The Importance Of Qualifying Leads

So how do you achieve that? Well, before you approach a company or spend any time trying to develop the relationship, the first step is always to qualify the prospect. So let’s talk about how you can qualify in social media. Well, first thing, why is it even important to qualify prospects? Well, the answer is simple.

It’s to avoid wasting time and energy following up on leads that may never buy from you because they don’t have a need. So this could mean, well, maybe you miss out on making connections that will ultimately lead to a long-lasting working relationship. So here are the key areas that you should be thinking about when you’re qualifying a prospect.

1. Do they have a need for your product?
2. Do they have a budget for your product? 
3. Do they have decision-making authority? 
4. What industry are they in? How big are they?
5. How fast are they growing? 
6. Where are they based? 
7. Where are their customers based? 
8. How closely do they match the profile of your ideal customer?
9. Which if any of your competitors have they previously collaborated with, have you worked with similar companies? 
10. What are their needs? 
11. How do you satisfy them? – And how can you help this particular company?

So gathering all of this information will provide the foundation of what you’ll need to include in your first contact with that company. So here’s a startling statistic:

When you’re cold calling, you may have to make an average of eight calls to an organization before you get through to the right person. Now, I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t sound good to me.

That’s why people hate cold calls because they’re cold! So to get past the gatekeepers, we need to qualify, which means finding out how the company and its process are structured.

How To Qualify Leads Using Social Media

The brilliant thing about social media is that you can use search tools to identify the key people you should start a company with. So here’s where LinkedIn can come in handy. I want to speak with the VP of sales or the marketing director, or the CEO of a particular company. Well, simply go on LinkedIn and do an advanced search on those titles and then the company.

Are you connected?

So doing this, we’ll call up a list of individuals who match these criteria. The next thing to do is to see whether you’re already connected to them on social media. So if the two of you are not connected, we’ll find out whether you have any connections in common with them. This is huge. Now we all know that when you’re introduced or recommended by someone, that third party introduction brings so much credibility.

Reaching out via Email

So now, let’s talk about how you reached out to them by email. You know, it’s about crafting the perfect email. So now that you’ve found a company that’s ideally suited to your services and you’ve identified the decision-maker well, the first point of contact is critical. So in your initial message, whether it’s through email, LinkedIn, Facebook, or any other social media platform, use the information that you’ve gathered to tailor a compelling message.

That speaks to your prospect. You want them to know that you understand their challenges and that you’ve helped companies similar to theirs. Most importantly, address them by name. You want to make this email as personal as possible so that you don’t come across as spam. And by speaking directly to the customer’s needs and desires, well, you can make sure that your voice is heard above all the other noise.

Essentially, this email is an elevator pitch, and you have very little time to make a lasting impression. So rather than listing a million of your attributes, which gives the person a reason to skim your email or close it instead, make one key point, tell them about how you can add value or what it is about you.

That makes you the perfect choice for them. And then ask for an appointment. So the trick here is to set things up so that they have to expend barely any effort at all, make it easier for them to accept your offer than to refuse it. 

So instead of leaving things wide open, we’ll propose a window of time or several appointment options to choose from.

That’s the way that you can lock it in, confirm that appointment and make sure that they show up for that all-important call so that you can move that conversation forward. 

It’s also vital that you keep a record of everyone you’ve reached out to this way. You can make sure that you don’t by mistake contact the same company more than once.

If you send a message and you don’t hear back, don’t be discouraged. Instead, try again a week later, checking in to see how they’re doing. You can also try using a different platform if it didn’t work the first time. So if you first approached them on LinkedIn, follow them on Twitter and give them a shout out.

Be Persistent

The point is, don’t give up. Just as when you’re cold calling, let’s be honest. You may have to make eight calls before you reach the right person. Well, the same thing with social selling requires a certain amount of follow-up and persistence. So here’s what you need to do right now. Start by conducting online research on three companies that you’ve identified as prospects; screen them for whether they have a need and a budget for your product.

And when you find one that meets your ideal customer profile, find out which person in the company is the decision-maker and how they prefer to be contacted.