Do you think you should let clients. . .

A. Book before qualifying, or

B. Qualify before booking?

Alright, I’ll give you a moment to think about your answer.

Done?

Now think of how your current onboarding process looks like. Which of those two options reflect your workflow?

I sure hope we’re on the same page on this and that you picked the second option like I did.

You see, the truth to the matter is that it is important that you qualify your leads BEFORE you even hop on a call with them. In other words, clients should fill out a qualifying questionnaire first BEFORE you allow them to book a discovery call with you.

I know this might seem like such a minor sequence, but trust me: Your booking process is actually a huge part of your workflow.

Need a good reason for pre-qualifying leads? Let me give you three.

 

 

Reason # 1: Pre-qualifying leads will help you save time

 

I’m sure you’ll agree that time is one of the most valuable assets that we have as entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, inefficient workflows can result in so much time wasted on trivial details. Thankfully, there are ways for us to streamline our business processes, and that includes making sure that you only schedule an appointment with someone who you know is a good fit for you.

It is important to understand that your services could attract different types of leads and that not all of these leads are going to fit your bill.

Now instead of letting the wrong lead block off your schedule for an appointment that is not going to turn out profitable for either of you, it would be better for you to make sure that you both don’t hop on an unproductive discovery call.

By setting up a pre-qualifying questionnaire for your leads, you now get to filter who among those leads are more likely to work with you. Saves time for both sides, don’t you agree?

It’s great for the client who no longer has to spend time for a call that’s not going to help him or her scale, and it keeps your schedule open as well for the right type of leads. Talk about a win-win situation!

And that brings us to our next reason. . .

 

 

 

Reason # 2: You’ll be more available for your dream clients

 

Again, keep in mind that not everyone who wants to book a call with us is our dream client. So if you do not have a pre-qualifying process in place, you’ll end up with your calendar fully booked with the wrong kind of clients. And all this can happen while your dream clients keep waiting for a slot to open so they can schedule an appointment with you.

We don’t want that to happen, of course, so here’s what you can do.

Come up with a questionnaire for your prospects to fill out. This questionnaire should help you decided whether your services are the best fit for whatever their needs may be. Once they answer the questionnaire, you can review their answers right away to determine who among those who want to go on a call with you have made the cut. Only then do you book that appointment.

 

 

Reason # 3: You get more free time!

 

Remember why you wanted to be your own boss? I don’t know about you, but for me, it’s ultimately because I wanted to make sure that I have more time on my hands to spend on the things that matter most to me.

But let’s be honest. If we’re not careful, building and scaling a business can take up so much of our time, including the time we spend with our family.

You’ve probably seen a lot of entrepreneurs who ended up spending more time than they said they would, just to keep their business running. And if that’s already the case with you, then you know it’s time that you start doing things differently.

So if you’re still sticking to booking an appointment before qualifying leads, consider a new way of approaching things. Come up with a way for you to identify right away if a lead is a dream client or not. Remember, your ultimate goal is to free up more of your time so you could focus on what you’re good at—what you’re truly passionate about.

 

 

The Bottom Line

 

 

Making changes to your processes can feel overwhelming and uncomfortable, but it is crucial if you want your business to thrive in the long run. Now I’m not saying that allowing your clients to book a call with you before you qualify them will not help you get the right clients, but just because something is working for you now doesn’t mean it always will.

So keep improving your business processes. Keep streamlining your workflows. Try to make your services as efficient as possible. That’s the best way for entrepreneurs like us to give our clients the VIP experience that they deserve.

Need an expert to streamline and automate your workflows? Book a strategy call with me, and let’s talk about how I can help!