How to distinguish between different types of leads in sales

Gilan Gork is an expert mentalist, bestselling author and global speaker in over 30 countries. He helps companies develop their teams so they can lead, sell, market and inspire on new levels.

Here’s the problem. Your prospects are misleading you, even though they’re unaware of it.

The Three Stooges…

You sell cutlery. You glance at three names on your prospect list. The first is John, a mechanic who spends most of his day under a vehicle. Second on your list is Jarryd, who runs a successful corporate events company. Last is Harry who owns the Italian restaurant down the road.

You don’t need to be a mentalist to know that John, the mechanic, is the least ‘qualified’ to buy from you. So you call Jarryd. You hit it off well: He seems interested, and he keeps asking for more information when you follow up. Harry was a little less conversational, though he was engaged. When you followed up he asked for your price list.

So who’s most likely to buy right now?

Jarryd and Harry both seem like qualified leads, however, there’s a subtlety you need to be aware of if you want to close more sales faster. Jarryd is a friendly guy, but the fact that he’s always asking for more information means he’s a ‘marketing qualified lead’. These are prospects who could buy from you some day and need further nurturing. Harry, on the other hand, was showing signs of being ready to buy right now – that is a ‘sale qualified lead’ and should be closed right away.

These two types of leads often display similar levels of interest, however, if you try too hard to close a ‘marketing qualified lead’ you could lose them, and if you don’t close a ‘sales qualified lead’ then someone else will before you.

Download a cheat sheet to help you tell the difference at www.influenceinstitute.com/3-types-of-leads