070: How to Qualify Leads

Renee Hribar: Okay, I want you to picture this. Someone messages you and says, "Hey, I need you." And instantly you wanna answer them back, but I'm gonna say, "Wait, do not, do not treat them like they need emergency care and you're the first responder." Many of you who are listening right now would be Janie on the spot and say, "Great.

I can't wait to talk. Here's my calendar link. I'm available this afternoon or tomorrow." Eee.

No. Instead of treating them like they have a jugular wound, I want you to pause, look them up, and again, PS, I call this recon with my clients. We use things like Gemini or Perplexity to get the full picture, and this makes all the difference in the context around how we respond and how we communicate with them from the very beginning, from this very first moment where they're reaching out saying, "Hey, I think I need you." Or if a referral comes in, "Hey, I think I have someone who you should talk to," I always ask, "Great, give me their name and I'll reach out."

Or, "Hey, hook me up with a three-way message or a three-way email, and we'll take it from there." But I'm always doing this first, and if this makes you a little uncomfortable, good. Good, because you're probably a recovering corporate urgency person like me, where I was told that I had to have my BlackBerry super glued to my hand, and I must respond immediately to everything. I tell you, those were the worst.

Those were the worst. So today we're gonna talk about what's actually happening in your sales process when someone reaches out, and why some of the things you think are helping are actually killing your most precious resource: time, and not to boot, costing you money. Now, here's the deal. If no one is knocking on your door saying, "Hey, I need you," and no one's sending you any referrals, and you're in a revenue desert right now, then go back to episode 55, where it's all about how to book three calls in the next seven days.

All right. Welcome back to the Selling Your Expertise podcast. I'm Renee Hribar, sales coach for B2B service providers and consultants who are incredible at what they do, but they're still trying to figure out how to be consistent with their sales without feeling awkward, pushy, or like they need a 47-step process. So if you've ever thought, "Why do people disappear after they say they're interested?"

This episode is for you. Let's dig in. Someone finally reaches out- They say, "Hey, I think I need your help." What happens next?

The new client I was just onboarding is so brilliant. She's an agency owner. She gets results all day long, but her pipeline, inconsistent. And she was my inspiration for today's podcast, because she represents so many people that are listening right now , so many of you that have such good intentions and such great results to share.

But when someone says, "Hey, I think I need your help," err, that's where the problems start. Okay. So she had a process that looked professional and perfect from the outside, but her results were telling me something else, so that's where we started with our kickoff session. So currently, when she first came to me, she had an inquiry to a form, a form to a review, a review to a call.

And she was constantly saying, "People just don't follow through. They're, you know, they're dropping the ball. They're, they, I have to follow up with them, and then they ghost me." So I wanna say this.

Again, I liked her process visually. From a sales perspective, it made perfect sense. But here's a very subtle shift that we reframed the first step with. It's so subtle, and this is where I talk about because of my background and experience, I can see the grain of sand that is in your gears, that has been grinding your gears and making you wonder, "What the heck is going on?

I have all the pieces in place. Why am I not getting the results I want? Why? Why?"

And so I, I love that I get to do this for a living. It's absolutely my favorite to go in there and find the pieces, because it's not just about the tactical parts, it's also about the emotional pieces of the process. So again, this is an agency owner. She is a founder.

She's at about 1.2 million in overarching revenue per year. She has a great team. She's still the main salesperson, and there's nothing wrong with that.

She loves it. She's great at sales. But there was this one piece that just kept grinding her gears. So here is that subtle shift.

Instead of fill this out and we'll see, right? Like an overworked nurse at the urgent care where she's like, "Fill out this form," and she hands you a clipboard, and you're like, "Ugh." The shift was, " Thanks for reaching out. I've got something for you.

What's the best email to send it to you?" Or, "Hey, this is the email we have. Is that the best email to send it to you?" Right?

So it's a, it's a very subtle reframe. it's almost- Inconceivable, or it's almost impossible to see, but you are gonna see it now, and you're never gonna unsee it. So we have a clear next step, but here's the difference: a personal handoff, momentum to getting to know each other without immediately being available that afternoon or the next day so they can tell you all their problems and you try to fix it all. No.

it's, it sets the wrong expectations for the relationship from the, from the beginning if you're like, "Ooh, yeah, I can help you. Can you talk today? Can you... How about tomorrow?

Well, what about the next day?" It, it sounds funny when I say it, obviously, because I'm trying to be funny, but that's what a lot of people do. They get a, they get a hot one, and they're like, "I can talk now. Are you ri- now?"

And they even give their phone number out on social media, or they g- or their website, or they give... They have a calendar link constantly available. Again, I'm not opposed to it, but I do want you to protect your time, and I do believe that there's this one little step that will not only endear that lead to you, make them see you so differently, because you are different, you do care, you do wanna see them succeed, but without you playing the role of Janie on the spot, I can't wait to hear all your problems and solve everything.

I'll swoop in like the superhero that I never wanted to be. So yes, the form still exists. We always want to qualify potential candidates, but it's not a blow-off. It's an intentional next step.

It's part of a guided experience. So again, even though you want clients, you don't want to be their therapist and their marketing agency, right? Like, that's one of the big things that she and I talked about. So when someone says, "I need you," and you're like, "Oh, that's great.

I can totally help with that. I've got something for you. Where's the best place to email it to you?" Or, "Is this email the best place to send it?

So is this the best one?" Because I don't know about you, but I have, like, 72 email addresses. So just because they've emailed you or contacted you or some email is somewhere, doesn't mean that's the one they're gonna check. again, you want to ask questions.

People have multiple email addresses. So even by asking that question, don't feel like you're asking a dumb question. You're asking one that's important. Because I can't tell you how many times reviewing sales processes, just like I was with this one client as we onboarded, I see little tiny grains of s- grains of sand that are, like, miscommunication gaps that foomp, the lead just slides right down.

Like, you're climbing glaciers, and there's this crack to the center of the earth, and you never see them again. So, The bottom line is this: they feel seen, and you have taken the conversation to email, which gives you another layer of connection to them, a specific email that they have confirmed they answer. I cannot say this more. I know that I've said it, like, seven times already, but I can't say it enough.

Ask the question: "Is this the right email for you? Is this the place you want me to send it?" So now they've confirmed, and they're expecting something, and you started the conversation without rushing into a call. Okay, what you do next is very important.

Next, you are going to do what I call with my inner circle recon. Reconnaissance. Now, yes, I do have three brothers, and two of them are in the military, so I'm sure that they impacted that wording. But the reality is, before you rush in, before you even make a plan, you've gotta know the lay of the land.

You've gotta get the full picture, because there could be hidden little problems, hidden opportunities, hidden connections in other places that will warm them up even faster that you wouldn't have known had you just said, "Yeah, sure. Book a call. I mean, I'm available today. Do you wanna talk right now?"

If you did that, again, it's not wrong. You're a nice person. But it rushes in, when right here we want to pause and do some recon. Okay, so we're gonna look them up, all the places, whether it's, uh, you use Perplexity or Gemini.

I look at their website, YouTube, socials, Substack, podcast players. Maybe they have a podcast. Maybe they had a podcast in 2008. Maybe they were a guest on a podcast.

And now you have license to look them up. Let them see you seeing them. Like, comment, subscribe, send a note. This shows them right away you are different.

You are not, "Anyone with money qualifies." You know what I'm saying? Like, you have discernment. Clients want that.

They wanna know that they're going to be treated with some... treated well, and treated well by someone with discernment. You have that. You also are very caring.

I doubt you would be listening to this podcast about how to sell without being sleazy if you were some bro marketer who just wants to, you know, churn and burn. So, knowing this about you, believing this about you, I believe that you would benefit and feel better about the potential relationship you're entering into if you add this pause. Do the recon. Every single person that I work with- Loves this step.

They always, always find something. Something that raises an eyebrow, like, "Huh, that's interesting." And sometimes it's something really big. One of my clients recently did this, and she found out that the person who was inquiring, they went to the same university.

Now, albeit not yesterday, none of them are in their 20s. But it created a connection. It created a conversation that they were able to have a little bit via email before they even booked the call. That warmed them up because, again, what does every potential client want?

They wanna be heard, understood. They wanna know that they can trust you. You know, this is the internet, right? So we all are a little untrusting, and we have probably all been burned a little, if not a lot, before.

Okay. let them see you seeing them. Don't shy away. You're not stalking them.

You're giving them something to do while you do something as well. It also helps them understand that you're not going to just, I don't know, fly by night. You're someone who wants to have a deeper connection. You want to get the full picture.

No matter what you do for a living, no matter what you're consulting or serving them on, getting the full picture is always a good idea. The relationship here, right here, if it's going to go anywhere, will be mutual because you did this. You will work together. You don't work for them, and they don't demand outcomes.

They are just as responsible for the results they get as you are. You both will need to work together. This is a very important reframe, and the recon that you do, that pause, gets you there. So yes, all of this is being established even before the call is set.

and I really want you to infuse that into your mind. I really want you to think about that for a second. This is all happening before they've even booked a call. Now, how long does all this actually take?

It doesn't take long at all. I mean, thank you, AI, for helping me do all my recon. So here's the tactical steps, right? And I want you to steal this.

Here's what I want you to take away and genuinely try this week. Instead of sending a calendar link right away or, "Hey, yeah, I can talk today," here's what I want you to say: "That sounds like something I can absolutely help you with. I've got a quick next step for you. What's the best email to send it to?"

Then, then you go do your recon. Look them up. Let them see you seeing them. And then- You can come back and say, "Hey, I just looked up your YouTube," or, "Oh, I saw you were a guest on my friend's podcast," or, "Oh my goodness, I just did a - and I realized we went to the same university."

Or, "I just looked you up. Wait, are you from Jersey? Hold on, I'm from New York. That's amazing.

Where from? What exit?" And again, anybody from Jersey would get that. So you can then come back and say, "Okay, I'll, I'll make sure that I look for it.

You'll get it shortly. Can you fill it out..." And here's a part, "Can you fill it out by Friday and we'll take it from there?" So you see what's happening?

I want you to really notice this. You're leading them. You're setting expectations. You're removing yourself from chasing them.

Even though you're doing the recon and you're looking them up, that shows you're interested too. But it also means that you're going to look at the full picture. You're not just gonna try to push a, you know, round hole into a square peg or whatever the case. The point is this: you care.

what you're really showing them is that their website, their LinkedIn, is a part of what you look at when you think about considering having a deeper conversation with some-someone around a problem that you know how to solve. And even before you have been given any information officially, you are taking the initiative and showing them that you care. Most people miss this step, people of every business type. And I tell you, lately I have been, I, I would say the last two weeks, I have been, I don't know if you wanna call it funnel hacking, but I have been booking calls with businesses in this n- industry, this particular slice, this particular niche, just to see what their sales process is like because I've - I'm going to create something that will probably blow them out of the water, and they are brutal, all these calls.

The people are lovely. The people are lovely, but the process is brutal, and I can only blame whomever coached them. And so it's not their fault. They're lovely people, but unfortunately, everything they're doing is just a big, huge leak in the bucket.

And you're listening to this now, so you won't have those problems. And, and the unfortunate truth is that most people who are put into a position of sales only get about 90 days total of training throughout their entire career. so- You're already ahead of the game. Because this step, like I said, this reconnaissance step, this step where you're saying, "Hey, you'll get it shortly.

Fill it out by Friday. We'll take it from there," is not happening in other people's businesses, no matter what they do. It's a s- and it's, again, such a small, seemingly inconsequential step, but it will set the bedrock that you can build a lifelong client off of. When people say, "Oh, Renee, well, I don't...

What do you mean? I only need, like, 10 clients a year." Well, yeah, because you're not going to keep chasing new clients. You're not going to be a one-trick pony or a one-off.

You are going to set the bedrock for a first initial call. This is all before the first initial call, and then a first initial session, and then a phase one, and then a phase two, so that you don't get stuck in a position where you've made a proposal with scope creep written all over it, undercharged, resent your clients, resent your business, and wanna burn it to the ground. We're avoiding all that right here. I cannot stress this enough.

I get this question all the time, "Renee, does it really start from the first inquiry?" Yes, it starts right here. So I really, really cannot encourage you enough to stop, give this a try. This is your challenge for the week.

And report back. Try that recon. Try that framing, because all of it happens before the first call. But let's...

I wanna tie this back, uh, to this bigger problem. This is where so many of my lovely people that I l- that I love so much, my clients, this is where they were getting stuck before we started working together. They kept thinking, "I need more leads." So they would join every summit.

They would join every bundle, completely throwing spaghetti at the wall. Now, I, I am a fan, actually, of ads and funnels and summits and bundles when done with intention, when done in the, in the right framing at the right time. unfortunately, most people who are selling you those things don't care if it's the right time for you and don't teach you how to do it with intention. So if you're thinking, "I need more leads, I need more leads, I need more leads," what you actually might wanna try is what I'm suggesting today, a cleaner path from interest to a decision.

Because even if your current leads converted, uh, uh, think about it, like, even if just a few of the people that you are talking to that you know, that you believe are high-quality people that you would love to work with, even if just a few of those converted this month or this quarter, your whole business would be different. I have a client who had not had a new client in six months, and in the past three weeks, she has booked two discovery calls, which doesn't seem like that much.

Yeah, she doesn't have a volume business. She's a very highly qualified consultant and service provider. She's both, and she consults some organizations, and she does the work for others through her consultations. She knows how to do it as well, and she solves very complex problems.

But in the last three weeks, with just these two discovery calls, and one was a little bit of a, we slid off the rails a little. That's fine. She's still connected to that person. The other one, she just closed them, and what she said to me, she's like, "Renee, I finally feel like I'm in control.

Like I actually know where to find my people, what to do once we connect, how to host the discovery call in a way that guides them to the next step, how to charge and deliver on the first paid session, and how to frame out a phase one project so that I'm not out of scope." Her biggest problem when we first started working together was she was genuinely afraid of what to charge because she wasn't sure how much time it was gonna take her because every problem was so different and complex.

And so I really want you to encourage yourself. Look in the mirror and say, "I can do this. I can do this. I can pause.

I can guide them. I can do the recon. I can connect with them in a more genuine and intentional way that lays the bedrock for long-term development of client work," clients you love and that you're aligned with and that pay you well. Okay.

Here's your challenge. Take one entry point into your sales process, just one, and ask yourself, " Does this create momentum or friction?" And then rewrite it. And maybe the next step you take is to make it clear, time-bound, personal, just like what I laid out for you today.

So if this is hitting for you, like honestly, like go back and listen to episode 56, "Stop Wasting Discovery Calls on Unqualified Leads," or episode 49, "Where Are My People?" Because this is all connected. We're not fixing random pieces. We are building a system that will protect your time and bring you good money.

All right. At the end of the day, all you need, genuinely, are clear, intentional sales steps because the right people, they're already raising their hand. Your job is to guide them to the next natural step. And if you want help with your sales process, go over to askmecoach.

com. That's A-S-K M-E C-O-A-C-H.com, and that's where you'll find all the freshest ways to connect beyond this podcast. Have a great week.