September 12, 2023 1 minute read
RICHARD WRIGHT
Managing Director at ASPIRE Account Management
SALES OPPORTUNITY QUALIFICATION
Extensive amounts of time and money are frequently wasted in the pursuit of sales opportunities which either don't result in an order or, where an order is taken, there is either a very low profit margin or an actual overall loss. Also, in many ‘lost order’ cases, the bidder had little or no chance of winning the order in the first place.
Such financial losses and disappointments can so often be avoided by performing rigorous qualification to determine the chances of actually winning the order and also minimise the delivery risks should an order be taken to undertake work or to provide a service, people or product.
So, a thorough qualification exercise needs to take place at both the outset of the sales process and then on an ongoing basis if it’s decided to go ahead and bid. Because such a wide range of questions need to be asked, these are divided into ten separate groups. To make these easier to remember, the first letter of each group name is used to create the acronym COSMONAUTS.
As it’s virtually impossible to remember all the questions off by heart, ‘COSMONAUTS’ should at least help you to remember the ten groups, which will then hopefully trigger some of the key questions. This is so important as qualification doesn't conveniently happen all in one go. It can be spread over several days or weeks, even months, and sometimes in an informal exchange with the Client when you haven't had the opportunity to prepare.
Please note that the word 'contract' is used to represent all types of sales opportunity/order (individual assignment, project, service, people placement, product, etc). Also, the word 'Client' is used generically to represent both Clients and Prospects.
You’ll see that not all the questions are for the Client directly. Some of the required information will already be held in the Account File &/or known by the Account Manager and some by people who have worked, or are currently working, for the Client in question. Other information may be obtained from the Client's website, PR office, Annual Report & Accounts, etc.
You can also score the answers in each group and apply weightings according to your Company's view on importance, risk, etc. In any event, you should stop all further sales activity if you become concerned with the qualification outcomes to such an extent that they cannot be resolved to your satisfaction and therefore minimise the amount of time & money spent on an inappropriate sales opportunity.
Some example qualification questions are given below:
Competition - are they currently working for the Client, or done so previously?
Opportunity - would the contract provide important new Client contacts/business knowledge?
Solution - what are the strengths & weaknesses of your solution?
Money - are your cost estimates within the Client’s budget?
Objective - what is your Company's reason for pursuing this contract (strategic, tactical, financial, idle resources, etc)?
Need - what are the consequences of the Client not going ahead with the contract
Authority - who are the influencers & decision makers; do you have access to them?
Unique - are any of your USPs in the Client's decision-making criteria?
Timescale - can you realistically complete all the sales bid activities, in addition to what is to be delivered contractually, in the required timescales
Size - is the contract too big for your Company?
Click here for another 60+ qualification questions
Please also remember that qualification should continue throughout the sales process as circumstances & knowledge will be constantly changing on both 'sides'.
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE LIST OF ALL CHECKS & TIPS
BEST PRACTICE QUOTE 8 OF 12
“inadequate qualification of sales opportunities will have potentially disastrous financial consequences & a very damaging effect on morale”
Another 20+ components of account management can be found at ASPIRE Account Management together with over 300 free checks & tips - all of which aim to significantly improve supplier performance and block the competition.
NEXT POST: Balanced Scorecard
Account Management Blogs - the series:
Introduction to Account Management
Understanding Your Clients
Supplier Values, Ethos & Image
The Account Manager
Client Relationship Management
Client Contact Management
Sales Propositions & Opportunities
Sales Opportunity Qualification (today)
Balanced Scorecard
Client Account Performance Reviews
Client Satisfaction Surveys
Risk Management
As these blogs will be geared to anyone engaged in developing new business with clients or prospects, and for ease of context, I’ll regard all readers as account managers as everyone has the same endgame, no offence!
I really hope you, your colleagues & business associates find value in these blogs; please let me know either way. Please also get in touch if you think there might be potential for our businesses to collaborate.
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