Are you sick of the freebie hunters, tyre-kickers and the time wasted on calls without actually making sales? Then this podcast episode is for you where I show you how:
- To make sure the people who want to work with you are booking sales calls
- to have people excited about buying from you BEFORE they even book a call with you
- and how to pre-qualify your leads so you’re not wasting your time and theirs.
Plus, I share my template for what to do when someone comes to pick your brains and so you’re not giving away your value and expertise for free.
Tyre-Kickers And Freebie Hunters
Time is precious and we can’t lose it needlessly. It can be draining to take many calls and not see the sales as a result. A masterclass is great for setting people up and getting them into buying mode. It can also help you pre-qualify your leads. It will increase your conversion rate as well.
Pre-Qualify Your Leads
There are several ways to pre-qualify your leads. You can have a pre-qualification call on your call link. Software such as Calendly gives you pre-qualification forms. You can discover their intentions through this form. If you want an example of what this looks like, book a call with me here.
I have certain tick boxes to set the boundaries and expectations. It states the ballpark figure for my coaching. It also sets boundaries to arrive on time and turn up. This sets out expectations and demands respect. Sometimes people don’t give that respect and if you don’t set boundaries, people will push them. It helps makes sure you have the right people on your calls.
Setting out finances and what they are willing to invest helps the person understand what they are looking for from the call. If someone selects that they are not willing to invest, I will still take the call. It depends on the answers to other questions. You need to tailor the questions to your industry.
However, it’s a pretty bold statement to say they do not want to invest and do want to take the call. At that point, people can see I have strong boundaries. Firstly, they might tick the box because they cannot afford my services. I will still take the call and give them directions or give them other options available. Secondly, they tick the box because they don’t want to be sold to – I will take that call. It’s a holistic view of the whole form, especially if I know that I can help them.
How Did They Find You?
I also add: how have you heard about me? This is crucial. While you can have different links, it also gives you information about how engaged they will be on that call. If a person has found you on LinkedIn that day, it’s unlikely that call will be fruitful as this is the first time they’ve heard from you. When this happens, I won’t take that call.
I don’t pretend my calls are there to coach you. It bugs me when I see the age-old mistake of pimping out your time for free. This means you spend time talking to tyre-kickers. It also creates an icky feeling on that call. They are there to get coaching for free and they are expecting this. It’s a bait and switch where you turn it into a sales call. It puts both of you in an awkward position.
I will absolutely go through the steps on that call, go through your business and find out where you are going wrong. But I will not give the advice that I’m giving my paying clients. It is disrespectful to them. I will guide you to map out the steps to take forward but I will not give you details on how to take those steps as that is what my clients pay for.
People will get value from those calls. They might discover they have bigger problems and have a new direction. Anyone who takes a call with me will walk away with value – even if they don’t invest. They will have clarity on their situation and honesty from me.
Pre-Qualify Through Education
You can pre-qualify your leads through education, such as using a masterclass. It’s about helping people to warm up. Helping people absorb and take in your content is the best way to help them want to buy from you. You do not want to be delivering value on the calls. This is for them to get a few more details and ask questions. You want them to feel excited and to say yes if they can.
You get there by giving value upfront first. There is a right and wrong kind of value to give. There is a myth that if you give all your stuff away, they will buy from you. This is completely untrue. Educating people first before they have a call with you, will be more ready to say yes.
Many people overlook this kind of pre-qualification. Look at your journey and your email list. Are there videos where they can experience more of you? And this then leads to booking a call? Do you have your call booking links on your emails? Make sure you take calls from people who have consumed your content. You can make this a pre-qualification for your call.
Without warming people up before a sales call, you will need to be a sales ninja. I don’t teach my clients how to be sales ninjas. I teach my clients how to bring people to buying decisions with integrity before they even get on a call.
B2B Pre Qualification
You have business development calls where you have to gather more information on the phone before you move into sales calls. With B2B there are more calls involved and you need more conversations. You can use prequalification forms on the calls but you need to be more proactive in your outreach. These are often a higher return on investment.
What If Someone Messages You With A Specific Question?
If someone asks you a really specific question like: what do I put in my sales emails, how many should I have? You need to respond with:
Hey NAME,
It’s great to hear from you. This is absolutely something I can help with – I teach and help my clients with this. However, it would be disrespectful to them to give you this for free. Let’s jump on a call on X day at X time and chat about how I can potentially help you move forward with that.
This sets the boundary that you’re not going to give it away for free but you’re happy to chat with them. Then you can turn it into a sales call – completely transparently with your call link. It sets that boundary but that you’ll still help.
One of the best ways to put that boundary in place is to go through a masterclass sales funnel.
Useful links:
Book a Call with Jen – bit.ly/claritycallpodcast
Send your emails to jen@jen-hall.com
Available on Apple iTunes, Spotify & Stitcher (Just search Expert Unrivalled Podcast)