Qualifying The Professional Buyer
It requires! A somewhat different yardstick to determine whether there is a reasonable chance of selling the purchasing agent, the professional department store buyer, the institutional purchaser for hotels, hospitals, and colleges:
Can the company afford the item? A small contractor is unlikely to be able to afford much very heavy equipment. The credit standing of a company should be qualified if there is any doubt about the ability to pay for presses, lathes, trucks.
Does this company executive have the power to buy? Or do all purchasers have to get the final approval of the president, a purchasing committee, the purchasing agent, or the plant manager. Sometimes architects, engineers doctors, accountants are merely specify not buyers. At other times their recommendation to purchase your aluminum windows, your milling machine, or your surgical instruments is equivalent to an order to purchase. So the job of the salesman is (1) to make sure he is reaching the man who can authorize the purchase, or (2) to see the man who can consider and recommend your product or service to a variety of clients.
Does your line include the type, size, or model of machine, or the right product, for the company that has the need? Are your sewing machines heavy enough for denims? Do you have a letter file of suitable size for the legal size documents used in courthouse records? Is your drill press designed primarily for the home workshop or is it rugged enough for vocational school use and misuse?