Pre-Qualifying and Probing Questions for Sales

Ask most telemarketers (and managers) what the true definition of a qualified lead is and they won’t be able to tell you.

Ask the top closers what makes up a qualified lead and they’ll tell you they need to ask pre-qualifying and probing questions before they send out information or go into the close. And they use a qualifying checklist to make sure they get this information.

Information that needs to be on your Qualifying Checklist:

1. Why will they buy?
2. Why they won’t buy?
3. Who makes the decision?
4. What is involved in the decision process?
5. What is your competition?
6. What is the budget?

If you want to know how qualified any of your current leads are or where you need improvement, just ask yourself which of these things is missing from your leads now.

Here’s what each of these qualifiers means, and here are specific questions you can use to find them out:

Buying Motives (Needs and Wants)

What is this client looking for?

What are their buying motivations?

What do you need to say to get them to buy?

What is important to them?

What would they like to change this time?

If they could get what they want, what would that look like?

Sample Questions to Reveal Buying Motives

• "Bob, what are you hoping to accomplish with this?”
• "What is most important to you when choosing a vendor/company for this?”
• "If you could get everything you want from this (service/product/solution), what would that be?”
• “Why did you get the (service/product/solution) you got last time?”
• “What would it take for you to choose our company for this?” 

Why Won’t They Buy? (Potential Objections)

Why are they getting another quote?

What are some of their sore spots?

What are they trying to avoid?

Why didn’t they buy last time?

What would they like to change this time?

Why are they looking at different companies?

What are some of their potential objections?

Why won’t they buy?

Sample Questions to Reveal Potential Objections

• “Who do you usually get this (service/product/solution) from?"
• “Are you going to get a quote from them as well?"
• “Why are you considering using a different (vendor/company/provider) this time?"
• “What other solutions are you looking at?”
• “I see you looked at our company before, what kept you from going with us?”

Who’s The Decision Maker?

Who's the decision maker?

How many of them?

Who do they consult with on this?

How much influence do they have?

Sample Questions to Find the Decision Maker

• "Bob, who will you be making this decision with?”
• “Besides yourself, who else will be weighing in on this decision?”
• “Bob, who has the final say on this?”

What's Involved In The Decision Process?

What the decision process is like?

What’s involved?

Who’s involved?

What happens next?

How long does it take?

How many other steps are involved?

Sample Questions to Uncover the Decision Process

• “Bob, after we submit the (bid/proposal/send the information), what happens next?”
• “How long does this process take?”
• “Who’s involved in that?”
• “When would you like to see a decision made on this?”

What's Your Competition?

How many other companies are they looking at?

Is the company they’re using now still involved?

How many bids are they getting?

Who do they like best so far?

What would they like to improve upon?

Sample Questions to Discover Your Competition

• “Who else are you looking at for this?”
• “What do you think so far?”
• “Might you use the same company (providing the current service) again?”
• “Who are you leaning towards so far?”

What’s The Budget?

It’s always about the money!

What is their budget for this?

What did they spend last time?

What is their limit?

What would they feel comfortable spending?

Is your product or solution within their budget?

Sample Questions to Uncover Budget

• “What is your budget for this?”
• “What did you spend last time on this?”
• “If we could provide a solution you were comfortable on this, could you afford xx amount?”
• “What is a ball park range you’re looking to stay within on this?”

Bottom Line: I think you’d agree that the more of this information you get, the more qualified your leads are going to be. And that the less information you have is directly related to how unqualified your prospect is. Important point: Buyers will give you this information, whereas non-buyers won’t!

My Previous Success in Selling Online Marketing Services

I've seen relevant topics and there aren't many showing some proof to support their proven ways of selling Online Marketing services.

The knowledge and skills that I have developed from selling Web Design, SEM, SMM, and Online Marketing are proven to turn into a nice a profit for me and my clients.

When most cold callers we're saying "I am searching roofing contractors in your area but you’re not on the first page of Google"; I was cold calling prospects with some unique approaches like "I am curious, how many jobs can your business handle in a weekly basis excluding referrals and word-of-mouth?"

When most cold callers we're pitching more about their services; I was asking prospects questions about their business like "What your marketing experiences are or how do you market your business thus far?  And may I know what the results are?"

When most cold callers we're saying "I can guarantee that our company can bring new customers"; I was telling prospects "We cannot guarantee you enough business soon because SEO is a complex process.  This is a long-term, asset-building market domination strategy.  When the search engines begin to trust you, perhaps within 60-90 days you will own a major share of your market or you will become a market dominating force... The bond of trust with the Search Engines is priceless" 

When salespeople we're sending long and detailed emails about their services; I was sending a brief and direct emails in a refreshing approach that get more yeses from recipients.

If you wish to know more or if I can be of assistance to your selling SEO Services campaign, please email me at aceborda@gmail.com

Cold Calling: How to Establish Interest?

Your goal in the first few seconds is to make a connection and get them to interact with you.  Contrary to what you might think, it’s not to rush into your pitch.

Acknowledge that your prospect gets a lot of calls - because they do. This will immediately help you establish a connection because you will be saying exactly what they’re thinking and feeling.

“Hi ______, this is (your name) with (your company). Great. ______, I know you probably get a ton of calls so I’ll make this brief.”

Quickly state your value proposition and ask a qualifying question.

“______, we provide (your local marketing service) to companies like yours (ideally state the specific business), helping them (state a big benefit: broaden their reach / increase sales, etc.).”

Use an up-front contract to reduce perceived risk. Your prospect is afraid you are going to waste their time, so reduce this fear.

“Let me ask you a quick question. If I promise to keep your time invested to no more than 5 minutes today...”

-or-

“I know I interrupted you and I don’t want to take any more of your time right now...”

Ask for what you want.

“... would you be interested in a brief conversation to learn how you can (state a big benefit: broaden their reach / increase sales, etc.) at your business?”

-or-

“I’d like to get time on your calendar for a half-hour follow up call to share them with you. What looks good on your calendar in the next week or two.

Telemarketing Magical Phrases

Prospecting Clients

You must make sure you have your prospect's undivided attention.  So you need permission to speak.  Asking for permission to speak by saying:

- May I ask you a quick question?

- Do you have a moment to talk about this now?

In-A-Hurry Easy Exits

- Thank you very much, I've only got a minute.

- I've only got a minute, I'll be real quick about this then I'll be on my way.

- I can't stay long because I've got another appointment.

- Folks, I don't want to waste your time or mine, so let's get right down to it.

Take Away

As soon as anyone shows even a glimmer of interest, start to reverse the process and take it away from them.  Start to make it a little more difficult for them.   Start a little more skeptical of them; letting them know that:

- Hey, I might not stay here much longer.

- Who do you know that might be interested in this?

- I don't want to waste your time, I don't want you waste my time, so before I go any further I do need to ask you a few questions. May I do so?

Appointment Setting

- If I’m with you more than __ minutes it’s because you have a bunch of questions, fair enough?

Take a look at our program/service, I promise you it will not take more than __ minutes, if I am there any longer at your home/office it’s because you ask me to stay, fair enough?

- You know something, maybe this isn’t for you but let me just ask you one quick question and I’ll get out of your way.  If I can show you how you would benefit from __________, would you give it any consideration?

Great! May I make a suggestion?

Let’s set a time to get together to discuss this further.  You can accept it or reject it, and if I’m in your office/home more than __ minutes it’s because you have a bunch of questions, fair enough?

Leaving Voicemail to Warm Prospects

Below are examples of three messages you can leave on voice mail to a prospect that you have spoken to but they're not ready to set an appointment. They have indicated an interest but you keep getting voicemail messages every time you call and they are not returning your calls.

Call 1

Hello Mr. Jones. This is Andrew with ACB Company. You recently had me explain our (products/services) and you indicated an interest in our program. Would you please give me a call so we can discuss if we should go to the next step or not. My number is, 561 XXX-XXXX. Thanks.

If I don't get a response within 48 hours, I call again and leave the message below.

Call 2

Hello Mr. Jones. This is Andrew with ACB Company; calling for the second time regarding the (products/services) you were interested in. If you are no longer interested in (benefits), that is no problem. I don't want to pester you. Would you please give me a call and let me know if you want to pursue this or not. My number is, 561 XXX-XXXX. Thanks.

If I don't hear from the prospect within 48 hours of the second call, he or she gets the message below.

Call 3

Hello Mr. Jones. This is Andrew with ACB Company. I am in somewhat of a dilemma. You indicated that you had an interest in our (products/services) but yet I don’t receive any emails or a phone call from you. If you have decided that for whatever reason you are no longer interested in (benefits), I have no problem with that whatsoever. But I do need to know one way or another. So if I don't hear from you within 48 hours, I will assume that you are no longer interested and I will close your file.

That usually gets their attention.