Smart business is about knowing which of your potential customers are worth pursuing. Many enterprises don’t select who they pitch to, and that can lead to bouts of discouragement when prospectives don’t respond positively. Your sales team can waste significant resources dealing with people who have no intention of spending money on your brand.

The secret to separating the chaff, so you only have the right kind of customer left is asking the right questions. Learning more about your target market can tell you who is worthy of your company’s time and energy. Qualifying questions can narrow down this list, giving you a viable pool to work with. Businesses must, however, recognize the appropriate questions to ask so that customers don’t feel pressured or like you are getting too intimate.

What Do You Need?

A majority of companies assume that they know what is best for the consumer. Although this may be true to a point, your market may not have the same line of thinking. Customers are sometimes wrong about what they need, but as the service provider, you have to comply. Learn what a consumer expects when he/she picks up your brand off a shelf. If an individual is looking to hire a plumbing service, ask why? What triggered this decision? Understanding this will determine the suitability of your service. It also makes it less complicated to customize services when you are aware of a consumer’s needs.

What are the Problems that Need Solving?

Every product/service out there is meant to offer a solution to particular challenges that customers are facing. The specific issue will dictate a customer’s priority, and that is what the sales team has to be clear on. Ask about the obstacles the customer has encountered while trying to overcome the existing challenges. This question will shed light on a consumer’s previous experience and stop you from repeating the mistakes of past providers. Also, it will help you learn about opportunities that your enterprise can exploit. Take time on this step and pay attention to every response because it’s a clue as to how you can add value to customer experience.

What is Your Budget?

Before pushing a certain product or service to a prospective customer, know if he/she has the purchasing power. Discern how many resources a potential client is willing to dedicate to deal with the current challenge. When you have a range of products and services that cater to different budgetary needs, this qualifying question is fundamental. It allows you to pinpoint the right products to sell to a customer. Some companies get this information through metrics such as business insurance quotes, moving estimates, and price ranges among others.

What Does Success Mean to You?

Be aware of a customer’s expectations when using your brand. Even though a product or service may be designed to solve a specific challenge, the rate of success may depend on various factors. Consumers must understand the risks and discuss them with the provider. A business should know the outcome if the customer gets it wrong. If the moving service a client is hiring fails, what are the potential repercussions? These questions keep both parties honest and let consumers anticipate risks.

How Do We Proceed?

Customers should feel they have a say in the kind of service/product they receive. Asking them about the next step achieves that. Know if a prospective customer is ready to move forward. If they are holding back, find out why. Understand the purchasing process of your consumers and find out how to get them across the finish line without being pushy. A question like “what else can I do?” gives consumers a chance to remember anything else that may help improve the experience.

The line between an interested customer and a worthy conversion can get blurry at times. Businesses should have a process to eliminate consumers who are not worthy of pushing to and that helps save resources. Qualifying questions are essential in choosing the right consumers.