We've all had times when we thought that we had a prospect ready to become a first-time customer, only to be blown away by the disastrous words “We can't afford it,” or “I have to get permission to buy it,” or “Sorry, but we don't really need it.” To avoid these deadly sales-killers, you have to make sure that you're always dealing with a M-A-N—someone with the Means, the Authority, and the Need to buy.
ACTION ITEM
Make sure in advance that your prospect has the means (the money or the credit), the authority (the right to sign a purchasing agreement), and the need (a use for your product or services) to become your customer.
Mary Anne had called on a manufacturing company's purchasing agent several times and had established a good rapport. She was confident that, by sticking with it, she would get their business for the industrial tools, cutting drill bits, and hand tools that they needed. Only after several months did the buyer finally explain that his wife was also a representative of an industrial tool company, and he just couldn't buy from anyone else. Mary Anne had been going down a dead-end path because she was not dealing with a M-A-N. She had not qualified the prospect to make sure that he had the means, the authority, and the need to buy.
TAKEAWAY
Don't try to sell clothes to nudists, meat to
vegetarians, bibles to atheists, or guns to
peace activists. This will just waste your
time with unqualified prospects.