When it comes to complex, non-standard deals, there are typically two winners:
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The one who won 🏆
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and… the one who first decided to withdraw 🙅♂️
For everyone else? Just time wasted and energy drained.
Captain obvious take #1 - qualification matters.
Let’s imagine your sales pipeline as a big dartboard. You’ve got two options:
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Grab a handful of darts, close your eyes, and throw them all at once. Some might hit the board. Most will miss. But hey, with enough darts, something is bound to stick, right?
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Take one dart, aim carefully, and throw with precision. You might take fewer shots, but your chances of hitting the bullseye are way higher.
Which approach sounds better?
Captain obvious take #2 - there are few key signs that indicate solid qualification.
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You’re early in the process.
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You have real access to key decision makers.
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The customer’s problem is clear and your solution stands out.
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Timeline & budget are in place.
Sounds simple, right? Yet, so many sales teams skip this step entirely.
And the tricky part is when it gets biased. Because us, humans, we tend to get biased 🚨.
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Sales people, especially the ones who bring the deal tend to overqualify - if there’s even a small chance of closing - they’ll push it forward.
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Delivery teams tend to underqualify - if a deal looks risky, complex or painful to execute, they will flag it as a “bad fit”
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Gut feeling frequently wins - if the CEO says we should bid - there is no discussion.
So here’s the question for Today: is qualification a real challenge? Can it ever be done objectively, or will it always be part science, part gut instinct?
Drop your thoughts below. 👇
#qualification #sales #presales
Loosely related road pic from my iPhone gallery for attention
