20 questions on quicker and higher lead qualification
You can attribute many good relationships to perfect timing. This is especially true for sales. Because of this, you need a well-defined process to generate more, higher quality leads that feed into a lead qualification system that you design.
By following these steps, you can reach your leads at just the right time on their buying journey, increasing your chances of closing deals.
Generate more leads
Most companies have a set of best practices in place to generate more leads and won't change their process for years. If you shake things up a little, you may be able to achieve more success in training leaders. If you ask yourself a few questions, you can improve your game.
1. Where do your leads come from?
Sales leads should come to you from different places.
In fact, buyers typically consult almost five different sources of information when deciding on a product, provider, or service.
Some you may find on social networks, while others may have attended a webinar you host.
Referrals are another popular method new sales prospects use to find potential vendors or agencies. Customers or customers who come to you by wire transfer actually have a 16% higher lifetime value.
Typically, a data analyst or business intelligence professional should pull up the data and analyze where your leads came from and feed that information into your lead qualification system. You can use this data to change your strategies if necessary.
For example, if you're getting a lot of traffic but few qualified leads from Facebook, it might be time to either change your ad strategy or focus on other channels.
2. What attracts customers to your brand?
You may think you know why customers choose your brand, but there may be a divide between what you believe and what really is. You may know which channel your leads are coming from, but you don't know why they actually chose your business.
The easiest way to get this information is to just ask your existing customers. Your insights can help you leverage what you already highlight to get more leads.
Maybe it was the simplicity of your website navigation or an info page that made it popular with your customers.
When you are armed with this information, you may be able to find other qualified leads by pointing out these features or adding links to these pages in your ads, blog posts, etc.
Sales reps can be responsible for asking your customer's question, and marketing or content can strategically plan and implement changes based on the answers. If you use what you can, you can get more leads.
3. How do you solve your customer's problems??
Make sure you are constantly looking for trends in your industry so that you are always aware of potential issues. When you have a solution to a problem your target customer base has, show you how you can help resolve those problems in order to attract more qualified leads.
The creative and marketing team can work together to create ads or posts that highlight the problem and the solution you are offering. Customers looking for quick fixes may want to sign with an agency who can help them fix the ship. If you perform well for her, the relationship can be long.
Lead qualification questions for lead forms
Now that you've made some tweaks to your processes to get more (and hopefully better quality) leads, the next thing to do is take your leads through a lead qualification process. This can be as simple as a table, or you can use tools.
Typically, business or data analysts and sales can work together to create the lead qualification ranking factors.
You will need some basic information in order to guide your potential customers through a lead qualification system. This can include the basics like name, email address, company name, role, company size, etc. However, there are a few other questions you can ask on your lead forms that will speed up the lead qualification process.
4. Who else is part of the buying process?
On average, 6.8 people are part of the B2B decision-making process.
Unless you're working with very small businesses, you will likely need to convince more than one person that you are the right agency or provider for them.
To ensure that you are building a relationship with the right people, you want to find out exactly who is involved in the decision-making process.
You also want to find out where the person who is your lead fits into this process.
Knowing whether you're dealing with the CEO or the manager can make a huge difference in qualifying your leads. You can get this information by asking what role the lead plays and a yes or no question if they are the buying maker.
5. What are you looking for in a provider or an agency?
Ask your leads what their "dream" salesperson or agency would be like. When they fill out a lead form, you can give them a list of the features and have them click three to five (or as many as they want) that are most important to them.
If your agency offers all or most of the features, know this is an important indicator.
If you may not meet the criteria perfectly, this data can help you better understand what some of your audiences are really looking for. You can use this data to make adjustments to your employees, focus on creating additional functionality, etc.
Sales teams can also use this knowledge to explain leads how to make up for the features or features they want from an agency that you don't currently offer.
6. When do you want to sign a new agency?
This question will help you figure out what the customer is looking for and how quickly they want to make a purchase.
The quickest way to use this for lead qualification is to add a question to your lead form about where the customer is on the shopping journey.
If they say they are in the research phase, you may want to qualify them as someone who can be followed up within a few weeks. If they're looking for something asap, you can share their information with your sales team for immediate contact.
7. What is your top priority right now?
When a new lead comes to you, they likely have a few ideas about what to achieve. Asking them to identify their most pressing needs using multiple choice or text answer questions on your lead form can help you keep this in mind when assessing their lead qualifications.
When they're a promising lead, sales reps can talk to their teammates who are dealing with the feature or product that the prospect wants most for an explanation of what makes your offerings better than your competitors.
8. What is your budget?
The budget is arguably the most important part of a new partnership.
Because of this, nearly 58% of buyers want to talk about pricing on their first sales pitch. However, the majority of employees say they cannot quote prices the first time they call. By training your sales team to better estimate prices, you may have an edge over your competitors when you close deals.
To qualify your leads and save time, you can add a question on your lead form about how much the lead is willing to spend on your product or service.
Talking about budget expectations in advance can improve lead qualification as you can disqualify leads who cannot afford your offers. Leads with higher budgets have the highest priority.
To build a relationship for further lead qualification
Once you've qualified your leads coming in through lead forms, referrals, etc., building a positive relationship is the most important part of qualifying your leads and closing a sale.
When it comes time to make a purchase, your consumers are not going to shop with anyone.
Instead, they turn to someone they can trust. Unfortunately, only 3% of people trust marketers and sellers.
To be there when a customer is ready to buy, you want to start working on building the relationship early on. Customers who you can develop a positive relationship with from first contact may rank higher in your lead qualification system.
Here are a few questions your sales reps should ask to help lay the groundwork for the business relationship you have created.
9. How can we best help you make this decision?
Most prospects have something holding them back.
Whether it's a budget or not, whether you're completely sure of what they need, you'll want to find the hurdle that is preventing your prospect from pulling out their credit card. The answer can help you qualify leaders. If you can easily resolve the prospect's hesitation to buy, the lead might be a higher priority.
Once a sales rep sees what is holding the customer back from selling, they can connect the customer with a team member who can best resolve that problem. For example, if the customer is cautious about buying because they are nervous that the technology is too complicated, you can refer them to your product team for a demo.
Make sure to listen to your leads' unique challenges and fears. Even when you're trying to qualify multiple leads at once, you want each one to feel special.
10. What resources or solutions have you tried in the past? What happened?
Ask your prospects to talk about what they've already tried. That way you can see if you can offer different solutions. It also helps the lead recap what they've been through.
Going back and covering all of the things they tried and failed can help you figure out what products or solutions you can offer that will help customers succeed this time around.
Arjun Varma, Sales Director at Quantcast, uses the “ask, define, explore” tactic to get more out of his perspective.
He says:
“Ask discovery questions to uncover the biggest business challenges prospects face. Define the implications of these challenges. Discover a partnership or sale that addresses the defined challenges and helps the client do more business. "
You can then use this information in the future to provide you with solutions that are more likely to work.
11. What requirements or deal breakers are there for the cooperation?
Requirements and deal breakers can sometimes be difficult to discuss. Regardless of the direction the conversation is headed, it is always important to be open and honest about your product.
Discussing deal breakers in advance can also be helpful in qualifying executives. If you fail to offer solutions or fail to meet the client's deal breakers, you can disqualify them as a lead.
Trying to deceive the customer that you are offering the perfect solution will only result in headaches and frustration later.
Not only is this type of question a good factor in executive qualification, it can also help you close deals. It is known as "Reverse Close".
In an article published by Inc., the reverse close is listed as one of five key ways to get a deal. The sample question used in the article is, "Is there a reason you wouldn't be doing business with our company if we gave you the product at that price?"
Once you know what might be hindering a deal, you can either disqualify the lead or offer solutions to make sure the sale takes place.
12. What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
Take a minute to try to understand the lead's perspective on their own business. Ask your sales prospect where they think they shine and where they might be lagging behind.
Knowing how they see themselves can help better understand their priorities and how well they align with your product or service.
13. Where do you see your competitors outperforming you?
Ask your lead who their competitors are. Then ask how they think their competitors outperform them.
By getting them to think about the areas where their competitors are doing better, they can better understand the solutions they need to implement in order to achieve similar success.
This can give both of you a better idea of the steps you need to take to move forward.
14. What hurdles might we encounter down the road?
It is impossible to know exactly what hurdles arise when working with a new client or customer. However, once you determine what they might be, you can plan ahead.
If you foresee long-term problems, discuss them with your lead. Sales reps may need to consult with product or content teams to better understand the potential hurdles and see if they can be overcome. If not, it may be time to disqualify the leadership. If so, offer these solutions to the lead to help close the deal.
Timeline Lead Qualification Expectations
You should already ask your leads about their schedule using the lead or referral form. Once you've established a contact, you can dig deeper into the prospect's ideal purchasing plan.
Discussing a schedule in advance can help you determine when the prospect may be ready to buy and the level of commitment they expect from you and your team. You can include their response in your lead qualification process.
Here are some questions your sales reps should ask in order to learn more about your prospect's shopping schedule.
15. What is the schedule for your goals?
Talking about goals is great, but knowing when your leads are hoping to achieve those goals is more important.
Getting a schedule of when your leads will want to achieve their priorities can better understand what type of engagement they are looking for and qualify them accordingly.
For example, if a lead needs to achieve their goals in a matter of weeks, they may want to hire a dedicated team right away.
However, if they have no idea when to reach their goals, they may need more care and education.
Sales reps should ensure they are communicating with the team members who are responsible for achieving the customer's goal within the desired timeframe.
Sometimes they may not be able to meet the client's goals when they want, and you need to decide whether to mix up their priorities, come up with an alternative schedule to potential clients, or disqualify them because you simply won't be able to to achieve these goals their needs on their schedule.
16. Do you have external factors influencing your timeline?
Your leads may have an idea of when to start or when to achieve their goals. However, it is not always in their control. Sometimes external factors limit the leads.
External due dates and other factors can complicate the job of your sales reps. Sometimes external factors can affect when a deal can actually be closed.
Regardless of whether they have a contract to see through or if they have a deadline to meet, ask yourself if there are external factors influencing your leads' timeline.
For lead qualification, a prospect who is ready to buy can be given a higher rating than someone who cannot yet pull the trigger for external reasons.
17. How soon do you want to see results?
Knowing what kind of turnaround your prospect can expect can help you understand when they may be ready to make a commitment.
If you want to see results in just a few weeks, get started right away.
However, if they have no idea when to begin their progress, they are likely not ready to make a purchase and may be classified as a lower priority lead.
Establishing future success
It is always more efficient to acquire regular customers than to constantly connect with new prospects. For this reason, you should always plant the seeds of a long-term relationship while you are still in the nurturing process with your qualified leads.
Teaching your sales prospects how you can help them through growth and change can help you build long-term relationships with them.
Here are some questions the sales team should ask to help build a future relationship.
18. How do you measure success?
Make sure to discuss your leads' goals when you contact them. Some may just be looking for more sales, while others want more positive customer reviews.
It's important for sales reps to discuss their leads' KPIs with the teams that will help them achieve them. You need to know how realistic it is to meet these metrics and qualify leads accordingly.
19. How do you see your needs change as they grow?
Your sales managers are looking for a solution to problems they are facing now. However, if you can offer solutions for the future too, you can help them grow with smoother progress.
When you help them understand how their needs can change as they grow, and how you can help them solve new problems or achieve new goals, you can prepare for a long-term partnership.
The sales force should be aware of industry trends that may affect the customer's future success or speak to members of your team who specialize in the problem that may later lead to problems.
By staying one step ahead of potential problems, you paint a picture of a partnership between you and the lead that will continue into the future.
20. Where do you see the relationship going forward?
Find out early if they are just looking for a short-term offer. Are you just looking for someone to help you with your current goals or do you want a long-term partner who can help you overcome future hurdles?
If they're looking for something in the short term, they'll be ranked as a lower priority lead. However, do not completely ignore these pointers. Short-term deals can become recommendations. If you do a good job, short term deals can become long term deals.
For PJ Pereira from Pereria & O’Dell, the willingness to work together is one of the most important factors when choosing a new agency.
If you show your prospects that you are thinking about how to keep the relationship going as it grows, you can potentially encourage them to work with you across a competitor.
Conclusion
Stop playing the guessing game when it comes to training leaders and connecting with prospects.
If you don't want to miss out on quality leads anymore, stop assuming that you know when the leads are ready to buy.
Instead, let them tell you when they are ready – even if they don't know they are.
Asking these 20 questions of yourself and your leads can help you get a better picture of who your prospects are, what lead rank they are, what they're looking for, and how you can help them.
If you need help finding and closing sales with your leads, we can help!
What questions do you like to ask your sales prospects?
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