How to Make Sure Your Proposals Don’t Get Ghosted

On this week's episode we discuss how to transform your client interactions BEFORE you get on the phone with them...

So tune in and discover...

🎯 How to stop wasting hours on calls with people who were never going to become clients in the first place.

⏳ A simple strategy that helps you filter out time-wasters before you even pick up the phone.

🚦 How top experts protect their time—and why you should be doing the same in your HR consultancy.

💡 The tiny shift that makes clients see you as the go-to HR consultant (instead of just another option).

💰 Why you should charge for your calls so you NEVER give away free advice again—unless you choose to.

And much, much more.

Timestamps:

0:00 - Qualify Prospects Before Calls
0:44 - Understanding Qualification
1:19 - Filtering Before Conversations
2:10 - Protecting Your Time
2:55 - Advantages of Qualifying Prospects
5:09 - Avoiding Time Wasters
6:15 - Engaging With Serious Clients
8:29 - The Costs of Not Qualifying
12:38 - Steps to Qualify Prospects
15:44 - Starting Effective Conversations
16:50 - Managing Call Dynamics
18:02 - Creating a Mutual Understanding
20:45 - Outcomes of the Call
23:07 - Charging for Your Expertise
27:27 - Wrapping Up Qualification Process
28:51 - End Call with Clarity

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Transcript

00:01 you ever feel like you're spending way too much time on calls with people who don't become clients, then today's podcast episode is perfect for you.
00:09 Because today we're going to talk about how to qualify prospects. We're going to talk about how to qualify prospects. So you stop wasting time on the wrong people, and you only speak to those who are serious about getting HR solutions for them and their business.
00:24 As a quick preview, what we're going to talk about is what qualifying is, why it's crucial, the pitfalls to avoid when you actually qualify.
00:31 How to start qualifying, how to actually qualify, and when you should be qualifying. And stick around to the end because I've got a resource that's going to help you with your qualifying so you get it right every single time.
00:44 as ever, it's good to start these things off with a definition. So let's start there. What is qualification? Qualification is making sure that a prospect is the right fit for you before you start spending time with them on a call.
01:00 So it's all about filtering before the conversation, not trying to convince people who are never going to buy from you.
01:07 So, I mean, imagine that you were a recruiter, you wouldn't interview just anyone for a job, right? The same logic applies here.
01:15 So recruiter, workers get CVs, they get people to apply for jobs. That's the same thing that we're doing here. When someone gets into your DMs and says, hey, I need your help, your response shouldn't be great.
01:28 Let's jump on a call. Your response should be, well, hang fire. What is it? What are we talking about here?
01:34 Right? You're going to talk to these people about what it is that they're going through before you get them on a call.
01:41 You're going to understand a little bit of the lay of the land before you get on a call. And, you know, the reason- that we're going to do this, as we'll soon see, there are loads of advantages that we will come on to.
01:54 But one of the bigger reasons that we should do this is because this is the mark of an expert. You know, people like Richard Branson, or, you know, anyone else for that matter?
02:04 You know, who's a CEO, or someone high-flying, an expert in their field. They don't just take meetings with anybody and everybody.
02:12 They, you know, they're quite standoffish, right? They protect their time. And you need to do the same thing. Getting on a call with any- Anybody and everybody who flutters their eyelashes at you is a bad idea.
02:24 You're gonna end up spending a lot of time interacting with people who aren't necessarily right for you or for your business.
02:31 And you might not even be able to help them. And you know, we've got on the call with them. It's been a com- complete waste of your time.
02:37 So that's what qualifying is all about. There are many advantages. We'll come on to them shortly, but qualification ensure it's making sure that a prospect is the right fit for you before you invest any time with them on a call.
02:51 you
02:54 yeah, in terms of the advantages of qualifying prospects before we get on a call with them, there are, yeah, there are advantages.
03:02 There, you can save your time, you can save your energy, you can save money. It leads to better clients and it could potentially generate income for you.
03:13 So let's take a look at these step-by-step. Firstly, how does qualifying people, before you get on a call with them, help you save time?
03:22 Well, it's quite obvious really, isn't it? You don't waste any time on pointless calls with people who you can't help, who you, you know, get this immediate icky feeling that you don't want to help them.
03:34 And there's no more calls with people who just want to kind of pick your brains, you know? They can see that you're a HR guy.
03:40 They can consultant. They can see that you're an expert, and they're like, oh, well, I'll just ring them up and just, you know, uh, see, see what they think about this that I want to do or that, that, that I want to do.
03:50 There's none of that anymore. They contact you and say they've got a problem. Can we get on a call and discuss it?
03:55 And you say, uh, yep. Great. Um, you know, a call certainly an option. But for now, tell me about this problem.
04:01 Or what is it about this problem? And then you're going to get them to tell you a little bit about it.
04:07 You're not going to go fact finding. You're not going to go too deep into it. But you want them to share a bit of information.
04:12 And we're going to get on to how to do that, what strategic questions to ask, et cetera. Very shortly. But for now, the idea that you want to embed in your brain is that you do not just get on a call with anybody and everybody who flutters their eyelashes at you.
04:28 Next. As we said earlier, you're going to save your energy. So you're going to avoid getting frustrated. You're not going to be wasting time on people who are not prospects for you.
04:40 You're going to have all that energy instead of getting on a call with someone and using your brain. You're going try and figure out what's going on.
04:47 What's going to happen instead is that you're going to be focused on your work. And then as soon as you finish that piece of work, or after you're 50 minute pomodoro, then you're going to go back to that question that, you know, that you've asked the person.
05:01 They're going to give you an answer and you will then have, uh, and at the next question to ask them.
05:07 So also in terms of saving money. So you won't be wasting time on people. Who aren't the right fit for you or you can't actually help or they're just a tire kicker or they just want to get on a call and explain their problems to you and, uh, and attempt to get free advice.
05:23 You're going to save money because you're not going to waste time or wasting revenue. It's a So instead of, yeah, instead of being on a call with somebody who isn't going to give you any money or you isn't the right fit for you, you could be out there actually selling yourself, actually selling your 
05:39 services to someone else. We only get one life, right? We only get one bit of t- time. We have to invest it strategically.
05:46 We have to do the best job we can possibly do with that piece of time. So spending it on somebody who isn't going to give us anything is a waste of, yeah, it's a potential waste of money.
05:57 It's a waste of time. And And next. We've got better clients. So qualifying can lead to better clients. So the ones who show up, who are ready to engage, they're ready to invest, they are the clients that we want to spend time with on the phone.
06:15 We don't want to be getting on the. The phone with absolutely anybody. We want to make sure that the people who are getting on the phone with us are actually engaged.
06:22 They're actually looking for solutions to their problems. And we're going to do that by asking them questions, right? We're going to make them jump through a few hoops before they get a chance to speak to us.
06:32 I'm out. The last benefit that I talked about is that it can actually potentially earn us money. So, one of the things that we're going to talk about in terms of qualifying is that you can actually charge for these calls.
06:42 You can say to people, yeah, it sounds like I might be able to help you. The price of the call is.
06:48 Is x, y, z. You can make your payment over here. And we'll come on to this shortly about, you know, the, the, the way to phrase this.
06:56 When to do this, when not to do this, the potential pitfalls to look out for. But there is nothing wrong with a potential.
07:02 Uh, say, uh, call that you are charging for it. If they want advice, why should they get advice for free?
07:09 You're an expert. An expert would charge for their time. Would charge for their advice, right? You need to be the exact same way.
07:16 Uh, a while ago, um, just to bring this example to life, A while ago, I had a bad back. And I found a clinic in Manchester.
07:26 Uhm, I can't remember what they were called. It doesn't matter. But I sent them a few WhatsApp messages. They responded and said, oh, tell us about your pain a little bit.
07:34 I told them, they came back with, yeah, coming for an- appointment, the initial setup is 7-equit or whatever. Here's the payment details.
07:41 Guess what? I made the payment because I was actually interested in getting a solution. If I was just interested in getting an advice or kicking tires or, you know, finding out about them, then I wouldn't have made that- payment.
07:53 And they would have, they wouldn't have, well, they've saved time by asking me all these questions and then sending me a payment link.
07:59 You need to do the exact same thing. If the paying is real for somebody, if they want a solution, if they're messaging you, and they want a solution to their H.I.
08:08 problems, problems. They are going to make the payment to get the advice from you, won't they? Why wouldn't they? And we will talk about when and if to do this, but for now, I want you to think of that as a good possibility for you and for your world.
08:24 so we've talked about what the benefits are of qualification, of qualifying people before we get on a call with them.
08:30 Now, you might be thinking to yourself, okay, well, yeah, that sounds alright. So, let's flip over the script and let's talk about what happens when you don't qualify, right?
08:39 Because there's a big chance that most of you are, who are listening along to this, don't actually qualify your prospects before you get on a call with them.
08:47 So, what does that mean? That means that you're taking calls with anyone and everyone. That means you don't know if you can help them before you invest time and effort and mental energy.
08:55 Uhm, and that means that, you know, that you're speaking to absolutely anyone and everyone. So, when they contact you, when you say, yes, absolutely, please, let's, ah, you know, let's, let's get on a call immediately.
09:08 And you, you know, you're saying, I'm eager to get on a call. What you're actually saying is, I'm available, I don't have any standards, anybody can book a call with me, I'll work with anyone, you are, you know, you're not positioning yourself as the expert HR consultant that you, that you are.
09:26 So, yeah, that doesn't work. It doesn't put you in the best negotiating position when it comes to quoting your fees.
09:32 It also doesn't put you in a great position when it comes to your positioning. You're just like any HR consultant out there.
09:40 You're eager to get on a call. You've got time. You don't have that many clients. Your time isn't that valuable.
09:46 It's not a good way to run your life or your business. The next thing's about, well, qualification, eh, qualification and what can potentially happen.
09:55 So you could potentially be ignoring red flags. So if somebody contacts you, says they want to chat, you say, yeah, let's get on a call.
10:03 And, yeah, you're potentially ignoring those red flags. And I know why you do this. Because maybe you need the work.
10:10 Maybe you need the prospects. Maybe you just want to, you know, make sure that those red flags are actually red flags.
10:16 But, you know, when you get that icky feeling in your stomach, you know, that says this person is not good for you.
10:23 There are, you know, you get the sense that they're a potential walking, talking employee. Employment tribunal. These people should not be giving you time.
10:31 You shouldn't be giving them your energy. So, don't ignore those red flags. Don't get on a call with anyone and everyone.
10:37 And if you do get on a call with them and they do, you know, they are a walking, talking red flag.
10:43 Acknowledge that feeling in your stomach and, yeah, end the call. Get away from this person as fast as possible. Now, another potential pitfall of qualifying is when you don't actually know what you're doing very early on in, when you start out on this process.
10:59 There's a good chance that you might qualify too hard. So, I've done this before. I've done this on a couple of occasions where I've qualified too hard and I've lost the lead.
11:08 They've said, you know what, yeah, you know, I don't understand what's happening, blah, blah, blah. They've gotten frustrated. I didn't know exactly what I was doing or why I was doing it.
11:18 I was just doing what I thought was right and ultimately I scared people away. Now, that's not to say that qualifying people before you get on a call with them is a bad idea.
11:28 It just means that I was doing it the wrong way. Yep, that meant that I lost the lead, but at least I learned the lesson of what not to say.
11:40 the final potential fit fall is assuming instead of asking. So just because somebody seems or, you know, just because somebody seems or comes across that they are a bad fit or a good fit, they might actually not be, right?
11:54 So you need a simple answer. You need process. You need a script to figure that out. So when you get on a call, before you get on a call, you need to know what you should or shouldn't be saying to understand this person and their world.
12:08 Once you've got that script, once you've got that understanding of what's going on, what qualification is and why you should be doing it, then, yeah, then you don't need to assume anymore.
12:18 You won't be getting on a call with anyone and everyone. You will become the expert HR consultant that you are.
12:28 so now we understand what qualifying is, we know why we should be doing it, we know what to watch out for, and when we actually start doing it, let's get into the meat of it.
12:37 Let's talk about how to actually qualify prospects. So there's two steps to this process. The first step is when you're DMing, or potentially if you've cold-cold them, but in theory, this is, for most of you, this will be when they have DM'ed you, or you've DM'ed them, or perhaps they've responded.
12:57 Or they've some sort of LinkedIn post, or they've responded to one of your direct males, who knows, but before you get on a call, right?
13:07 You are going to be sending them some questions, and the goal of which is to gauge how serious they are, and hit f- you have a re- if they have a real problem that you can actually solve.
13:18 Now, what you're going to be looking out for here is engagement. You know, how much engaged are they in these questions?
13:24 Are they taking forever to respond, or are they quickly replying? Are there- clear problems? Are they clear on what these problems are?
13:32 Is there a willingness to talk? Are they willing to engage with you? And is there any urgency? Or are they just facts finding for a potential project which might be a month or two?
13:45 Down the line, right? We don't want to be getting on a call with someone who's, you know, doing a bit of fact finding for their boss because they may potentially want to hire a HR consultant in a few months.
13:57 No point getting on a call with them just yet, right? I could be a waste of time. So, in terms of, um, what we could be saying while we're having these DM's conversations.
14:10 So, you know, we want to know which one of the, which problem that they want to talk about. We want to talk about how long they've experienced.
14:17 That problem, we want to know what the consequences are of that problem. So, what does it cost the business? You know, as it costs them, uh, staff or, um, finances, engagement, you know, anything on the means lines.
14:34 know, if they've tried other solutions, what those solutions have been, all that good stuff. And once we've completely understood the situation, not facts finding as such, but a bit more, let's say, Yeah.
14:50 Getting to the crux of the situation, the true, honest understanding of the world, that's when we say to them, okay, here's my calendar.
15:00 Book yourself in. Or, you know, we'll get onto this, but you might want to be charging for this call. It depends.
15:06 What they say, and we will come onto this shortly when I start talking about how, you know, considering charging for the strategy calls.
15:14 Either way, once you've understood the situation a bit better, once you've made them jump through a few hoops, once you've made you, uh, checks their engagement, et cetera, et cetera, how much they're willing to talk to you.
15:28 That's when you start to get on a call with them, right? Next, we're going to think about what happens when you're on the call with them.
15:36 So once you're on the call with them, uhh, now it's time to understand their world and to see if they are truly a fit.
15:44 So one of the key tips that I always say is, you know, have to start at the call, have a bit of a chin wag, you know, about where they are, where they're from, what they're, umm, you know, what, what the wa- like where they are, et cetera, et cetera.
15:57 And then get down to business. So you can start this off with, listen, um, you know, thanks for the taking the time to put this call today.
16:04 Do you mind if we get started? Great. Now, just to start things off, first thing to say is, if you get bo- but if you're in me and my voice, you can just say no at any time we can stop.
16:14 I promise y'all won't take any offense. And they'll say, okay, no problem. And you say, by that same token, if I get the sense that we're butting heads, I'm gonna say no, I'm gonna say this isn't for me.
16:25 You're not gonna get annoyed me, are you? And they're gonna say, no, of course, aren't they? And then you're gonna get into the crooks of the call.
16:32 But what we're initially doing is we're, yeah, we're setting out what's gonna happen on the call and we're giving everybody an out if they're uncomfortable at any stage.
16:42 This remove- moves the pressure of the call, this keeps the call focused, this sets things up in the right way.
16:48 Equally, you're gonna be taking charge of the call, so you're gonna be the expert.
16:56 now you're on the call with them, it's time to understand their world. It's time to understand what's important to them.
17:03 So once you've set the scene, as it were, it's time to get to the hit points. What we don't want to understand is what problems do they experience in their business from a H.I.
17:15 perspective? What's going on in their world? And what we're listening out for is the problem. So that if you can, so that you can say it at the end of it, or once they've monologueed you.
17:25 You can say correct me if I've got this wrong. But the reason that we're talking today is blah, blah, blah.
17:33 Now, if for some reason if they haven't stated the problem, you're gonna have to go, can I ask a blunt question?
17:40 Things sound great. Why are we talking today? Now, that's unlikely to happen because you've gone through the questions with them in the DM section or email or whatever it is.
17:49 You've understood their world. So you've got them on a call, you're asking them about their HR world. If they don't tell you there's a- The problem, you're gonna have to be blunt.
17:59 But if they do state the problem, you're gonna have to say, so I'm hearing you right, the reason that we're talking is x.
18:06 And then you're gonna have to get them to justify this problem. So it's easy for them to say it's a problem, but why is this- It's a problem.
18:14 Let's get them talking about this. Let's get their pain out on the table and help them to understand what it is that's going on in their business and why it's a problem.
18:25 Right? This might sound a little bit manipulative. I'm sorry if you think that that- In reality, your clients, your leads, they will thank you for this because this is an opportunity for them to talk to a trusted confidant and tell you what their problems are.
18:41 Ultimately, as well, back when you were in the Monday to Friday, the nine to five, if- your, umm, you know, the factory manager or whoever it was that- wherever it was that you worked, they came to see and said, listen, Joe, we've got a problem.
18:53 And they'd start talking to you about this problem. You won't feel manipulative to say, alright, okay, and what's going on then?
19:00 Why is this an issue and that helps? Let me understand. You just be having a conversation. And that's the same way that you want to approach this.
19:08 They've told you there's a problem. You need to understand, well, why is it a problem? Why is that a problem that, you know, Clifford doesn't come to work?
19:16 What does that mean for you in- your business? You know, when you're speaking to John, the, the toilet paper factory manager, whatever it is, Clifford doesn't come to work.
19:25 Why is that a problem? What, what difference does it make where the Clifford comes in? Get him to tell you, get, well, him, her, get the prospect to justify that.
19:34 This is actually a problem that they want to solve. Next, you're going to be asking them what happened when they tried to fix it.
19:43 So what happened when they tried to fix this issue? Chances are, before they've got on a call with you, they've- you know, they've re- asked chat to you PT or, you know, rung, um, some sort of helpline or something, aircast, perhaps.
19:58 And they said, you know, I've got this issue, how do I solve it? Chances are, they're going to tell you this.
20:03 Oh, well, we tried this, we tried that. It didn't go so well. Oh. Right. Okay. That's when we realized that they've got a problem, they've tried to solve it, what we've understood now is, they've got a problem, it matters, they've tried to fix it themselves, and now they want some help.
20:22 This is when we're getting to the reality of a situation. They've tried everything, it hasn't worked, now they're asking for the expert help, they're admitting that they need help.
20:34 Now at this stage, There are two potential outcomes, and one potential outcome is that you've charged for this call, and you are going to say to them, listen, I'm gonna go away, and I'm gonna create a solution for you, and tell you how we're gonna solve this problem.
20:50 You haven't charged for this call, you're gonna say, listen, I'm gonna go away, I'm gonna think about this for 24 hours or so, and I'm gonna come back to you with a potential solution.
21:01 Alternatively, you might want to play a little bit hard to get and say, listen, I'm gonna go away for That's right.
21:06 24 hours, I'm gonna think about whether or not this is definitely something I can help you with, definitely something I want to help you with, or whether or not that you should, uhh, you know, one of my umm, fellow HR consultants would be better placed to solve this problem for you. You know, Oh, Chris
21:22 . A little bit of, uh, hard to get, right? It's, uh, it's not manipulative. This is the reality. You want them to be wanting to work with you. You don't want to be too eager.
21:32 You don't want to be too easy. way, you want to end the call, once you've understood their world, and you want to say, you're gonna hear back from me within the next 24 hours.
21:43 Sound fair? And they're gonna say yes, and you're gonna say thank you for your time. What are you doing for the rest of the afternoon?
21:48 What are you doing for the rest of the evening? Blah, blah, blah. And you're gonna end up on a little bit of rapport.
21:53 This is really important. You want them to leave the call with a positive feeling. People will remember the facts that you've listened, they'll remember the fact that they've invested a lot of time and effort into this call.
22:02 They'll remember the fact that you've that they've shared all their problems and feel like they've been understood. And you want them to leave with a positive feeling so that they then walk away saying, whew, that was great.
22:17 Stephanie really took the time to listen to you. She really understands my problems. She seems like a really nice person.
22:22 I hope she comes back to you, mate, with a potential solution.
22:28 hopefully that sounds really good. You understand what I'm talking about. The bit that you might not understand is the bit when I was talking about potentially charging for the call.
22:37 So let's circle back. Let's, let's, let's look at what that situation is. So remember when you were DMing with this person before you got on a call.
22:45 Now, depending on what information they've shared with you, that is going to dictate whether or not you should be charging for their call, or whether or not the call should be free.
22:55 And the reason 3 for this is one of two things is either going to happen. Either A, you're going to be moving them towards a sales call.
23:04 Or B, you're going to be moving them towards creating a bespoke solution for them. Either way, you know, your next step will be a call like we've just discussed.
23:13 But the next step after that will either be, you're going to create a proposal for them. Or, you're going to take them onto a sales call and sell them whatever package that you have.
23:24 So, not all calls should be free. Sales calls? Yeah. Yes. Strategy sessions, power hours, whatever you want to call them.
23:33 If you, if you've taken them through a, uh, through a call where you've understood their problems and you're going to go away and you are going to create a solution for them and then bring that solution to them.
23:45 You need to charge for that. That's your time. That's your expertise. You're going to be, you know, understanding the situation and you're going to get, bring them a bespoke solution.
23:54 Absolutely, you should be charging for that. Now, in terms of what to actually charge, should be charging for that. In your actual hourly rate.
24:02 So you've already given, you know, you're giving high value advice. Why would you give it away for free? Whatever it is that your hourly rate is, that's how much you should be charging for a call where you understand their situation.
24:14 You go away and then. come back to them and present a solution to them. One thing that you might want to consider is making it easy to book this call, right?
24:24 So you can add a buy button on your website. That way only serious prospects can pay, well, not only serious prospects.
24:31 That way serious prospects can pay. And schedule instantly. So if you're having a DM, you know, tennis match with them, and you say, listen, I've understood your situation.
24:41 I can help you. Here's a, here's a link to my buy page. That will enable you to get a, well, enable you to convert a lead into a client, and you won't even have spoken to them, have invested any time, well, not any real time.
24:57 You will obviously have invested a few DMs, et cetera. But you will have been d- You know, uh, converted a lead into a client.
25:05 At this point, some people may not book a call. You know what? That's okay. They were a time-waster. They were a tire kicker.
25:13 They don't want to pay for your advice. They don't want to pay for your time. That's okay. They're not the prospects for you.
25:18 But if you are going to invest your time and effort into them, you should absolutely be paid. Now, in order to help with conversions, you want to offer a refundable option.
25:31 So, if they decide to work with you, and you can create your own messaging around this, if they decide to work with you, that fee that they've paid gets deducted from their package.
25:40 And if you realize that you can't, You can't help them, for one reason or another, you refund them. So, that keep things risk-free.
25:47 The reality is, you can always help them. Because if you've gone through the DM, you know, table tennis match, where they've gone back and forth and you've understood their world, then you know you can help them.
25:57 So, that reme- Reminds me. So, no problem. And if they decide to work with you, then you've more or less already got a deposit, haven't you?
26:05 The best point, even if they decide, you know, that your solution isn't right for them. them. They are still a client.
26:12 They have given you money. You have not wasted your time. You have not given your time away for free. You've still been paid.
26:19 So, if they decide to go elsewhere to look for a solution, hey-ho. And as I say, as I shared earlier on, If this person is a real potential client, if they will be willing to pay to get a solution to their problem.
26:34 Earlier on, I shared the story about me having a bad back. Did I pay for an appointment before I'd even met anyone?
26:42 Absolutely. My back pain was killing me. I wanted a solution. So when they sent me a buy button and said, give us, uh, I think it was 70 quid or something.
26:51 And you can, uh, have an appointment. I made that payment immediately. And it's the same for you, for your leads, for your clients.
26:58 If they have- Real HR problems, they want your help. They are- then you have to check whether or not they're ready and willing to invest in a solution.
27:06 And if they are ready and willing to invest in a solution, well, you'll know because they'll make the payment.
27:14 so let's wrap things up. Qualification. What is it? Qualification is making sure before you get on the call with somebody that you can help them and you get a bit of an inkling about whether or not you want to help them.
27:25 Then, once you're on a call with them, you are at answering three questions, whether or not you want to help them, whether or not you can help them, whether or not they're ready and willing to invest in a solution with you.
27:36 So, that will come out in a few questions that you can ask when you were talking to them. Alternatively, if you have gone through a DM- situation and you understand that you can provide some sort of bespoke solution for them, then you will work out whether or not they're ready and willing to invest in
27:52 you because you will have sent them to a pay page where you will have said, here's the car, uh, who's, here's the cost for the call.
28:00 and the payman will get on a call, blah, blah, blah. You'll phrase it nicer than that, but that is ultimately what you're going to be saying to them.
28:08 Ultimately, you don't want to be wasting any more time on prop- orzels, long e-mails, deep dives, long calls with anybody who doesn't go through your qualification process.
28:21 This is every single time, no exceptions. And if it's right, charge them for your if you've been taking calls with anybody who breathes, anybody who flutters their eyelashes at you, it's time to change that.
28:35 You're an expert, charge for your time if appropriate, make sure you can help them before you get on a phone with them.
28:41 Don't allow your contact details onto the internet, willy-nilly for absolutely anybody to call you. And start qualifying. It's the fastest way to stop dealing with tire kickers and start talking to serious prospects.
28:55 and if you want any more information on this, then go and grab a copy of my book from my website.
29:00 There are two full chapters. Dedicated to talking about qualifying so that you can understand what it is. You'll have scripts.
29:08 You'll be able to qualify prospects like a pro. So go over to the influential consultant website. Go and grab your copy today.
29:17 the meantime, I hope this has been helpful. And as ever, get marketing. Because without marketing, there's no sales. And without sales, there's no business.
29:26 So get marketing.