I spent a little time on the phone with a remodeler down south recently.

He went to a home show last week – generated 24 leads – and is struggling to qualify them and have control of the initial phone call with a new prospect.

Here's a list of some initial phone call best practices I shared with him that he found helpful – I hope you find them helpful as well:

1. First things first – pull out your Project Discovery Sheet. Have a process. Have the questions you want to ask in front of you. Not so that you sound scripted at all, but so that you have a process to follow.
2. Be 100% focused on the call. Don't be multi-tasking. Don't be driving. Be 100% into it. Smile (yes – you can 'see' that smile through the phone.) Be friendly and up-beat.
3. Set the expectation of how long the call will last. 'Do you have 10-15 minutes to talk about your project?' If your initial phone call is lasting 5 minutes – you aren't asking enough questions.
4. Ask a lot of questions about their project – enough so that you have a clear picture of the project in your head. And, in turn, have some other projects you have completed that are very comparable in size and scope.
5. Later in the phone call – and if/when you have a clear picture of the project in your mind – Ask them, 'How much are you looking to invest in this project?' Most likely they will say 'I don't know.' You can reply with, 'based on my experience and projects that are very similar to yours – depending on a lot of factors and selections – you are going to looking at investing between $________ and $________. How does that sound to you?' (and then be quiet)
6. If you are still feeling like it is a good project for you –Lay out your process for them. Let me know that you'd love to come out and meet them and see the space that needs to be remodeled. And then explain the next few steps of 'This is how we work' to them. Explain what you'll do in the initial in-person meeting… that you will book the second in-person meeting before you leave the first meeting. Explain your design agreement if you do that. Educate them on the process.
7. Track how they found you. Keep your pipeline up-to-date. Add this lead to your CRM system or spreadsheet or whiteboard – whatever you use.
8. Send a nice professional email between the initial phone call and first in-person meeting.
9. Always seek to improve this initial phone call! This is an extremely important part of your process. The better you get at it – the more success you will have with turning that lead into a paid project.
10. At the end of the phone call – write down a quick 'What worked? What didn't work? Always be improving, trying new things, and learning.

Reach out if you have any questions: www.RemodelYourMarketing.com