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Calling Leads??

by massiveray
25 replies
On Monday I hooked up with a new company who are selling SEO leads, I looked into how they qualify and verify their leads etc and it all seemed good....

The problem is that I have bought and called 25 leads this week, and not closed a single one. I find this very unusual as these should be warm leads and basically a done deal. I'm decent on the phones but by no means a pro.

I'm going to keep calling them and see what I can do, but essentially I want to verify if these leads are somewhat good and then let my sales guys have a go at them.

My question..... How do you calling pros handle calling these types of leads (bought)?
#calling #cold calling #leads
  • Profile picture of the author Rearden
    How are they sourced?

    Don't confuse a "lead" with "closed business."

    A lead is just an opportunity.

    I would figure if the leads aren't wood, being beat on by the telemarketers sourcing the call, etc., and you give good phone... you should convert 25% into clients.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mwind076
    I would check out HOW they are qualifying. We have a WSO (you can see it in my sig), that explains what we do for YOUR leads. We qualify each lead differently, we send you a questionnaire to find out YOUR needs and YOUR qualifying questions, it's not a one size fits all.

    What was asked of you before they found your leads? If you aren't selling any of 25, that's NOT good. They should be much more qualified than that and ready to purchase.
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    • Profile picture of the author massiveray
      Originally Posted by Mwind076 View Post

      I would check out HOW they are qualifying. We have a WSO (you can see it in my sig), that explains what we do for YOUR leads. We qualify each lead differently, we send you a questionnaire to find out YOUR needs and YOUR qualifying questions, it's not a one size fits all.

      What was asked of you before they found your leads? If you aren't selling any of 25, that's NOT good. They should be much more qualified than that and ready to purchase.
      Yeah I checked out how they're qualifying and it looks pretty stringent to me.

      Yeah I filled out a questionnaire to qualify me as a client of theirs, had to meet certain income criteria, quality guidelines and do a credit check.

      I figured the problem was one of 2 things, either I don't know what I'm doing with these types of leads or the leads are crap.

      I have never experienced this type of conversion rate before, 0/25 is ridiculous in these types of circumstances. I'd assumed at least 5 new clients from these leads.

      Right now my plan is to get one of my sales guys to blast through another 25 tomorrow and see what he can do.

      Do you just approach leads like this the same way as any other warm lead?
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      • Profile picture of the author Mwind076
        Originally Posted by massiveray View Post

        Yeah I checked out how they're qualifying and it looks pretty stringent to me.

        Yeah I filled out a questionnaire to qualify me as a client of theirs, had to meet certain income criteria, quality guidelines and do a credit check.

        I figured the problem was one of 2 things, either I don't know what I'm doing with these types of leads or the leads are crap.

        I have never experienced this type of conversion rate before, 0/25 is ridiculous in these types of circumstances. I'd assumed at least 5 new clients from these leads.

        Right now my plan is to get one of my sales guys to blast through another 25 tomorrow and see what he can do.

        Do you just approach leads like this the same way as any other warm lead?
        Wait I didn't ask if YOU qualified for the company selling you leads. I asked if they asked you what qualifications YOU want asked of your leads. As in, did they have you fill out a questionnaire on what YOUR perfect lead is?

        They did a credit check on you to sell you leads? Is that correct? If so, that is odd.
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        • Profile picture of the author massiveray
          Originally Posted by Mwind076 View Post

          Wait I didn't ask if YOU qualified for the company selling you leads. I asked if they asked you what qualifications YOU want asked of your leads. As in, did they have you fill out a questionnaire on what YOUR perfect lead is?

          They did a credit check on you to sell you leads? Is that correct? If so, that is odd.
          Oh okay, yeah they asked for 5 criteria to qualify the leads I want sent on.

          Yah, they credit checked us, the leads cost a fair bit and they're sending them over on credit terms and we pay them monthly for whatever we receive.
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          • Profile picture of the author Mwind076
            Originally Posted by massiveray View Post

            Oh okay, yeah they asked for 5 criteria to qualify the leads I want sent on.

            Yah, they credit checked us, the leads cost a fair bit and they're sending them over on credit terms and we pay them monthly for whatever we receive.

            5 questions? Seriously? I'd venture to say you got screwed. Sorry. Our leads are a fair bit of $$ (check the wso), but I bet it's cheaper than what you paid, and we ask a TON of information about you (I could send you our questionnaire). If you havn't seen one sale out of 25, it's time to ask for your money back, or put a stop to those recurring payments.
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            • Profile picture of the author massiveray
              Originally Posted by Mwind076 View Post

              5 questions? Seriously? I'd venture to say you got screwed. Sorry. Our leads are a fair bit of $$ (check the wso), but I bet it's cheaper than what you paid, and we ask a TON of information about you (I could send you our questionnaire). If you havn't seen one sale out of 25, it's time to ask for your money back, or put a stop to those recurring payments.
              Yeah that's kinda what I was expecting to hear, I was just hoping that there was some sort of special way to approach paid leads.

              I don't think there is anything to benefit from seeing your questionnaire unless you make calls in England? If you do I'd be happy to see it.

              Either way I'm gonna give my sales guys 25 leads tomorrow just in case it is me, but I highly doubt that.

              Edit: actually just checked your wso, I'm paying these shlubs significantly more than your prices. You'd think they knew what they were doing for that kind of dollah.
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              • Profile picture of the author Mwind076
                Originally Posted by massiveray View Post

                Yeah that's kinda what I was expecting to hear, I was just hoping that there was some sort of special way to approach paid leads.

                I don't think there is anything to benefit from seeing your questionnaire unless you make calls in England? If you do I'd be happy to see it.

                Either way I'm gonna give my sales guys 25 leads tomorrow just in case it is me, but I highly doubt that.

                Edit: actually just checked your wso, I'm paying these shlubs significantly more than your prices. You'd think they knew what they were doing for that kind of dollah.
                The benefit would be that YOU would know what they should be asking. It transcends continents. Business is business. You would be able to go "wow, they didn't ask me that" or "I didn't tell them that info that's why these leads aren't selling." If YOU didn't give them the qualifying questions for your clients or what they should be informed of so you can just pick up the phone and have them say "we were waiting for your call" or "where do I sign" then your leads aren't qualified for you.

                As for the other poster, sorry, but in 25 leads if they were HIGHLY qualified, he would have sold something. My kid could sell one of my perfect leads. I don't think it's him at all, it's clearly the lead provider.
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                • Profile picture of the author helisell
                  Originally Posted by Mwind076 View Post

                  .....
                  As for the other poster, sorry, but in 25 leads if they were HIGHLY qualified, he would have sold something. My kid could sell one of my perfect leads. I don't think it's him at all, it's clearly the lead provider.
                  Sorry but I have to disagree.
                  I've sold to 'crappy leads' when others have failed and I'm sure that you have too.

                  I just don't think it's 100% correct to say "he would have sold something", "clearly it's the lead provider" when we actually have no idea what he is saying to the leads.

                  Give 50 crappy leads to a superstar and tell him these are the 'golden leads'.
                  Give 50 'golden leads' to a 'so so' salesperson and tell them these are the left-over leads that everyone has called to death......tell me what the results will look like.

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                • Profile picture of the author massiveray
                  Right, I didn't think of it like that. In that case I'd love to take you up on your gracious offer of sending it over to me.

                  Originally Posted by Mwind076 View Post

                  The benefit would be that YOU would know what they should be asking. It transcends continents. Business is business. You would be able to go "wow, they didn't ask me that" or "I didn't tell them that info that's why these leads aren't selling." If YOU didn't give them the qualifying questions for your clients or what they should be informed of so you can just pick up the phone and have them say "we were waiting for your call" or "where do I sign" then your leads aren't qualified for you.

                  As for the other poster, sorry, but in 25 leads if they were HIGHLY qualified, he would have sold something. My kid could sell one of my perfect leads. I don't think it's him at all, it's clearly the lead provider.
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                  • Profile picture of the author Mwind076
                    Originally Posted by massiveray View Post

                    Right, I didn't think of it like that. In that case I'd love to take you up on your gracious offer of sending it over to me.
                    PM me your email address. I'll send you our questionnaire, and remember, we discuss with each client additional things. So, if you come up with another qualifying question while we're looking for your leads, you just email it to me and I add it. OUR leads are all about you.
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  • Profile picture of the author PeacefulCalamity
    I've actually heard of a similar story to this - same 25 appointments, 0 sales, SEO proposal.

    Did you ever try selling SEO before? Did you close any via cold calling prior?
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    • Profile picture of the author massiveray
      Originally Posted by PeacefulCalamity View Post

      I've actually heard of a similar story to this - same 25 appointments, 0 sales, SEO proposal.

      Did you ever try selling SEO before? Did you close any via cold calling prior?
      Yeah I sell a load of SEO, it's my primary service. I just brought these leads on board as an extra lead generator, thought it would be a sure thing. How wrong I was.
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  • Profile picture of the author gabysanchez225
    I would record your calls you listen to them over with either another warrior or compare it to some of the advice given in the cold calling threads. Recording your calls then listening back to them works on a number of levels, especially if you give it a day or so so you can listen to them back with a fresh mind, and a clearer idea of what should be expressed. If the company is legit and the qualifying stringent i'd zero in on exactly what you're saying when you follow up and tweak tweak tweak! Good luck.
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    • Profile picture of the author massiveray
      Originally Posted by gabysanchez225 View Post

      I would record your calls you listen to them over with either another warrior or compare it to some of the advice given in the cold calling threads. Recording your calls then listening back to them works on a number of levels, especially if you give it a day or so so you can listen to them back with a fresh mind, and a clearer idea of what should be expressed. If the company is legit and the qualifying stringent i'd zero in on exactly what you're saying when you follow up and tweak tweak tweak! Good luck.
      I tried to get my sales manager to record calls for training a larger sales staff a couple of months back, there is a hell of a lot of legal stuff to jump through before its even close to being allowed.

      Cold calling is not a problem for me, if the pro cold callers are saying it should be no different working with paid leads then there is obviously a problem with the quality of the leads.
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  • Profile picture of the author helisell
    Problem is Massiveray....

    We don't know what you are saying to them when you call.

    Would you be willing to post with some idea of how your conversation goes. I wouldn't assume it is the leads at this stage. A lead is a lead is a lead, some are better than others but assuming even some basic qualification has taken place there may be many reasons why these are not converting.

    You can pm me the script/process you are using if you want and I'll take a look.

    I have a lot of experience in this field so it may be worth a shot.

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    • Profile picture of the author massiveray
      My script or process are kinda irrelevant to this thread, I have and do well on the phone, not as much as I used to as I have a team in place but.... I do sell.

      What I was asking is "should I be doing something different when approaching paid leads?"

      I am very confident in my ability to sell however it seemed very unusual that I hadn't sold to such qualified leads in 25 calls.

      I am inclined to believe that there is something wrong with the leads, timing, or the way they are being qualified.

      Originally Posted by helisell View Post

      Problem is Massiveray....

      We don't know what you are saying to them when you call.

      Would you be willing to post with some idea of how your conversation goes. I wouldn't assume it is the leads at this stage. A lead is a lead is a lead, some are better than others but assuming even some basic qualification has taken place there may be many reasons why these are not converting.

      You can pm me the script/process you are using if you want and I'll take a look.

      I have a lot of experience in this field so it may be worth a shot.

      .
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      • Profile picture of the author helisell
        Originally Posted by massiveray View Post

        .........

        What I was asking is "should I be doing something different when approaching paid leads?"
        Can't answer that one because I don't know what you 'normally' say so couldn't even guess what would be 'different' to that.
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        • Profile picture of the author massiveray
          Originally Posted by helisell View Post

          Can't answer that one because I don't know what you 'normally' say so couldn't even guess what would be 'different' to that.
          Ok then mr pedantic, "do YOU treat paid leads differently than your self generated leads?"
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  • Profile picture of the author Mwind076
    Sorry, bottom line is that he's NOT getting what he paid for. Our leads, unless you are calling and talking them out of it, are pretty much sold for you BEFORE you call. It's your job to call or show up, answer any detail questions, and collect. THAT'S what he paid for. Doesn't matter if he sucks and can't sell them, they should have basically been contacted, qualified by HIS terms, and sold before he calls them, his only job should be to collect money and sign the contract.

    There MAY be one or two that pull back once qualified, but 25? No, not what he paid for.
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  • Profile picture of the author helisell
    Hey guys....it MUST be the leads then....

    Now....where have I heard THAT before?

    ;0)
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    • Profile picture of the author massiveray
      Originally Posted by helisell View Post

      Hey guys....it MUST be the leads then....

      Now....where have I heard THAT before?

      ;0)
      I am not 100% certain it is the leads, which is why I'm spending another couple of hundred tomorrow on getting my sales guys (who all use personally developed scripts) to test them out.

      Now if myself AND my sales guys can't sell on a pre qualified lead then.....it MUST be the leads haha
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  • Profile picture of the author Mwind076
    Well, when you have someone that SELLS leads and is saying his aren't qualified like they should be...yes, it probably is the leads. In addition, if he paid that pretty of a penny for them, I'd be mad too.
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  • Profile picture of the author helisell
    I agree that 0 out of 25 would point to 'crap leads' being the problem.......the important thing for you is to see a good enough ROI.

    At the moment the ROI is a minus figure and obviously better qualified leads will show better results...but that may only be a 'tweak' away.
    Sometimes one phrase or even one word may be all it takes to change crap leads into good leads (and vice versa) and those phrases and words are worth lots regardless of the lead quality.

    p l e a s e post your results from the sales guys....pretty please ;0)
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    • Profile picture of the author massiveray
      Originally Posted by helisell View Post

      I agree that 0 out of 25 would point to 'crap leads' being the problem.......the important thing for you is to see a good enough ROI.

      At the moment the ROI is a minus figure and obviously better qualified leads will show better results...but that may only be a 'tweak' away.
      Sometimes one phrase or even one word may be all it takes to change crap leads into good leads (and vice versa) and those phrases and words are worth lots regardless of the lead quality.

      p l e a s e post your results from the sales guys....pretty please ;0)
      Haha no problem, I understand that a change can make all the difference. But that wasn't the point of this thread it was just to see if people who know better come from a different perspective dealing with paid leads.

      I'll put the sales guys stats up at some point, I don't work Fridays so it will probably be at some point over the weekend.

      Also I'm not too fussed on the loss on ROI, it was worth risking a couple of hundred for the potential to make thousands recurring. I had let myself think for a minute that I could close about 20 of them and have a hell of a good week.
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