Qualifying 101

Cold outreach can be a laborious but, nonetheless, worthwhile task. No matter how good you get you'll always face a prospect saying 'no'.

When I started cold calling I got many 'no's'. It was disheartening. Now I've designed my entire process to make sure I get as few 'no's' as possible. If I am doing my work properly then I tend to get very few 'no's' at all.

The key to this process is researching and qualifying the prospect and their company. This process can be time consuming but worth it when you don't waste time (and emotions) on getting 'no's'.

Researching and qualifying prospects and their companies is probably something you will have to do over and over again. Since it is so repetitive and time consuming you want to get your system streamlined. Make sure you spend as little time as possible researching and qualifying the prospect. Be sure to research the prospect thoroughly.

Researching the customer means finding out about what they do, what problems they encounter etcetera. Qualifying means comparing them to your ideal client profile. Then you make a judgement call on how close they are to your ideal client profile.

Researching a Prospect

In researching your prospects you're trying to find out what makes them tick. There are many resources you can access:

• Linkedin
• their website
• their financial statements
• customer reviews of their company.
• Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Browse the prospect and their company's Linkedin pages. On the prospect's Linkedin page look for:

• Common acquaintances - you might have done good work for a shared connection. Working this in to the conversation can help build your credibility.
• Shared work experiences - did you work at the same company at one stage? You could gain information about the prospect from your old colleagues.
• Activity on Linkedin - what are they posting? What are they talking about? Can you add any value (with your expertise) to the conversation the prospect is having online?
• Read their bio - it often speaks of what is important to them.
• 'People Also Viewed' - have a look at the left hand side of the Linkedin page. Their is a 'People Also Viewed' which can be a great source for finding other leads.

On the company Linkedin page look for:

• how many employees work for the company (this can be a qualifying criteria)
• what is the company posting about? What is important to them at that time?
• look at the 'Jobs' section - if you're in IT you might find they're hiring many developers. The nature of the developers could tell you something about what they're gearing up to do. This idea can translate across different service/product offerings.
• what other media are they sharing? Images, documents and videos?

Go to the company's webpage and have a look for these:

• look at the products and services they sell. Most likely there are around 20% of the products that make up 80% of their sales. You need to work out what these 20% are. That will tell you what their biggest revenue item is and where their biggest challenges are.
• look for company financial statements. Read the chairman's report. What new initiatives are they planning for the new year. While you there try and work out what their financial year period is.
• the 'Jobs' page on their website is also worthwhile perusing for the same reason you look at their 'Jobs' page on Linkedin.
• It is worthwhile to 'follow' their page as you will get updates to what they're doing

While you're online go and look at some customer reviews for their products or service. Are their problems that you products might fix?

Browsing through their Twitter, Facebook and Instagram might tell you what hobbies they are. This can help you build camaraderie when you meet them. Shared passions or experiences are priceless here.

Once you've done your research you'll have a good idea about what makes the company tick. Once you know what makes them tick your can qualify them.

Qualifying

With the knowledge you have you need to compare them to what your ideal client looks like. I'll write another post on that shortly.

Compare what you know about the company (headcount, common problems they face etc.). How well does it line up against your ideal client profile? If it stacks up well then they're a good prospect. If not put them on another (backup) list. You want to start with the most viable candidates first.

Recording the Details

Now that you have a good idea about how likely they are to need your products it's a good idea to record the information you gleaned.

In your CRM (customer relationship management) software record the company's landline number. This saves you having to look for it later. It is also likely the only number you'll find for the prospect. Write down what the nature of their business is and what products make up the bulk of their sales. Make a note of the prospect and their company's Linkedin pages. You might need to refer to these again later. If you can work out what their financial year period is write that down. This will help you when they might need to budget for your products.

In closing; I have trained people to run cold outreach campaigns. The thing that often strikes me is that what seems natural and obvious to me may not appear so to others. I may be subject to the Curse of Knowledge bias. I am writing these articles to get feedback. Please let me know what you want me to explain or elaborate on.

If you have not already done so please check out my other articles on

• why I am writing these posts
• Prospecting 101
• Tools to Help You Prospect