What to say on the first call to an internet lead.

If you want to make sales to your internet leads you have to call them back. Preferably within 5 minutes of them filling in your form.

But for most of us making that call is unpleasant. Selling to a stranger on the phone is hard work.

You can make the call easier and more likely to turn into a sale by using it as a clarifying call, not a sales pitch. You're calling to:-

• Find out if the person wants what you sell.
• Find out if it's possible to do business with them.

They might want one set of sheets for their guest room but you sell bed linen wholesale to hotels. They might want a sawdust extractor for their man-cave, but you install factory-size systems. They might want a solar panel for the top of their camper van but your business is all about solar farms. You get the point.

And, even if they want what you sell there might be something that stops you from doing business with them. They might be out of your area. They might not meet some legal or other requirement for doing business with you.

Start by introducing yourself.

I don't know about you, but when a stranger calls and starts with "Is that Peter Bowen" I panic. Something like this feels less intrusive.

Hello, Joe Soap here, I'm calling because Pete Bowen enquired about rooftop solar panels on our website. Is this a good time to talk?

Sometimes the person will tell you that they didn't enquiry on your website. This happens when malicious bots used leaked names and email addresses to fill in web forms. End the call politely.

If it's not convenient to talk now arrange a time to call back.

If it is a good time to talk, thank the lead for considering your business and get started.

A couple of points...

• The sooner you call, the more likely it is that they will remember filling in an enquiry form on a website.
• Don't expect them to remember your site in particular. People make lots of enquiries on lots of sites because the response rate is usually low. Don't get bogged down helping them remember your site.

Ask questions to control the flow of the conversation.

You'll get the most out of the call if you control the flow of the conversation. You do this by asking questions.

There are two kinds of questions to ask in this call:

• Qualifying questions to see if the lead wants what you sell, and if it is possible to do business with them.
• Gathering information you need for the next step of the sales process.

Get rid of unqualified leads as soon as possible.

Ask the qualifying questions early in the call. There is no point wasting time if the lead doesn't want what you sell or if it's impossible to do business with them. Ending the conversation as soon as possible is the best outcome. You don't have to be brutal about it, you could explain why you're not a good fit for them and point them to alternatives.

It's helpful to say why you're asking, especially if the question might be sensitive.

For example, I have a client who helps people immigrate to a specific country. The country has a law that prevents people with certain health problems becoming permanent residents. There is no way to get around this.

My client phrases this by saying something like.

I'm sorry to ask, but the -name of country- government won't give permanent residence to anyone with the following health problems. -list of of health problems.

The immigration process includes getting a medical certificate so they will find out. Do you or anyone else in your family have one or more of these conditions?

If the lead isn't disqualified you can move onto collecting the information you need for the next step in the sales process. The exact questions depend on what the next step is. It might be a quote, a consultation, a site visit etc.

Use a printed call-sheet.

A friend uses a printed (on paper) call-sheet for every call.

It's got a space for the lead's name at the top left of the page. The top right hand corner has a space for marking if the lead was junk, disqualified or qualified.

It's got a list of the standard questions he needs to ask. There is a space after each question so he can scribble notes during the call.

It's not a script. He doesn't read the questions verbatim. It's there so he doesn't forget a question in the heat of the moment.

After the call he takes a photo of the page and ads it to the lead notes in the CRM.

(Steal this idea.)

How to come up with qualifying questions.

The questions you need to ask to figure out if someone wants what you sell and if it's possible to do business with them are unique to your business. Here are some things to think about as you work out what to ask.

Location.

• Is the lead in a place you can deliver to or provide a service at.
• Is the location going to make your quote too expensive? E.g. will you have to include customs clearing and duties for international orders. Will you have to allow for travel and accommodation?

Minimum deal size, order quantity or budget.

An ad agency might not be able to help someone who has a budget of $500 per month. A training company might not find it worthwhile to run an in-house training course for only two employees.

Are there restrictions that would stop someone buying your products or using your services?

I spoke about my immigration client earlier but there may be other restrictions. For instance, I have a client who leases cars. Their insurance won't cover anyone who had an insurance policy declined in the past.

Access to do the work or deliver the goods.

I had a client who specialised in commercial and industrial concrete floors. They pumped concrete in using a truck-mounted pump with a long boom arm. They could only work if they could park the truck close enough for the boom to reach.

In some building sites this was impossible. In others the cost of a permit to close the road for half a day made them too expensive.

Do you need to be an approved vendor?

Governments and larger organisations often require that you be on an approved vendor list to do business with them. Getting onto the list can take months and a wheel-barrow of paperwork. You may also have to comply with requirements like ISO certification or meet diversity criteria.

Timing.

You're not going to be able to do business with someone who has to have by Wednesday if you need six-months lead time.