The B2B tech industry is filled with competition, and many potential buyers may not even be the prospects that your business needs.
Being able to sort through the clutter requires that someone be well-versed in asking the right questions for tech lead qualification.
In this short article, we take a look at the sales questions that we need to be asking to qualify tech prospects.
How Can We Help You Make the Decision?
There are times where some prospects want to make the decision to come aboard, but issues are holding them back. In these cases, it is essential that you identify what these are to help them make the decision.
This particular question allows you to speed up their movement in the sales pipeline. You can provide them with the technical material that they need and the answers to any pressing issues that they may have.
Related: The 4 Main Lead Generation Goals: What Has Changed & How to Reach Them
How Did Your Old Vendor Help You Solve This Problem?
You do not want to give your new prospect the same problems, and you want to stand out from the rest of the competition.
This question allows you to see what solutions they’ve tried in the past and how you can differentiate your product or service.
In the qualification stage, you can also determine if they are a demanding customer to deal with. Marketers usually stay far away from these types of customers.
Related: What Tech Companies Need to Do to Develop The Best Quality IT Leads
Is There Something Specific That You Are Trying to Fix?
The technology niche requires technical solutions to most of the problems, and as such, it is essential to get to the root of the problem. Sometimes, your solution might not be the right one for a prospect, and by asking this question, you get to filter them out.
Are You Looking at Other Solutions Right Now?
This is an excellent qualification question to ask for you to find out if you have any competition. It helps you find out how you can differentiate yourself from the rest.
It also helps you find out what other types of solutions they could be in the market for and if you can compete with these solutions.
Related: How to Spot Warm Leads Using the Right Lead Qualification Framework
What Are Your Expectations From Us?
The truth is: you can’t please everybody.
You must manage people’s expectations from the get-go. It helps with being able to determine if your current offerings are enough to seal the deal. Also, it allows for better transactions where both the vendor and customer are aware of each other’s responsibilities.
By asking this question, you can automatically find out if you can be up for providing their needs.
What Is Your Budget?
Buyers want to talk about pricing.
In a study done in 2016, 58 percent of buyers said that they wanted to talk about pricing more than how the product works, making it the top item on their list.
This is because a lot of decisions are influenced by the price of a product. It is the single most influential factor that can trigger a decision to be made.
However, this question works both ways because you get to find out if the prospect can even afford the solution that you have. It saves you time trying to sell them something that they can’t also buy because of the price.
This can also work into crafting a custom program for their tech needs – dependent on their requirements.
Related: Savvy Ways to Identify and Qualify B2B Decision Makers
What is Your Current Timeline?
Time is money.
By asking about their timeline, you can find out about their sense of urgency and how that fits into the sales picture. This can let you fit them into a particular stage in your sales pipeline, where you can nurture the lead and ease them through the process.
Prospects who have shorter timelines need solutions fast, but those with longer timelines are more likely to shop around.
What Obstacles Do We Need to Get Through to Make This Work?
This question will tell you if the potential deal is feasible. Some roadblocks, such as scale or regulations, are harder to get around than a stubborn decision-maker. These can be deal-breakers for you.
However, during this stage, you should also let the prospect know about potential deal-breakers that you have.
It helps to be transparent to your prospect because it allows for better deals.
There are a lot more questions that you could be asking your potential customers, and this is by no means a complete list. However, these questions are not just to qualify them but also to get to know them better.
By being able to personalize and be personal for the buyer, a marketer will be able to properly strategize their selling points with the needs of the buyer. To make the job easier, you could always turn to a data cleansing vendor to prequalify the leads that you already have.
