Analyze the information that the client provides you.
There are customers who clearly show their interest in your products and services. There are also others who do not, who answer things like: Right now I have no need, it is only to know the offer for the future, etc.
You must analyze all the answers that the potential client provides, taking good note of what they explicitly state and trying to figure out the things that only hint.
To achieve this, the preparation of the questionnaires is key, the formulation of the questions that you have raised in them: if they are open questions, that help you to know the client better or if they are closed, that allow you to better evaluate if they really have the need and the intention to buy.
Relate this information with the other customer data that you have.
The first thing is to check if we already have information about that potential customer, if they have previously purchased any of our products or services.
Then you have to analyze it: If you are already a customer, see the history of contacts with the company and the products you have bought in the past, in order to better understand their needs and motivations.
There is a special case: that the potential customer has previously contacted us but has not purchased any of our products. In this case, it is essential to try to know why, what made you not decide on our offer: the price? The benefits of the product? Has it been our brand-company that has not convinced you?
Draw conclusions: Deduce if the lead is a real opportunity.
When we cross the existing data with those obtained by qualifying, we can make more informed decisions and know if the operation is really a business opportunity or not. If we decide that it is, it must be registered in the commercial management system, so that the commercials can start working on it as soon as possible.
It is also important to get an estimate of the potential profitability of the opportunity, both in the short and long term. This will help us see how much commercial effort we can and should put into the opportunity.
You have to be careful because many times today’s opportunity is small but the client is big and winning it would open a very fruitful path for us in the future. Consider these cases as an investment and dedicate a greater effort than the opportunity alone would recommend.
