Does this sound familiar? You meet a prospect and play phone tag.  Months later, you arrange a meeting, you give away valuable ideas and information during the introductory meeting and you wait.

You go through this process over and over and over. Eventually, someone does business with you. If you’re lucky, about a year later, you’re actually working with that new client.

The problem with this process is that you’re at a disadvantage for several reasons: 

1. You are in pursuit mode. Unless the prospect has an immediate need, you are in a position of having to convince them.

2. You spend a great deal of time just determining if there is a good fit. 

The bottom line is your time is valuable.  Setting up a pre-qualification system just makes good sense because not every call, email or referral you receive is your ideal client.

Almost any piece of your selling process can be systematized and/or automated. With a well-defined pre-qualification system, you and your prospect can determine if there is a good match.

Implementing a pre-qualification system may be easier than you think, too! Here are some tips:

If you spend countless hours educating your prospects or answering frequently asked questions, use your marketing resources to help you serve them better.  Include those frequently asked questions and the answers on your website.

You may even find that you can overcome objections simply by answering a question that your prospect hasn’t expressed but may have on their mind.  How would you know what that concern is if they haven’t expressed it?

The answer is simple. Listen to your existing clients.

For example, one of my clients who has a successful hypnotherapy practice discovered that one of her existing clients hesitated doing business with her. Turns out her client attended a show where she saw an audience member being hypnotized and forced to bark like a dog on stage.

When my client discovered this perception of hypnotherapy, she addressed that very concern in a Q&A on her website. If you have a specific process, you may want to add a video which can also help explain the process you take your clients through. In the end, you will empower your prospect to make an informed decision.

When creating your pre-qualification system, remember to also put on your customer hat. If your system is too complicated, you may lose them. Create a user-friendly process that provides continuous value.

Begin by mapping out your entire sales process. Once you have that mapped out, consider how you can systematically and automatically pre-qualify your prospects. Then, watch as you increase your bottom line.