Not all sales leads are the same. As you work your prospect pool, you’ll want to approach leads with angles that correspond to their positions in the sales funnel. To close more deals, you need to a way to efficiently determine who’s a lukewarm prospect and who’s a serious buyer.

Al Davis, writing for Business2community, declares that salespeople often waste too much time “chasing the wrong leads.” It’s only natural to want to talk longer to that nice friendly prospect you met at last month’s meeting. The problem is, that prospect may be nowhere near ready to sign a contract.

You can cut down on this waste and qualify prospects who come your way by asking a few simple questions in your first conversations with them. Prepare a list of questions designed to extract the information you need to assess their status. For example, you want to know why they’ve reached out to you. Ask about the major problems they’re having with their business. And, you should also learn about their decision time frames.

If you’re working with a number of prospects, especially after you’ve chatted with them at a conference or trade show, take the time to score them. There’s no sense in spending a significant part of your time and energy with a prospect who doesn’t have a business problem you can solve. You need to call, email and make presentations to leads who have clearly described a business problem you have a solution for and who plan to buy a product or service in the next couple of months.

It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the volume of leads you’re managing.  Take the time to assess each prospect’s situation and discover their needs. Allocating your best resources to hot prospects will give you a head start on making your numbers this year.