When I started doing founder-led sales, I thought it was my job to find a way to sell to anyone who got in touch and scheduled a meeting. When you have no customers and no sales, it’s natural to want to sell to anyone. This is a mistake.
Qualifying might sound awkward at first. There are some questions to ask and answers you are listening for. I worried that it wouldn’t sound natural.
Then learned that disqualifying someone from buying your product is a good thing. So much so that prospects will go so far as to say, “Thank you for your honesty”, when I tell an tiny company with one employee that our product is overkill for them. Not only does this buy some good will because you didn’t waste their time, it leaves the door open for them to come back to you in the future because earned some trust. (I also recommend giving them very simple signs of when they should get back in touch!).
See also:
- Discovery questions in sales calls should feel consultative
- Customer success overcomes technical hurdles but not buyer mismatches
- Selling something to the wrong customer leads to leads to churn