It’s really frustrating when every sales prospect you speak to is a flop. I know because I hear it from business owners all the time. They feel like their market is broke, people don’t get what they do and everything is hopeless. The solution is to create a consultation application.
What is a consultation application?
A consultation application is a survey you have prospects fill out before you get on the phone with them for a consultation. This saves a lot of time because you can weed out the duds. It also allows you to focus on people who you can actually help.
Who needs a consultation application?
If you do consultations as a part of your sales process, then you need a consultation application. This is especially true if you are experiencing high volume in requests for consultations.
The truth is not everyone is going to be a good fit and your time is limited. A consultation application simply helps you with those two aspects of sales.
What do you ask in a consultation application?
Because a consultation application is meant to save you time, you need to ask specific questions. These are some of the questions I ask in my own consultation application so that I make sure I’m only speaking with viable prospects.
- What kind of business do you have? Since I do business consulting, I need to make sure that prospects actually have a business. At the very least, they need to have some sort of business idea.
- What’s your current monthly profit? The reason I ask this is because I need to know whether or not someone can actually pay me. It also gives me a good idea of what stage of business they are in.
- How do you make money in your business? Again, this helps me see what I’m working with.
- What is your current goal? This helps me see what a business owner is working toward and whether or not I can help.
- What is your level of commitment? This is on a scale. I want to know whether or not someone is serious before I waste my time.
- Do you need to consult spouse/business partner, etc.? I want to make sure I’m speaking with the decision maker. If everything else still looks good, I might make an exception but at least I know how to approach the situation.
This is a general overview of what I ask in my consultation application. Again, I’m using my business consulting practice as an example. You will have to figure out the details for your own business.
How to make a consultation application run on autopilot
My consultation application is on autopilot. This means I don’t have to review the answers before someone gets a link to book an appointment. Instead, I use the “Quiz” feature in Typeform. If a sales prospect scores above a certain number, they automatically get a link to my calendar.
Final Thoughts
A consultation application is meant to save you time as a business owner. Since implementing my own sales application, I have increased my closing rate significantly. The reason is that I make sure to only speak with the right people.
