subject: Counterintuitive Sales Tactics By Disqualifying [print this page] When we use sales tactics like disqualifying, we are will try to look at and collect data that identifies how well prospects fit with what we have to offer to determine how much of a probability exists of them moving forward with a purchase at some point. Formal disqualification is essentially the result of the qualifying tactic where we reach a point to identify that a prospect is not the right fit. As a sales tactic, we can disqualify the prospect to bring the possibility of formal disqualification to the interaction at particular times to positively impact the path forward.
An example of disqualifying would be to say to a prospect that is on the fence or not showing a high level of interest, "Maybe this is not something you really need right now." When we say this reality check type of statement, we are essentially testing the prospect's level of interest and qualification by doubting or questioning if it makes sense to continue. From this, we stand to trigger three potential reactions.
Potential Reaction #1 No Reaction
The possibility does exist when you use sales tactics like this that you disqualify a prospect and there is no reaction. This is not likely because a disqualifying statement is fairly bold and attention getting, but when looking at all the possible outcomes, no reaction should be included.
Potential Reaction #2 The Prospect Confirms the Disqualification
It is important to be aware that the possibility does exist that the prospect will confirm the disqualifying questions moving the lead or prospect to become definitively disqualified. Having this as a potential outcome may appear to add risk when using this tactic, but as long as we are using this tactic at the right time, this outcome will actually be a good thing.
If we confirm a prospect as disqualified that did not have a likelihood of buying from us, we may have just saved ourselves valuable time that could have been wasted on trying to get them to move forward and this time saved is a very good thing. Time is both limited and valuable and in this scenario, we can then repurpose the saved time toward finding qualified prospects and leads that have a high probability of moving forward.
What we don't want to do is disqualify prospects at the wrong time and create a negative reaction or disqualification confirmation for a prospect that had a decent probability of moving forward. The key point here is that this is an advanced sales tactic and there is some logic later in this chapter that explains exactly when to disqualify.
Potential Reaction #3 The Prospect Challenges the Disqualification
The third potential reaction from using sales tactics like disqualifying a prospect is that the prospect could challenge the disqualification. An example of this would be to question a prospect if it there is a fit and they respond by challenging your doubt to explain to you why there is indeed a fit.
The powerful thing about this outcome is that when this happens, the prospect somewhat begins taking a role of selling the sales person on why to keep moving forward. This may sound far fetched or ambitious to have this type of exchange with a prospect, but if we have uncovered pain, built a level of rapport, and have triggered interest, then getting a prospect to confirm why it makes sense to move forward is a very realistic scenario.
