to hit a home run. If you got the timing, it'll go.

—Yogi Berra

I need to make something very clear. Nothing you learn in this book matters a hill of beans if you are not dealing with qualified prospects. You can be the greatest influencer the world has ever known, but if you are dealing with a prospect that is not in the buying window or stakeholders who are unwilling to engage and make micro-commitments that advance your deal through the pipeline, you are going to fail. Period, end of story.

For ultra-high performers (UHPs), everything begins with a qualified prospect. UHPs are super-disciplined at qualifying. They understand that time is money and it is a waste of time to work with prospects that are not going to buy. They know that qualified prospects and stakeholders are scarce, and a moment spent with a low-probability prospect takes them away from their most important task—investing in prospects that will buy.

Effective qualifying begins with gathering information while prospecting. It continues during your initial conversations with stakeholders, through discovery, and maintaining acute awareness throughout the entire sales process for signs that might disqualify or lower the win probability of your deal.

Chasing Ugly Deals

If you've ever played baseball or softball or watched your kids play, you've no doubt witnessed a batter chasing a wild pitch—too high, too low, or way outside of the ...