While going out of your way to please and pamper your customers in order to win over their business is not necessarily a bad thing, it is not necessarily a good thing either. As a matter of fact if you spend too much time bending over backwards to please them just to win them over, you may be in for a huge disappointment when after all your hard work they turn you down.
Consumers are smart, and they are wary of anyone who is trying to sell them something. But that does not stop them from taking full advantage of your hospitality before they decide to tell you to hit the road. If you truly want to increase your sales and build your business it is important that you learn how to separate the real prospective customers from the ones who are just window shopping and looking for a freebie or two.
Weed Out Time Wasters
When it comes to weeding out serious leads from the ones who will simply waste your time it is important to have a solid process in place for prioritizing and qualifying them. You can do this by creating a list of questions that you are ready to weave into a conversation with a prospect.
These can be as simple as asking them:
- How did you find out about me? Were you referred by someone else?
- What problem are you experiencing?
- Do you need a solution fast or are you shopping around?
Then try to determine if they have the means to purchase what you offer and if they are they ready to buy now.
Depending on what type of business you are in or what product or service you are trying to sell the questions may vary. The point is that the process does not have to be difficult and the questions do not have to be complicated.
You will be amazed to find out how quickly you can identify the difference between a prospect that is serious and one that is just looking around by asking a few simple questions. As a matter of fact most of the time you will be a able to determine whether or not they really want your product or service within the first few minutes of your conversation.
Ensure Your New Leads Meet Your Determined Criteria
By taking the time to make sure that your new leads meet your set criteria for a preferred customer, you are not only saving and money time, you will be sure that you are attracting high quality customers and increasing sales as well.
For customers that are not yet ready, direct them to your free opt-in offer that gets them on the sales funnel. This way if/when they are ready to purchase, you will be at the top of their mind.