When you operate a service business—or any business—it’s common to have a number of people inquiring about your products or services who are just “shopping around.”
These people are called “Looky-Loos,” and are generally curious, with good intentions.
However, they are not serious buyers, who are willing to make a decision to invest in your services any time soon.
“Looky-Loos” can be a huge waste of time. So, knowing how to qualify prospects, so you spend time with “serious inquiries only” is a key skill to acquire!
Knowing how to “weed out” the serious prospects, from the “lookers,” takes a good measure of courtesy, and tact. You have to be responsive and polite to ALL potential customers. However, there are ways to limit the amount of time, money, and effort you spend on shoppers that will lead you down a path to nowhere.
Here are three tips you can use to invite serious inquiries, only, in your business:
Tip #1. Have a website with descriptive information available.
If you have a generally “good” website, most prospects whom visit will figure out quickly if your company is a good fit for them. To ensure you don’t get a lot of “dead-end” inquires; make sure your website clearly communicates—
- The specific target market you are seeking to attract
- The specific expertise or special services you offer
- What step you want prospects to take if interested in finding out more information
The strategy is, when a prospect reads your website, they decide if your business is right for them, before they waste any more of their time—or your time—by making an inquiry.
Some people, out of a sincere desire to learn more about you and the possibility of working with you, will request more information. If this happens, move to Tip #2.
Tip #2. Ask qualifying questions of the prospect.
By questioning a prospect, you are pre-qualifying them before you spend significant time with them. By asking a few simple, non-intrusive questions, you can get a sense of how serious the prospect is very quickly.
This information can be asked during a telephone call, or, by using a questionnaire you email prospects, which they send back to you.
To do this you want to think about key information you need to know to assess if a prospect is—
- Serious about investing in your services
- A match with your ideal client criteria
Here are examples of questions to ask for a coaching business:
- How large is your business in sales? Employees? List size?
- What is your number one goal in coaching with me?
- Are you willing to invest in a coach now if you could meet or surpass your goals the next 12 months?
Questions such as these give you a better sense of whether a prospect is ready to make a decision, and how much time to spend with them.
If you determine a prospect is serious, then, you can go into more detailed questioning to determine a prospect’s needs, and let them know how you can help them.
Tip#3. Be cautious of prospects who want TOO much information.
Some prospects use proposals as a way of getting free consulting services, and this includes small businesses, as well as Fortune 500 companies.
Some prospects will even email you their specific questions, hoping to get a response from you to “try you out,” or they have only “one quick question,” which means you end up giving away free services…and wasting your time.
My advice is don’t write a proposal until you are certain that a prospect is truly interested in making a decision about investing in your services soon. When doing a proposal, focus on results, and not “How” you will solve a problem your prospect is experiencing.
Spend your time with prospects that are “serious inquiries only.” Doing so will help you achieve a positive attitude toward ALL inquiries (because you know how to “weed”), as well as help you be more productive, and your business more profitable.
