Tested B2B Lead Qualification By Phone
Here’s a tested B2B Lead qualification process for building a base of qualified sales prospects you can develop into becoming your customers.
This strategy is simple, straightforward and easy to implement. But it works.
Q:What’s the goal of B2B lead qualification by phone?
A: You are calling to get information, not set an appointment (see the Forbes article below).
Information gathering on your first call means you ask one or two lead qualification questions.
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Put another way…picture yourself in a crowded room. Ask for a show of hands.
There, that’s the goal of your introductory cold call — (1) finding the right sales prospects; (2) separating them from the crowd; then (3) qualifying their interest level in what you can do for them.
From there your follow-up calls take over.[singlepic id=74 w=220 h=140 float=right]
Also, B2B lead qualification by phone is a form of direct marketing. And building a highly targeted database is the key to any successful direct marketing campaign.
Therefore, view each call as a means for fine tuning your database. It’s a work in progress that never ends!
Q: For Effective B2B Lead Qualification Prospecting Do I Need A Script?
A: Always use a script. It keeps you focused and in control of the call. Make your introduction short, simple, to the point — something you can deliver in twenty seconds…without being rushed.
Conclude your introduction with a simple “yes” or “”no” question. How your prospect answers will indicate if they are a qualified prospect…or a prospect you want to drop.
Remember that crowded room example?
Your question is asking for a show of hands. Some folks will raise their hands, some will not. Your appointments develop from the folks who raise their hands.
Q: How do I know my Script is working?
A: That’s easy — delivering your “pitch” without interruptions from your prospect is a sign that your B2B lead qualification script is working — keeping you and your prospect focused on your delivery.
Q: OK to read my Script…or memorize it?
A: Reading is fine. The secret is making your delivery appear unrehearsed.
Follow Winston Churchill. His speeches are among the greatest in the English language.
He toiled over their every detail. Yet when delivering them he appeared completely at ease… almost casual in his presentation. Hence, his quip that “The very best impromptu speeches are the ones written well in advance.”
Unsettling News For Old Way B2B Lead Qualification Process
This article in FORBES may unsettle your existing sales qualification strategy.
Reading it may force you to rethink how you go about getting and keeping customers.
Prospecting In The Age Of The Customer[singlepic id=102 w=300 h=220 float=right]
Called 7 NEW RULES FOR PROSPECTING IN THE AGE OF THE CUSTOMER it tells of the shift in the marketplace of business to business sales.
The relationship between buyer and seller.
Your importance to a buyer is vastly diminished if you follow old way selling habits.
Forget prospecting for appointments.
Sure, face-to-face appointments matter…but their significance in the sales cycle has faded.
The importance of this dynamic for anyone in B2B sales and marketing cannot be understated.
Bottom Line: If you are prospecting for appointments you are playing a loser’s game.[singlepic id=106 w=220 h=140 float=right]
Get over it. Or get yourself another job — but not in sales.
With that in mind my page on prospecting for new clients also may be worth a look.
Improve Your B2B Marketing
Get updates on ways B2B marketing by phone can help your business grow —especially in this economy. Also, go here for DMA 2012 response rate reports for lead generation marketing media. Plus this Advertising Age update on B2B phone marketing.
Also, if you do nothing else today click and read this: