[sandim]

I have been hearing more and more about pre-qualifying clients and it sounds like a really good idea. How does one go about that over the phone? What types of questions should we be asking?

[GLAN]

I start with location.......the scope of work.......have they in the past or currently have a service provider ( most will provide some detail and I can then get a feel for what is going on )....( also get an idea of what they are accustomed to, especialy in price point, if they have been using an illegal company )........I'll also try to find out what they have been paying.

I always ask if they are getting other estimates........if they say.....lots of them.....I pass on them

And of course........I have lately been asking where they got my phone number......took a while but I realize the importance of what is the more effective marketing / advertising tool.

There's more.......I'd be interested to see what others here add to this.



The emphasis of prequalifying and the details of what and why first became very clear to me.........thanks to the folks here at GTX.

[Stonehenge]

Do a search around here for a post by Rex Mann - he spells out in nice detail the things he does to qualify a lead.

[Lawn Lad]

Selling is not convicing - it's sorting. Which means that you begin sorting when the phone rings. Not every call is for us - we turn down about as many people as we accept initial apppointments with - simply to limit our time wasted and focus on those folks with which we have a better chance of having a productive relationship.

I'm sure others do it - but Jim Ryerson (Jim Ryerson's salesOctane - training for peak performance) told us in his class to calculate the value of each sales minute and post it on your computer screen, office phone, cell phone and dashboard/odometer of your truck. For example, if you must sell or want to earn (pick a number that you want to justify) $500,000 in work and assuming you spend 2,000 hours selling (which is a strech) that would equate to a value of $4.16 per minute. I would rather spend six to ten minutes on the phone with a prospect qualifying them then to spend 90 minutes driving out to an appointment to find out it's the wrong person for our company and we don't want the job. At a cost per minute of $4.16 - I've either spent $42.00 on the phone or $374.00 driving out the prospect. At this rate I can qualify a lot more people and go on more productive sales appointments which will likely be more profitable. Qualifying is a must.

I begin by asking where they live. We only work in certain areas.
What type of project or work did they have in mind? Is it right for us?
How did they hear about us? Phone book or referral? Big difference in approach.
How long have they lived in their house? New to home or been there 20 years? Makes a difference in buying needs.
Have they worked with a landscape contractor? Yes - better, No - I'm educating.
Are they currently working with someone? For how long? Do they switch contractors all too frequently?
Why are they changing contractors?
How soon do they want to begin?
Are they available to meet Monday through Friday from 8 am to 6:00 pm? We don't schedule late evening or weekend appointments.
How many qoutes are they getting? Three or less we'll continue talking.

Based on how they describe what they're looking to do I get an idea of how well they understand their own project and whether or not they have experience which helps me to refine my approach. I determine if they are kicking the tires or looking to hire someone. I avoid the dreamers as best I can and try to schedule with those that are serious about moving forward with a contractor to do the work they intend on having completed.

[sandim]

Thanks LL, I looked for the previous posts from Rex but had no luck.
I hate wasting my time with people who are either just shopping or don't really have the $ to spend and didn't have any idea what their dream project would cost. Going to do more research on this topic.
Appreciate your input.

[Chris Heiler]

Here's how I do it from a design perspective-

1. Initial contact from prospect- usually a phone call

I'll ask them where they got our name and if they are familiar with our work.
They describe the scope of their project.
I describe our design process briefly, letting them know we do charge design fees (this is a great qualifier).
If it sounds like a project I'm interested in, we schedule an Initial Interview at MY studio and showroom. If I'm not interested I can usually refer another designer.
Before the conversation ends, I tell them to go to my website and look at my design process and also fill out a questionnaire (My website is a great qualifying tool. People can usually tell that we work on high-end projects so this scares away some people).

2. Site Visit

After receiving the questionnaire from the prospect, I'll visit the site BY MYSELF (not with the client) and only when I'm in the area.
This allows me to save a huge amount of time. At this point I can determine if this is really a project that I want to pursue or turn down. It also gives me an opportunity to form my own opinions and ideas regarding the site without having the clients in my ear from the get go. I have the questionnaire at this point so I do know what they want- I just don't want to discuss it with them right now.

3. Initial Interview

If we've gotten to this point, I know this is a project I want. And I really haven't wasted any of my time. Like I said before, the Initial Interview is held at my design studio and showroom. This alone is a great qualifier. If a prospect doesn't want to meet at my studio, then I figure he/she is not serious about working with me. Most prospects have no problem with this approach.

Hope this helps.

[Terre]

Sandi,

Aside from what everyone else has said about location, type of work, etc, my biggest qualifier is if they have any money, and are they willing to spend it.

Like you, I've wasted way too much time and gas driving out to see someone who has priced materials at home depot, and seems to think things will install themselves for free. Actually what I think they believe is that we get such tremendous discounts on materials, that our labor is covered in that markup. Don't I wish!

I'd love to be in the position Chris Heller is, but that's never going to happen. Thanks to a couple of people here helping me last year, I have learned quite a bit about qualifying while just engaging them in conversation about their project. I get a lot of clues from things they drop about what they want done. It's easier if they are answering one of my ads, since those are phrased in such a way to indicate I charge fees.

I ask if they need an "actual" design on paper, with the implication that there is a fee for that, (which there is) and get a lot of feedback from the way they respond to that. I have also discussed with them that a good landscape will evolve over time. To me, this means plants mature and fill in. To some clients, it means they may need to spread the cost out over several years and they usually say so. Those at least have a more realistic concept of what costs will be. And most people who get that far, can either put in on plastic, or find the funds to do what they want. Especially after I point out that spreading the work out actually costs more, since things overlap. Who wants to pay for the bobcat twice?

I had a hard time at first asking about their budget, but I'm getting better at that. One of the easiest for me is to direct the conversation to the increase in their property value that a good landscape will provide. I direct them to an article in Money magazine stating that landscaping provides a return on their investment of 125 to 200%. That will frequently get me to a better feel for whether or not they are clueless about costs.

And lastly, if I'm still not getting a good feel, I make a point of telling them I don't do free estimates. I'm sure everyone else here can ballpark an estimate quickly, but for me, there are hours of work involved. I can't afford to make a big mistake, so every blade of grass is calculated. (Well almost). That one really eliminates the tire kickers. And probably costs me some work too, but at this point, I am getting enough calls I can use that as a qualifier. If the phone wasn't ringing, I'd be hungrier, and more likely to drive around on spec.