HOW TO CONVERT LEADS TO SALES

THE TOP 5 THINGS YOUR SERVICE BASED BUSINESS CAN DO (STARTING TODAY),
TO CLOSE MORE LEADS INTO BECOMING YOUR BEST CUSTOMERS

If you’re looking to grow your business, learning how to convert leads to sales starting today can make a big difference. This video and accompanying PDF download will help you understand proven strategies for converting leads into paying customers. We’re making this available for free to anyone who registers, but only for a limited time.

Prefer to read over watching video? We’ve also created a version of this presentation in a “whitepaper” format. You can download that as well:

There’s a lot that goes into running a successful home service business, and we know it’s anything but easy. With all of the “business” things you need to manage, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. This is why learning how to convert leads to sales effectively can make a major difference in your results.

We’ve seen a handful of practices that, when implemented, consistently help our clients improve performance and succeed in converting leads to sales more efficiently.

The 5 tips outlined below will lead you to fuller pipelines and greater profits. Let’s get started.

1. Answer The Phone 100% Of The Time

Make sure you have someone answering the phones and turning inquiries into appointments 24/7. More than that, make sure everyone is fully trained on how to address key questions, and on how to get any and all necessary information from your prospects. This is a critical step in learning how to convert leads to sales effectively. If you’re not able to have someone from your company available to answer calls 24/7, consider hiring an answering service to capture the calls when your team is unavailable.

A few points to consider: Most people won’t leave a message, but if they do, you must call them back as soon as possible. The longer you wait to return their call, the more likely they are to find another contractor. This delay can directly impact your success in converting leads to sales.

BONUS TIPS TO HELP CONVERT LEADS TO SALES

Record and review your calls to make sure your front desk team isn’t hurting your chances of winning new jobs. Train your team on how to handle price inquiries and collect all necessary information on that first call. This plays a key role in learning how to convert leads to sales more effectively. Also, make sure they understand the importance of being kind and professional when speaking to prospects.

Important Note: Be sure to follow all applicable laws and regulations when recording calls. Speak with your service provider on this as they should be the experts. This is especially important when improving systems for converting leads to sales.

Focus on improving this simple aspect of your business, and you may convert 20-30% more inbound inquiries into quote requests, and ultimately customers.

Your front desk staff is a critical part of your sales team, and you should make sure they know that. Most receptionists don’t realize what’s involved, and how much marketing and effort goes into generating those calls. It’s on you as the business owner to make them aware, and to coach them to improve call handling.

If your system doesn’t already have call recording, you should definitely look into a system that does. This step is so crucial, that we include it in all of our Inbound Service Leads marketing systems.

2. Don't Assume The Prospect Knows What Makes You Better

Many times, prospects call more than one contractor to get a competitive quote. Our contractors most often prefer to be the best in the business, meaning they focus on quality workmanship over price, so it’s important to clearly communicate your value. This is a key part of learning how to convert leads to sales effectively. Our belief is that you’re better off being one of the more expensive providers in your market because that means you never have to cut corners or compromise quality. Contractors who focus on value are able to grow long term and succeed in converting leads to sales without competing on price alone.

You need to take time to educate the prospect on what you do differently (better), and also on what corners other contractors may cut, that will result in future headaches or frustration for them.

Remember, the client most likely knows very little about what a “good job” looks like, so take the time to educate them. In many cases, your competitors aren’t doing this, so it will make you stand out from the crowd.

How the prospect feels about you and your business, will trump any price difference when they go to award the job. Make sure they know you’re in their corner and are looking out for their best interests.

You’ll notice that we take an education based approach with our business as well, and provide value long before we start working with many of our clients. It’s part of the reason why many of our clients have been with us for years – because we care about their results, and they know we’re in this together.

3. UNCOVER THE EMOTIONAL ASPECTS OF THE JOB TO CONVERT LEADS TO SALES

You should take the time to uncover how the prospect feels about the project. Why are they calling you? What keeps them up at night about this, or what pain has this job created in their lives? More importantly, how can you help them solve it? Understanding this is a key part of learning how to convert leads to sales effectively.

Be empathetic and share stories of similar situations you’ve worked through with other customers. Let them know you understand and can relate to their concerns.

Share results of other customers you’ve worked with on similar projects, and explain the outcomes on an emotional level. This helps prospects visualize results and improves your chances of converting leads to sales.

Or on the other side – perhaps they’re thrilled about the project. Maybe it’s something they’ve been wanting to do or have for a while, and they’ve finally saved up the money to get it done.
This is great – so find out exactly what makes them excited about the project and why it’s important to them on an emotional level.

And that leads us to the next, related point…

4. LISTEN AND LET THE PROSPECT KNOW YOU HEARD AND UNDERSTAND THEM TO CONVERT LEADS TO SALES

This may seem really simple, but we’ve witnessed many contractors who show up, deliver their pitch, and only focus on what they need to say. This often happens when estimators are busy, but it creates a poor experience for prospects. Improving this is an important step in learning how to convert leads to sales more effectively.

A great way to show prospects that you’re listening is to repeat what they said back to them. This helps ensure there are no misunderstandings and lets the prospect know you’ve truly heard them. This builds trust and improves your chances of converting leads to sales.

Use what the prospect says directly in your response and proposals. Work back in the specifics of the project that they requested or mentioned word for word. The more personal, and the more specific you can be in your proposal, the better.

And don’t assume the prospect knows your listening. Repeat back to them what you heard and understood – make sure they can feel that you’re trying to make sure you’re both 100% aligned and on the same page.

5. SET CLEAR EXPECTATIONS AND OUTLINE YOUR PROCESS TO CONVERT LEADS TO SALES

Doing so helps when the prospect becomes a customer. They’re agreeing to the process from the start, so they know exactly what to expect. It also helps them feel like you’re already working together and builds trust, which is essential when learning how to convert leads to sales effectively.

This is another step that may seem obvious, but very few contractors fully leverage it. You need to clearly walk prospects through what happens next so they feel confident moving forward.

Let them know you have a defined process and help them envision working with you. This makes it easier for them to commit and improves your success in converting leads to sales.

As you explain your process, this helps them to realize you’ve done this a time or two, and you’re prepared to deal with things in a streamlined manner.

Remember, one of a prospect’s biggest fears is often built around horror stories they’ve heard from family and friends who have had similar work done. Your job is to get them to change their vision of how the project will go if they choose to work with you.

Getting them to envision a smooth, well-defined timeline on the project will most certainly lead to higher close rates, and it will set you apart from any other contractors they may be speaking with.

HERE ARE TWO BONUS POINTS TO HELP CONVERT LEADS TO SALES

These points are game changers for many contractors. When combined with the strategies above, they can significantly improve your ability in converting leads to sales and help you grow your business.

GET ONLINE REVIEWS AND
USE THEM EVERYWHERE

It’s a simple fact that your prospects are more likely to call you (and to choose you for their project), if you have more (and better), reviews than your competitors.

On the other hand, if you have only a few reviews (or negative reviews), you most likely won’t get the call – and you won’t even get a chance to bid on the job.

Getting reviews isn’t hard – you just have to ask your happy customers for them, and then make it really easy for them to leave one. This is super important.

We have tools to help you accelerate this activity, so if you’re interested, feel free to book a call to speak with a member of our team – but no matter what, start asking for reviews from your happy customers today.

REMARKETING –
THE GAME CHANGER

This is a must, so don’t skip this step. It’s the easiest way to turn lookie-loos into quote requests, and then to turn those prospects into customers. Seriously, if you want to win – don’t skip this step.

When prospects see your business online, they may (or may not), be in a place where they can take action on it (meaning they may not be able to (or want to), call you right in that moment. If you don’t remarket to them, they’ll most likely forget about you.

With remarketing, you can continue to show up everywhere and every time those prospects are online. By staying top of mind, you’re building the credibility of your business; you appear to be a large, well established business; and you get the opportunity to show additional ads that highlight more of the reasons why you’re the best choice to help them with their next project.

A sophisticated remarketing strategy is literally the fastest way to immediately, and substantially increase the results of any online marketing campaign.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Inbound Service leads system, and how our exclusive, Inbound Lead program can help you grow your business, then book a time to chat with a member of our team. It’s free, and we’d love to see if we might be a good fit to work together.

Break Free From Chasing "Leads" and Learn How to Convert Leads to Sales More Effectively!