Qualifying Equals More Sales and More Income

In my experience in the new home sales industry and the opinion of the top producers across virtually every business, the most important step in the sales process is Qualifying.

As it so happens, this is also the step that is most often either just glossed over or left out all together. There are many reasons for this, but the most common reason is feeling uncomfortable about asking the necessary questions to properly qualify a prospect. This uncomfortable feeling may stem from feeling that you have not earned the right to ask such personal questions. I can assure you, if you build rapport and commonality early, you will have earned the right to try and qualify them. Remember that you are a sales professional that wants to help your prospects buy a home.

If you want to increase your income, this is the quickest and easiest way to do it. We can all probably agree that using our time wisely and with qualified prospects is of major importance, right?

Have you ever spent an hour or two with a prospect that you thought was "it"? You felt great throughout the whole process and then at the very end you find out that they can either not afford the home or they do not qualify. It almost feels like the wind is knocked out of you and your prospect. You have done a magnificent job of getting the buyer excited about buying the home, and then you have to say, "Sorry, but you cannot buy at this time." That feels very awkward and defeating doesn't it?

I can promise you this; if you ask a certain line of questions before all this, you can save your time, your clients time, and most importantly, not have that awkward feeling at the end. Qualifying will also provide direction of what price range of home is affordable or desired. It will prevent you from showing a home that your prospect falls in love with, only to realize later that it is too expensive. Then you are left trying to pick up the pieces of their discouragement and you may be forced to show them their second choice. This is not an ideal situation to create a great buying experience.