It's the Internet age and many things have changed about the sales process, including how to best qualify prospects. The old way of firing questions at potential clients is no longer viable, because information is now readily available to both sellers and buyers. The customer is now smarter than the salesperson, and the salesperson can’t risk chasing the prospect away by focusing on ‘qualifying them.’ If a customer feels berated, they will quickly and easily take their business elsewhere.

So, what’s the best method for getting the job done in 2013, without conjuring up images of a used car salesman? Read on for advice from sales experts Scott Channell, Jeffrey Gitomer, and Lori Richardson on ways to master the art of qualifying.

1. Qualify yourself first

You have to qualify yourself first. How do you do that? “By establishing an online reputation,” says Gitomer. “Most salespeople are embarrassingly under-googlized. Meaning, if I google the average salesperson, I’m going to find nothing relevant. So what kind of credibility does that salesperson have? None.”

What should the buyer find? “Write a white paper on how your product or service can increase profits for customers. Create a YouTube channel with testimonials from your best customers,” suggests Gitomer. “Don’t be invisible.”

2. Target the right customers

Attracting the best prospects is the first step in qualifying, explains Richardson. “I need to write my website content in a way that attracts the right buyers,” says Richardson, “because if I put the wrong messaging on my website, I’m going to have more work to do.”

“Oftentimes I will get people who contact me based on what is written on my website, but after talking to them, I’ll figure out that they don’t really need my services,” says Richardson. Once you fully understand who you’re trying to attract, you can define your target customer and revise your marketing materials so that they’re targeted to your best customers. 

3. Don’t cast your net too wide

Companies that cast a very wide net, by marketing to potential buyers outside their ideal demographic, will feel more pressured to qualify their buyers, explains Channell.

“Let’s say you’ve determined that your best customers are those who fall into the $1-10 million dollar annual sales range, then you will want to narrow your target to just those companies. Because once you start casting around for the under $1 million range, you will wind up with many more of the lower range demographic responding to your materials. Now instead of dealing with the target customers, you will have to spend the bulk of your time responding to inquiries from unqualified prospects,” says Channell.

For much more on qualifying prospects, including warning signs you’re chasing a bad lead, download our new, free ebook, How to Qualify Your Prospects to Rock Your Sales Goals.