Tire kickers are the bane of car salesmen and web designers alike. They call or visit, ask about the product or service, ask for a little more information, thank you, then hang up or leave. A day or maybe a week later, they repeat the process, asking for more information, more detail, and maybe a lower price. But after eating up lots of your time and just about all of your patience, they still aren't ready to buy. Or, not from you.

Of course, every once in a while someone who appears to be a tire kicker turns into a customer. Sometimes a good customer. So how do you deal with tire kickers? How can you tell the tire kickers who really do just need more information to make their choice from those who kick tires because they have little else to do with their time? And how do you get those almost ready to buy customers to take the plunge and buy from you?

One thing that helps is to qualify your visitors or callers early on in the sales process. Start by getting their name, phone number, and business name (if you sell to businesses). As you answer the prospect's initial questions, ask some yourself. Find out where they are in they buying process (ie., just gather information to determine what they need, already know what features they want, etc.) Ask who else will be involved in the buying decision, what their budget is for the product or project, and how soon they expect to make their purchase. Depending on what you sell, you may also want to ask who the prospect gets the product or service from now and why they're looking to make a change.

The prospect's answers will help you better separate the serious buyers from the tire kickers. It will also help you provide the information the customer needs to make the buying decision and to make the purchase from you.
More: How To Recover Your "Almost Customers"

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