How should you prepare for a call with a new lead?

Researching a lead before any meeting is not just a best practice; it's an essential step in ensuring the success of your interactions. Ultimately, being prepared for a call lets you start the call with your best foot forward, but instead of doing all the research on your own, let your lead tell you about themselves in their own words.

What you gain from collecting as much information as you can before a call:

1. Understand their needs: Researching a lead allows you to gain insights into their business, challenges, and objectives. This understanding enables you to tailor your approach and demonstrate how your services can address their specific needs. By asking the right questions upfront, you can uncover valuable information that will guide the direction of your conversation.
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2. Build rapport: Demonstrating that you've taken the time to research a lead shows that you value their time and are genuinely interested in their business. This builds rapport and establishes trust from the outset, laying a solid foundation for a productive relationship.
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3. Identify pain points: Researching a lead allows you to identify potential pain points or areas where they may be struggling. By asking targeted questions, you can delve deeper into these pain points and showcase your expertise in providing solutions. This positions you as a trusted advisor who understands their challenges and can offer meaningful support.
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4. Differentiate yourself: Standing out is essential, especially if you're in a crowded industry. By conducting thorough research, you can uncover unique insights or opportunities that set you apart from competitors. Asking insightful questions demonstrates your expertise and positions you as a valuable resource who goes above and beyond to understand your clients' needs.
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5. Maximize efficiency: Time is a precious commodity for both you and your lead. By conducting research upfront and asking relevant questions, you can ensure that your meetings are focused and productive. You'll be able to dive straight into meaningful discussions rather than spending valuable time gathering basic information.

Here are 5 questions you can include in your "Book a call with us" form:

1. What prompted your interest in our products/services?
   Understanding your lead's motivation for reaching out provides valuable context for the upcoming conversation and helps tailor the discussion to their specific needs and interests.
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2. What are your key pain points or challenges that you're looking to address?
   Identifying your lead's pain points allows you to position your products/services as solutions to these challenges, demonstrating value and relevance.
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3. Can you provide some background information about your company and industry?
   Gathering information about your lead's company and industry helps you tailor your pitch and speak knowledgeably about how your products/services can benefit your prospect's business. It also lets you share clear, concrete case studies and examples directly related to them.
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4. Have you explored similar solutions in the past, and if so, what was your experience like?
   Understanding their past experiences with similar products/services provides insight into their preferences, concerns, and expectations, allowing you to address any potential objections upfront.
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5. What are your goals and objectives for implementing our products/services?
   Knowing their goals and objectives allows you to demonstrate how your products/services can help them achieve measurable outcomes, thereby strengthening the value proposition and increasing the likelihood of a successful sale.

Do keep in mind that the more questions you ask, the more likely it is that someone may just give up halfway and not book a call, so be strategic with th number and types of questions that you ask! You want to include questions that will be easy for your prospect to answer, not something they'd have to dig through an Excel spreadsheet to calculate.

💡 Tip: Only include a question if it's not something you can easily find out yourself, and if the answer is unique to your lead's perspective (i.e. a question where you would get a different answer if you were to ask someone else at the company the same thing)

By asking simple-to-answer yet thoughtful questions before a call, you can gather crucial information about your lead's needs, pain points, preferences, and objectives, allowing you to tailor your approach effectively and maximize the likelihood of a successful call!