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From The Sales Success Audio Series For Professional
Builders, Remodelers & Renovators ...
“5 Questions To
Qualify Your Prospects In Less Than
10 Minutes
On The Phone!”
Nothing replaces meeting a homeowner face-to-face to discuss their project
and get a complete understanding of their needs.
However time is a limiting factor for every builders and remodelers. You
can meet with every homeowner who calls you, but there's no guarantee
their project is a match to your company, much less winning the project.
Greg Schnarr, a member of the Waterloo Region Home Builders' Association,
struggled with the same problem, which led him to start qualifying his leads
over the phone. Moreso, it only takes him 10 minutes!
"Before we started qualifying [over the phone], we really wasted a lot of time
going out to see people who just had no clue of what things cost," explains Greg.
"You know... people that were getting six or seven quotes."
Tired of wasting time on 'no-go' bids, Greg developed an intake form with five
questions he can ask every lead before deciding whether to go ahead with meeting
with them.
The 5 Questions That Saved Greg Hours Of Work
... And Dramatically Increased His Sales
The results? It has greatly reduced his number of 'no-win' estimates, leaving
him more time to focus on more profitable aspects of his business.
"I would guess around 50% of the calls [don't pass the qualification process],"
Greg says.
That's 10 minutes on the phone pre-qualifying a client rather than hours 'in the
field' on a potentially time-wasting meeting.
He's accomplished this with the following 5 questions:
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How long have they lived in the house?
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How long have they been thinking of doing this project?
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How much are they planning to spend on the project? ("The most important one," Greg says.)
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When are they planning on starting the work?
and
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Are they getting any other bids, and how many?
"[Another question is] what's the source of the lead," Greg adds.
"It's important not only as a qualification question, but it also allows
us to track what advertising is working for us. Also, if it's a referral,
you're already qualified by the person who referred you, so you know that's
a very good lead."
Using his process, Greg finds he can gauge how serious a lead is and, therefore,
whether he decides to meet and discuss the project further.
The Most Important Question Greg Uses To Qualify His Prospects
"I think [budget] is definitely the most important thing [to ask]," says
Greg. "If they're not willing to talk budget then we certainly wouldn't go any
further.
"Our time is very valuable, and I consider their time to be valuable as well, so,
unless they have some kind of an idea what the project is worth and what they have
available in funds, then there's no sense going any further with it."
"However," Greg continues,
"a lot of times people don't know what a project's going to cost, so what we
will do is get some idea of what they want to do, the scope of the project, and then
offer a budget number.
"If they find that number is reasonable, then we will certainly book an appointment
and go see them, But unless they think that's a reasonable amount of money to spend
then we wouldn't go any further with it."
Greg finds, when it comes right down to it, serious prospects will have a realistic
number of what they're willing to spend.
If, like Greg, you find you're spending too much time qualifying in face-to-face
meetings, start using Greg's qualifying questions above. You too could drastically
reduce your number of estimates, freeing up more time and closing more sales!
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