Tag: Prospecting & Qualifying

I was having lunch with a client last week and she was telling me about how frustrated she was with a prospect who wasn’t calling her back.

“But our first meeting went so well,” she told me.

I asked her what happened, and she told me that she visited with a prospect who currently has four other vendors and was initially resistant to using a fifth. My client persisted, however, developed good rapport, and the prospect said she could submit an RFP on their next job.

My client left feeling good about the lead and excited that she had been able to overcome the initial resistance.  She went back to her office, put together her proposal, emailed it to the prospect and began following up. Not surprising to me (and soon to her), she got no response from the prospect.

“I can’t understand it!” She repeated.

I don’t know about you, but this whole transaction had Red Flags all over it. To begin with, whenever I hear “RFP Process,” a host of questions jump out at me. Here’s what I’m thinking (and you should be, too):

1.    How many RFP’s are they getting?
2.    Is their current supplier submitting one, too?
3.    Did they review with their current supplier the last time they had an RFP?
4.    Did they go with them at that time?
5.    How likely are they to go with them again?
6.    Why are they even going through the process of accepting RFP’s?
7.    Are they required to get at least 3-5 bids?
8.    How many do they already have?
9.    Have they essentially already decided on the winner and are only going through the process?
10.    Is price (or what is??) the deciding factor?
11.    Do I honestly have a chance at this deal?
12.    Am I doing this (submitting my RFP) just to be busy hoping I might get it?

All these thoughts need to be scripted into qualifying/disqualifying questions and you need to ask them before you enter any RFP Process. If you don’t get this information, chances are you’ll end up on the outside with no return call. And I’m sure you know how that feels!

What do you think about this article?  Leave your comments and questions below.

I’ve written, tested, re-written, tweaked, copy edited, composed, marketed, reviewed, and used thousands of telemarketing scripts over the last 26 years.

I’ve written and used opening scripts, closing scripts, prospecting cold calling scripts, warm inbound scripts, closing scripts, rebuttal scripts, trial close scripts, initial resistance scripts, blow off scripts, qualifying scripts, etc….

Bottom line? Nobody writes better scripts than yours truly, Mr. Inside Sales. Heck, I wrote the book on scripts The Complete Book of Phone Scripts which you can get at almost half price today by using the coupon code: SCRIPTS But more on that later…

When companies and sales reps hire me to write or review or tweak their prospecting scripts, almost always I find they are saying or doing the same things wrong.  In today’s article, I’m going to give you The 5 Secrets to writing Killer Prospecting Scripts.

Secret #1: Stop asking, “How are you today?” Believe it or not, 80% of your competition still advertise themselves as lame sales reps making cold calls by asking this over used and insincere question.  Nothing identifies you more as a pesky telemarketer than opening your call with that question.

Instead, try: “Hi _________, how’s your (day of the week) going?”

Or, “Well hi _________, happy (day of the week) to you!”

These may not sound that impressive, but believe me, they work!  Try it and see for yourself.

Secret #2: Stop talking at your prospect and instead ask a question so you can connect early on. Again, believe it or not, 80% of your competition start pitching as soon as they get their prospect on the phone.  Compare your own script to this and ask yourself how long your first opening paragraph is.  Three sentences?  Four?  Way too long!

You must engage your prospect right away and begin a conversation.  That means asking them a question early on!  Try something like (after you’ve wished them a happy Tuesday):

“__________ the reason for the call is to let you know about the service we provide with regards to your accounting procedures.  Who’s handling that for you now?”

Or, “__________ briefly, the reason I’m calling is to show you how we could perhaps save you money and time with your widget process.  I was told that you handle that, is that correct?”

See how that goes?  It’s imperative that you connect right away, and the best way to do that is by asking a question.

Secret #3: Listen and Think B-4 You Respond Next:  Asking a question in the beginning not only allows you to connect with your prospect, but it also allows you to gauge their reaction.  The reason 80% of your competition is afraid to ask a question is they are afraid their prospect might not be interested.  That’s OK!!

The Top 20% are anxious to find out who is, who isn’t, and how much someone might be.  And they do that by carefully listening to their prospect’s response to this question, and then they Listen and Think B-4 Responding.  You need to as well.

In other words, don’t just start pitching again here, but rather, be prepared to vary your response based on what and how your prospect responds.  In other words, listen and react to what they say.

Secret #4: Make sure you have a list of questions to ask your prospect so you can gather all the information you’ll need to fully qualify or disqualify them. You need to know the six areas I’ve written on before, but basically you need to know:

•    Why they’ll buy (their hot buttons)
•    Why they won’t buy (possible deal killing objections)
•     Who makes the decision (how many people are involved)
•    What the decision process is all about – how long, etc.
•    What other companies they are looking at (who your competition is)
•    Their budget

If you don’t know all of these things before you send out your demo or information or quote, then I’ll bet you’re closing less than 3 out of 10 leads sent out.

Secret #5: Make an exact appointment time to get back with your prospect. You’d be amazed by how many sales reps are not doing this!  Instead, 80% of sales reps are chasing and chasing unqualified leads they can never reach again (and who never close).

Making an appointment gives you SO much information.  First, if they won’t commit it tells you how uncontrollable your prospect is.  And remember, “Leads never get better!”  Also, if your prospect misses your appointment, what does that say about them?  And, of course, when your prospect is there and waiting for your call, what does that tell you?

Start setting a definite time with ALL your prospects and watch your closing rate start to climb…

So there you have it – the five secrets of writing killer prospecting scripts.  You can instantly improve your prospecting script by incorporating any or all of these techniques.  And if you want to do it the easy way, then take advantage of my Special Offer today and get over 110 pages of proven and effective scripts for over 40% OFF!

Right now, save $20 on my $49 “Complete Book Of Phone Scripts” Use the coupon code, SCRIPTS and save $20 instantly!  You’ll get a ton of great scripts for just $29!!  Visit: http://www.mrinsidesales.com/scripts.htm to read about this valuable sales resource.

Did you like these tips? Do you have questions about writing your own scripts?  Leave your comment below.

I get many requests each week from readers who want to know how they should deal with incoming “warm” leads.  “These leads are more qualified because they are calling in,” I hear over and over.  But we all know this isn’t necessarily true is it?  In fact this attitude leads to the biggest mistake 80% of your competition is making when they receive warm leads —

“They go into pitch mode rather than qualification mode.”
80% of your competition mistake the “implied interest” of a call in to mean they are already qualified, and all they need to do is explain their product or service.  Wrong!

The Top 20%, on the other hand, know that warm leads can be some of the biggest time wasters of all, so they do what they always do — disqualify people who are “just looking” so that they can identify the real buyers, and they do this by asking questions rather than pitching.

Here are some great questions to ask the next time you get a warm lead:

“Thank you for contacting us today, what was it about our ad/promotion/website that caused you to call us today?” [Listen for the buying motive]

“Who else are you looking into?” [Listen for your competition]

“What do you like best so far?”

“How long have you been thinking about (buying, investing, changing) something like this?”  Then,

“What has kept you from acting on this?” [Listen for possible objections]

“When are you looking to make a decision on this?”
You see how this goes.  Just remember, to be a Top 20% producer, you have to begin finding buyers — whatever the lead source.  So stop pitching and start qualifying!  Remember, it’s still up to you to find and separate the buyers from the non-buyers.

What are your thoughts on warm leads?  Leave us a comment below.

I always tell sales reps that your client or prospect has all the answers as to why they will or why they won’t buy, and that it’s your job to find that information out. You do this by asking the right qualifying questions, by layering those questions, by qualifying any red flags you get and by actually listening to the answers you’re given.

While this may sound basic and simple enough, you’d be amazed by how many sales reps still don’t do this correctly. There are a ton of reasons why, but in order to simplify the entire process, I’m going to give you the one question that will get your prospect to tell you exactly what they are looking for (and what they’re not looking for as well). And here it is:

During the course of your qualifying, simply ask your prospect, “_________, if you could wave a magic wand right now and fix (or get) three things that would help your (sales process, bottom line, productivity – whatever is appropriate for your prospect), what would you wish for?”

Now shut up and listen. You will be amazed by what comes next. My experience is that my prospect immediately begins telling me exactly what they are looking for. As I listen carefully, I’m asking myself if my services can actually help them, or if they have issues that are outside of my range of services – like more procedural or accounting/process based.

If they are telling me something that I know I can’t help them with, then I know they are not going to be a buyer. If this is the case, I try to find them a resource and move on.

If, however, they tell me things that I know I can help them with, then, after waiting until they are completely done, I will then give them the good news:

“__________ I’m glad you shared that with me, and I’ve got some great news for you. The Top 20% customized training program we’re talking about addresses those wishes perfectly and let me tell you why.  First of all….”

I then go over, point by point, exactly how my training matches up with their expressed needs/desires, and I specifically use their exact wording back to them as much as I can (I was taking notes as they spoke!).

This technique works especially well in today’s economy because it gets your prospect to open up and start talking. And, of course, it gets them to reveal why they will or won’t be a deal for your product or service.

People ask me all the time what separates the Top 20% producers from the other 80%, and I tell them it starts in the qualification stage.

The bottom line is that 80% of your competition is trying to create a qualified lead from prospects who will never buy, while the Top 20% producers are more interested in finding the real buyers — not in generating useless leads.

And the way they do that this is by disqualifying prospects rather than qualifying them.

The attitude shift here is what’s so important. 80% of sales reps are desperate to “fill their pipelines,” and will send out anybody with the pulse just so they have someone to pitch later on. Companies and sales managers train them in this way (a big waste of time and money), and then the sales reps spend their time chasing unqualified leads, getting rejected, practicing poor sales skills, and barely getting by.

It’s sad, but that’s how 80% of your competition spend their sales careers. This leads to poor morale, upset managers, and a lot of turn over.

The Top 20%, however, would never think of sending out unqualified leads and instead eliminate prospects who don’t fit their strict criteria of a buyer. The Top 20% are of the mindset to disqualify rather than qualify and usually send out the fewest leads in the office, but they have the highest closing rates and they make the most amount of money.

For the Top 20%, part of disqualification means stopping and questioning the “red flags” they get, and asking the tough questions about budget, real interest, timelines, and decision processes. When they are done with the qualification call they can tell you why the prospect will buy, what it will take, and in many cases they’ve asked trial closes and can tell you when the prospect will buy.

If you’re sitting at your desk right now, I know you know the difference between these two ways. And now you have a choice to make: either keep chasing unqualified leads, or step up to the plate and learn how to be a Top 20% producer.

So many companies these days get their leads from website inquiries, trade shows, Internet advertising, media advertising, etc, and they ask me over and over again: “What’s the best way to deal with these kinds of leads?”

Good question.  You would think that getting back to a “warm lead” would be easy, but you’d be surprised how many sales reps (80% of them) mishandle these opportunities.

Here are the do’s and don’ts of qualifying warm leads.

#1: DO begin your opening in a welcoming, and assumptive way.  Try:

“Hi ______ this is ______ with  ________ company.  I wanted to thank you for (visiting our web site, stopping by our booth, your interest in) and I wanted to answer any questions you had.  What specifically were you interested in?

DON’T be vague:

“Ah, this is ________ getting back with you, I see you went to our web site and I was wondering how I can help you?”

#2:  DO be prepared to ask qualifying questions and LISTEN to uncover their specific buying motives.  Try:

“What motivated you to take the time to fill out our request form?”

“What specifically were you interested in?”

“What part of our (product/service) appealed to you most?”

“Many of our clients like that we provide X.  Is that what you were looking for, too?

DON’T start pitching!  80% of your competition make the critical error of assuming a warm lead is interested in your product or service so they start pitching.  Don’t go into pitch mode!

#3:  DO use a script.  The Top 20% understand how important it is to make a connection, stay in control, uncover buying motives, and disqualify the prospects who are just looking.  Only a carefully crafted script allows you to do that.

DON’T ad-lib your way through your presentation.  80% of your competition still make the mistake of assuming that a warm lead is a good lead and so they often quickly make appointments, send demos, etc., without properly qualifying. Big mistake!  Treat a warm lead like any other and qualify it using a script.

Applying these three rules will vastly improve your success with call-in or warm leads.  Incorporate them today and see for yourself – you’ll glad you did!

Please leave your comments in the comments box below.

In response to last week’s article on ?Just send some information,? someone wrote and asked this: ?Sometimes it takes five to seven ?touches? before someone will buy, and sending information begins that process. How do I strike a balance or know when to just cut bait and not send anything?"

I understand it’s important to build relationships and that sending information is part of a process, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t disqualify those who are just looking for an easy way to get you off the phone, or who are trying to blow you off.

What you must do is ask questions, like:

?I’d be happy to, what other kind of information, companies, or solutions are you looking at now?"

This tells you how many other people they have given this line to (and how many brochures they?ve collected and who your competition is), and then:

?And what do you like so far?"

This tells you about their decision process and chances are any objections or stalls they mention will be the same you’ll get when you call back as well!

?What has kept you from moving ahead with that?"

Again, this will reveal their objections (as well as some of their buying motives perhaps). They may also come right out and say why they aren’t buying anything right now (and this would obviously apply to your information or product as well!)

I’m sure you can think of some of your own questions, but the point is that before you just send your information, you’ve got to do your job and qualify!