In sales and selling we all use the terms ‘Qualified’ and ‘Qualifying’, and we all assume that the other person knows exactly what we mean when we use these terms.  However, I’m not convinced there’s a common definition of the term ‘Qualify’, so I thought I would test this idea by posing the question on one of the sales related discussion groups on LinkedIn.

I posted the question, “What does the term ‘Qualified’ mean in a selling situation?”

There was an excellent response to the question and many people provided their own definition of what ‘Qualified’ meant and others reinforced what earlier contributors had said.  All responses were were very well thought out and there was a certain commonality of definition.  I thought that Jeannette Marsall’s comment. “That if you qualify correctly, not only can you win the business, but you can also get a happy customer who will be a reference for you.” was appropriate and it speaks directly to the importance of qualifying. Read More…