Qualifying Out

Qualifying out is walking away on purpose. You have run the deal through MEDDPICC, you have found that there is no Economic Buyer access, no Champion, no Metrics anyone has agreed to, or no reason to act this year, and you have decided that your time is worth more somewhere else. It is a decision, with a reason you can state out loud, and it is one of the strongest moves a seller can make.

The question it answers: should we even be in this deal?

The mistake is believing that more pipeline is always better. It is not. A pipeline full of deals that will never close costs you the deals that would have. Every hour on a no-hope opportunity is an hour not spent building a Champion in a real one. The other mistake is softer and more common: the seller knows the deal is dead and keeps it alive in the CRM because killing it feels like admitting failure. So it sits there, ageing, propping up a coverage number that everyone upstairs is relying on.

How I use it. Nobody regrets qualifying out. I coined that line years ago to give sellers permission, and I have yet to find the exception. One of two things happens when you qualify out. Either you were right, the opportunity was not worth it, and you have your time back. Or the act of walking away corrects the customer’s behaviour. The Economic Buyer who would not meet you suddenly has a slot on Thursday. The Champion who was a Coach finds some power. Either way you win. Carry on pretending and you lose slowly, which is the most expensive way to lose.