The crucial first rule of marketing and sales

How do you stop wasting time on people who seem like buyers, but will never buy from your company?

The answer for many businesses has been to qualify leads with a simple formula: Budget, Authority, Need and Timeframe -- known as BANT. The idea is that if you can check the box next to each of these then you’ve got a buyer ready to plunk their money down.

Seems to make sense. Except for one little fact: it’s deeply flawed.

By the time you’ve run a prospect through the gauntlet and all four of these points are met, you’re very late to the party.

The trick is to find the point where an opportunity is really an opportunity worth spending your time on.

The brings us to the first rule of marketing and selling -- “Why Buy Anything?”

It’s stated as a question because your company has to answer it before you speak to any prospects or even build a website. And it must be answered from your prospect’s point of view.

It’s a matter of knowing if the prospective buyer has a problem that you can solve.

One way to find that out is ask: Every time you come across a “suspect” ask what issues they have, how it affects them, and how they solve to today. Then find out if there is a fit with you offering.

Unfortunately, that’s a very inefficient way of selling.

To be effective at marketing and selling starts with qualifying the person you are speaking to -- or, thinking of approaching. Wouldn’t be nice if you had a cheat sheet of sorts that would help determine whether a potential customer is a qualified buyer? Before you spoke to them?

You can’t sell what people don’t want or need. When you’ve done your homework you’ll know there’s a market for your product or service – a very identifiable and specific market. But, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve zeroed in the subset of potential buyers that have a big issue. If you can’t easily pinpoint leads that recognize a problem and how painful it is, which you can solve, you’ll waste a lot of time. Here’s the key; they just can’t have an issue, it’s got to be a big problem and your solution must be compelling. Otherwise you are not going to succeed. Build a profile of your ideal customer that’s very, very exact and detailed based on upfront research.

Ask the hard questions. Your job is to eliminate leads as fast as possible. No matter if it’s a list you’re building or someone walking into your store -- the sooner the better. Create a list of questions all based on, “Why would someone want to buy products and services from us?” Rank them and the strongest two or three benefits is what you’ll message around and educate to. Now, turn these around when speaking to a prospect after a moment or two of conversation and careful listening with something like, "This solution may not be for you" or “we have a new high-end product to address that and I’m not sure you’ll be interested in it”. The reaction to these will either confirm whether they have a known problem that you can solve, their interest level, and are talking with a real buyer-- or not.

People don’t want to be sold. A “negative” comment like these work because even though people want to solve a problem, we are defensive by nature. This peaks interest without pressure and reduces your stress level too. So, the second part of your job once you’re sure you have the attention of a qualified target prospect is to help them make the decision to buy from you. Not beat them into submission with high-pressure tactics or a constant barrage of emails. The key here is to give to get. Take your buyer on a short journey of discovery about their issues and the fit you offering provides.

It’s not how big the budget is, but how big the issue is. Unlike the BANT process, you need to quickly help your audience discover that your company’s product or service is a perfect fit for the critical issues they’re trying to overcome. When you do, you’ll show a clear a return on their investment in your offering -- and they’ll find the budget to make it happen.

Qualifying your leads determines who will actually buy your product and how successful you’re marketing and selling process is. Develop your ideal customer profile as a benchmark. That’s only the starting point. Don’t be afraid to ask questions -- sometimes seemingly awkward questions.

The first rule of selling and marketing is to find out if your target buyers have a known issue, that’s big enough, and you can solve it in a big way. Go to great lengths to develop your ideal customer profile. And help your prospects understand why they need to buy something to fix their problem.

Because, until they discover they need it AND want it you can't hope to sell your product or service.

Ron Stein is President of FastPath Marketing (www.marketing-strategies-guide.com) and the author of the Rapid Impact Marketing & Selling Playbook. As a speaker, coach, and consultant he works with small business owners helping them to accelerate the path between their vision and the actions needed to reach, win, and keep customers. Ron is the creator of the FastPath to More Customers Now! 7-step marketing system based on more than twenty years as a successful business owner, corporate CEO, business development executive, and salesman. He is also a mentor at two nationally recognized business accelerators. Ron offers one-on-one and small group mentoring, conducts seminars, and consults. He can be reached at 727-398-1855 or Ron@FastPathMarketing.com.