Apollo B. (2013) in recent study of CEOs and Sales Leaders identify that the two primary root causes are poor sales qualification and ineffective (sometimes spectacularly incompetent) sales execution.
When we dug in and tried to understand what the top performers did differently, two key patterns emerged: they saw qualification as a process, not an event, and they qualified deals at multiple levels: account, opportunity and sponsor(s).
In a complex, often dynamic sales environment, it’s dangerous to see qualification as a one-time event or stage. Qualification is something that happens progressively, and can and should be refined throughout the life of the project.
Top qualifiers typically revisited their qualification of projects at regular intervals, and often explicitly re-qualified every deal before allowing it to be promoted to the next phase of the pipeline.
Weighted scoring systems, and additional stage-related questions were regarded as particularly useful - as was management insistence on formally re-evaluating projects against clear (and often progressively more stringent) criteria as the deal evolved.
It’s essential that you avoid making the system over-complex, or replacing informed judgement with mechanical processes. You should start by evaluating your recent wins and losses and looking for the handful of indicators that can be most strongly linked to success or failure.
Apollo B. (2013) identify that highly effective qualifiers look at a hierarchy of related factors when determining which projects to invest in.
- At the highest level, they judge whether the prospect organisation is a company they want to do business with, and have the potential to establish a profitable long-term multi-project relationship with. This is often the earliest level of qualification: it can pre-date the identification of a specific opportunity.
- Top qualifiers typically have a clear sense of what an “ideal customer” looks like, and these criteria are more likely to be documented and shared across the organisation, and marketing tasked with reaching out to and into targeted organisations.
- At the next level, top qualifiers have a clear sense of what they are looking for in specific projects or opportunities - factors that determine whether the customer is likely to buy anything, whether they are likely to buy from the vendor, and whether the deal is likely to be profitable even if the sale is made.
- The specific factors will vary somewhat from one product or market to another, but in most situations some variation of the Pareto principle will apply: a relatively small number of indicators will have the highest predictive value.
3. Stakeholder-level qualification
- The third level of qualification relates to the stakeholders, sponsors and decision-makers who are involved in the project. A critical question is whether your putative sponsor or champion is a true “mobiliser” - someone who has the power to make change happen within his or her organisation.
- Top qualifiers we have spoken to regard qualification of their sponsor(s) as a critical element in determining whether to invest resources in the opportunity. There’s little value to be gained in winning the recommendation of someone who lacks the authority and influence to navigate their preference through their organisation’s internal approval process.
References
Apollo B. (2013). Inflexion-Points: Smart Ideas for Accelerating Revenue Growth. The 3 levels of sales qualification: account, opportunity, sponsor. Retrieved May 8, 2013 from http://www.inflexion-point.com/Blog/bid/95959/The-3-levels-of-sales-qualification-account-opportunity-sponsor
Blaž Mertelj
Managing Director & Senior Consultant
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