How can you effectively qualify a lead before making a cold call?

1 BANT Criteria

One of the most widely used methods for qualifying leads is the BANT criteria, which stands for Budget, Authority, Need, and Timing. By asking the right questions, you can determine how much money the prospect has to spend, who makes the purchase decision, what problem or goal they have, and when they plan to buy. For example, you can ask: How much are you willing to spend on a new car? Are you the only one involved in the decision, or do you need to consult someone else? What features are you looking for in a car? How soon do you need to buy a new car? The answers to these questions will help you gauge the prospect's level of interest, urgency, and fit for your dealership.

2 Lead Scoring

Another way to qualify leads before making a cold call is to use a lead scoring system. Lead scoring is a process of assigning numerical values to different attributes and behaviors of your prospects, such as their demographic profile, online activity, email responses, and referrals. By adding up the scores, you can rank your leads from hot to cold, and focus your efforts on the ones who are most likely to convert. For example, you can assign higher scores to prospects who have visited your website multiple times, downloaded your brochure, or requested a quote, than to those who have only filled out a contact form or subscribed to your newsletter.

3 Buyer Persona

A third way to qualify leads before making a cold call is to use a buyer persona. A buyer persona is a fictional representation of your ideal customer, based on research and data from your existing customers. It includes information such as their name, age, gender, income, location, lifestyle, preferences, pain points, and motivations. By creating a buyer persona, you can segment your leads into different categories, and tailor your cold call script and offer to their specific needs and goals. For example, you can create a buyer persona for a young professional who values performance, style, and convenience, and another one for a family-oriented customer who cares more about safety, space, and reliability.

4 Pre-Call Research

A fourth way to qualify leads before making a cold call is to do some pre-call research. Pre-call research means gathering relevant and useful information about your prospects before you contact them, such as their name, job title, company, industry, location, social media profiles, and recent news. By doing some pre-call research, you can personalize your cold call, build rapport, and avoid asking obvious or irrelevant questions. For example, you can use LinkedIn to find out the prospect's professional background, interests, and connections, or use Google to find out if they have recently moved, changed jobs, or received an award.

5 SMART Goals

A fifth way to qualify leads before making a cold call is to use SMART goals. SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound objectives that you want to accomplish with your cold call. By setting SMART goals, you can clarify your purpose, prepare your pitch, and measure your results. For example, you can set a SMART goal to schedule a test drive with 10 qualified leads within a week, or to sell a specific model to 5 qualified leads within a month. SMART goals will help you stay focused, motivated, and accountable for your cold calling performance.