MLM Training: How To Call Bad Leads - Part 1

If you have been purchasing leads over the last couple of years, you have found that lead quality is way down. Let's be honest, right now there are very few quality lead sources out there. Every time we think we've found one, and recommend them to someone, we get let down - so now we don't recommend anyone. Before we show you a highly effective method of calling bad leads, let's define what a bad lead is. We would define a bad lead as: 1. Someone who is not looking, or 2. Someone who has filled out a form for information but has received so many calls they are not interested in talking to anyone, or 3. Someone who claims to have no money, or 4. Someone who is not interested in this industry, or 5. All of the above Let us know if we missed someone. If you do what most networkers do when calling bad leads, you will first try to qualify the prospect. They will try to find out if they actually did fill out a form. They will want to know if the phone number is correct. They will want to know if the person on the list actually lives there. All networkers do these things, and they tip off the prospect that this is a sales call. They also do something that is fatal to the networker...they hand over control to the prospect. Now here is a very important point: when a prospect is given control, and they believe they are about to be sold something, they will end the call. Read that last sentence again, because it is very important. Here is what most opening calls sound like: Typical Networker: "Hi, Bob. This is John Smith in Ohio. How are you tonight? Bob, do you remember filling out a form requesting information on starting a home-based business?" Okay, if this is a bad lead, you are not going to get much further than this. You have just given the prospect the opening to end the call, and most prospects will take it. The opening was asking them if they remember filling out a form. Never ask that question. And - John Smith in Ohio? I don't know anyone from Ohio. The prospect thinks this is another amateur salesperson. How fast can I get this person off the phone? Here's an example of another opening: Typical Networker: "Hi, Bob. As a fellow networker, I thought you might be interested in this business I'm involved in. Is this a good time to talk?" In this opening, you've tipped your hand right away (which is okay, by the way). The problem is, if the prospect has negative feelings toward the industry, you just put yourself in a hole. If they don't have negative feelings about the industry, the next sentence, "Is this a good time to talk?" gave the prospect the opening they needed to end the call. We will show you what we mean in the next example. In both examples, the networker is trying to qualify the prospect. If you want to be more effective in calling leads, you must try to disqualify the prospect. In Conversational Recruiting