Imagine you walk into a store you've never been in before. As soon as you walk in the door, you're approached by someone with a huge, insincere smile and a name tag.

"Welcome to THE STORE. Will this be cash or charge?"

Startled, you manage to stammer "I-I'm just looking, thanks."

"Great! That's just great! Want me to hold onto your credit card for you while you shop?"

You'd figure out really quick what matters to people at THE STORE, wouldn't you? It's not about you; it's all about the money. Closing the sale.

Your first qualification question should be the least intrusive question that you ask. Why? Your relationship with the decision maker is brand new and you don’t want to appear pushy…instead you want to appear to be consultative and helpful. Asking a question like “Are you in the market for a new system?” without first developing a relationship is going to be perceived as an interruption. You come across as someone who's only after the sale or your commission…fly by night…inexperienced...not trustworthy.

Opening Questions

You will increase your chances of getting this question answered if you slow your process and build a relationship first. Some examples of good opening question..

I noticed you are a Microsoft Solutions Partner…does that help you open doors?

I noticed that you are using bar-coding in your warehouse; has that been working out?

I read recently that you just won Toyota Manufacturing as a new account. Congratulations. That must be huge! (Okay, that's not a question...but it does show that you took the time to find out about their business, AND it sets up the questions about how they plan on handling the influx of new work.)

Lead generation is NOT sales. Lead generation IS figuring out whether or not a prospect might be the right kind of person for your product or service. It doesn't matter whether they are in the market for what you sell or not, at this point. When they ARE in the market, will you have your foot in the door. And asking for the sale upfront is not the way to do it.

To be successful, you need to leave your sales hat at the door. You aren't trying to sell anyone anything. You're trying to find out whether or not there is a way you can help this person. In order to know that, that person has to tell you what sort of help he or she needs. And before he or she tells you that, they have to trust you first.

Forget your product for a minute and focus first on the person on the other end of the line. If they feel like you are interested in their best interests, then when they ARE in the market, you'll be the one they call. And you will have just generated a solid lead.