When running a successful sales operation it is often not the cost of running successful sales efforts that hits the bottom line, but actually the cost of running unsuccessful efforts. Think of it this way. If 50% of the net revenue was met by the sales costs, then if you have to convert more than 50% of opportunities to sales. If you won 1 in 3 deals, you will be loosing money because of the lost opportunities.
So why not just make sure you are more successful? Because this isn't always a possibility. You might be an emerging technology, and some companies only buy from the Gartner top right quadrant! You might have a best of breed niche solution, but the prospect wants to buy from a large existing provider. You might have something that is written in English, but have to sell it to a company whose internal language is French.
So you rock up to a sales call, having found that there is a budget, a project, a recognition that your solution can solve their pain. So the opportunity is well qualified? Maybe... Maybe not. You need to find out if this is an opportunity you can win. If it isn't - like some of the above reasons - is it a fight worth fighting?
Not only is there a cost advantage in qualifying out of an opportunity early, there is an effort and a time advantage too. How many trips have you made as an SE only to find out that the customer won't buy your product - or the chance is very small?
As an SE, often this won't be your call, but your job is to ensure the sales team are well informed about the technical viability of your product. Sure that many objections can be overcome, and that you need to really find out if an obstacle is a real one. However if you can find out more quickly that your solution is not one that is being seriously considered, then it is to everyone's advantage to not waste further time.
To check that a problem is not too serious, make the customer sell back the solution to you. Get them to tell you how you can get around the problem. Find out if they will install a windows server, in their Linux datacenter. Find out if that small french speaking team can use a tool written in english. Find out if there are other champions who might fight to get your product in to solve the problem. If they won't fight for it, then it won't be very likely to win the business.
The advantage for the business again, if in the above example the customer could qualify out of the 2 lost deals earlier, and not spend 50% of the cost of sale on the losing efforts, the company might make money instead of losing it.
The advantage for the business again, if in the above example the customer could qualify out of the 2 lost deals earlier, and not spend 50% of the cost of sale on the losing efforts, the company might make money instead of losing it.