Written by Meredith Hart @meredithlhart
You've spent hours prospecting:
researching, making warm calls, reaching out via email and
on social media. If
you have prospects who are dragging their feet or slowing a deal down, you
might be working with a tire kicker.
What is a tire kicker?
An individual who appears interested in making a purchase, but
never makes a buying decision. Tire kickers frequently engage with sales teams
by asking questions and raising objections, prolonging the sales process
without ever committing to a deal.
Tire kickers are the people who
beat around the bush, haggle you for prices, and generally waste your time.
Sound familiar? These are the types of prospects you should remove from your
pipeline ASAP so you can focus your time and energy on better
opportunities.
Quality over quantity.
Working every deal might sound
like the best way to close more deals, but your time is best spent on quality
leads that have a higher likelihood of closing.
So, how can separate these tire
kickers from well-qualified prospects? If tire kickers have you pulling your
hair out, use these tips and strategies to identify them.
How to Identify Tire Kickers
1.
They don't match your target persona.
2.
They haven't done their research.
3.
Their need isn't urgent.
4.
They don't have the budget.
5.
They waste your time.
1. They don't match your target persona.
The first way to identify a
tire kicker is to determine if they match your target persona or
customer profile. Here are a few questions to consider when determining a good
fit.
·
Are they in the industry or territory you're targeting?
·
Do they fit the demographics of the target persona?
·
Does your product or service fill a need for them?
If the prospect doesn't meet
the criteria you and your team have set then they're not worth your time. This
is one of the simplest ways to tell tire kickers from real prospects.
2. They haven't done their research.
Consumers and companies are
more informed than ever and often research potential products and solutions
before ever speaking to a sales rep -- this is true for B2B and B2C companies.
Prospective customers often
have a general idea of what your business does and the value it provides to
customers.
While you shouldn't rule out
all cold leads (those
who haven't shown interest in your business), you should keep in mind that it
can take more time to nurture these leads. It's especially challenging if
you're working with a prospect who seems disinterested right from the start.
It takes time and energy to
educate prospects (e.g., discovery calls, sending emails, providing additional
resources) on your product or service's value proposition. If you continue to
work with poor-fit prospects that don't see value in your product or service,
this cuts into the time you could be using to pursue viable leads that have a
need or interest in your value proposition.
3. Their need isn't urgent.
Once you've identified the
problem that can be solved by your product or service, it's time to determine
how important this problem is to them.
·
Are they highly motivated to solve it?
·
Do they have a timeline for when the problem should be resolved?
·
Is there a different issue or initiative they care about more that
will compete for their attention and decision-making capital?
If the prospect doesn't show a
willingness to act or a pressing need to resolve their issue, then they might
not be ready to work with you or make a purchase.
4. They don't have the budget.
Tire kickers often come up with
budget objections, which can be an indicator that they're not actually
interested in purchasing your product or service. Or, they simply can't afford
your product.
Sales expert Geoffrey James says,
"a price objection isn't 'real' until the customer has brought it up
twice." If a prospect has an objection, James recommends using the
following soundbite:
"I hear you. The best
products are often more expensive."
Using this response the first
time you hear "it's too expensive" helps you separate the prospects
who truly don't have the budget from those who are just kicking tires. It's
easier to make a sale if the prospective customer has the budget and authority
to make a purchase -- these are the people you should be dedicating the
majority of your time on.
If there isn't a budget fit,
let the prospect know, "Given what you’ve told me about your budget, I
don’t believe our product is the right fit for you.” When possible, provide
them with free tools or resources they could benefit from in the meantime. Just
because they aren't a good fit now, doesn't mean they won't come back when the
budget's right.
5. They waste your time.
When you finally get on the
phone with a prospect, do they stray away (far away) from the planned
agenda, or go off on unrelated tangents? You might be talking to a tire kicker.
While providing a personalized
experience is crucial to building rapport with a prospect and earning their
trust, it puts a strain on the salesperson to answer each and every question
about the product or service, provide minute details about features, and offer
consultative advice.
Sales expert and CEO, Pete Caputa,
provides the following advice when it comes to protecting your time. He says,
"While it's critical to ask your prospects what they want to talk about
and incorporate those topics into the agenda, it's also important for you to
have a goal for every sales call as well. Otherwise, you can waste a lot of
time talking to tire kickers."
It's key to outline an agenda
for each call or meeting. But, if the prospect takes full control of the
conversation every time you meet, it's challenging to make progress with them
and can be a sign for you to walk away.
While this isn't an exhaustive
list of ways to identify tire kickers, you'll save time by keeping them in mind
throughout the prospecting and qualification process. Don't ignore the warning
signs and your own intuition. If a prospect meets one or more of these
indicators, they're likely kicking the tire and aren't willing to move forward
with or commit to purchasing.
Once you implement these
strategies, you'll start to relate to this tire kicker meme and smile knowing
you're working with the best-fit prospects.
Remember, the best salespeople
are those who can walk away from the deal early when
they recognize it isn't a good fit. They use the time that would be spent on
tire kickers nurturing better-fit prospects instead or prospecting to fill
their pipelines with quality leads.
Looking for more tips? Check
out this ultimate guide to prospecting next.
Originally published Feb 13, 2020
1:15:00 PM, updated February 13 2020
https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/tire-kicker?utm_campaign=Sales%20Blog%20-%20Daily%20Manual%20Emails&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=83322369
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