If you have been purchasing leads over the last couple of years, you have found that lead quality is way down. Lets be honest, right now there are very few quality lead sources out there. Every time we think weve found one, and recommend them to someone, we get let down so now we dont recommend anyone.

Before we show you a highly effective method of calling bad leads, lets define what a bad lead is. We would define a bad lead as:

1. Someone who is not looking, or

2. Someone who has filled out a form for information but has received so many calls they are not interested in talking to anyone, or

3. Someone who claims to have no money, or

4. Someone who is not interested in this industry, or

5. All of the above

Let us know if we missed someone.

If you do what most networkers do when calling bad leads, you will first try to qualify the prospect. They will try to find out if they actually did fill out a form. They will want to know if the phone number is correct. They will want to know if the person on the list actually lives there.

All networkers do these things, and they tip off the prospect that this is a sales call. They also do something that is fatal to the networkerthey hand over control to the prospect. Now here is a very important point: when a prospect is given control, and they believe they are about to be sold something, they will end the call.

Read that last sentence again, because it is very important.

Here is what most opening calls sound like:

Typical Networker: Hi, Bob. This is John Smith in Ohio. How are you tonight? Bob, do you remember filling out a form requesting information on starting a home-based business?

Okay, if this is a bad lead, you are not going to get much further than this. You have just given the prospect the opening to end the call, and most prospects will take it. The opening was asking them if they remember filling out a form. Never ask that question. And - John Smith in Ohio? I dont know anyone from Ohio. The prospect thinks this is another amateur salesperson. How fast can I get this person off the phone?

Heres an example of another opening:

Typical Networker: Hi, Bob. As a fellow networker, I thought you might be interested in this business Im involved in. Is this a good time to talk?

In this opening, youve tipped your hand right away (which is okay, by the way). The problem is, if the prospect has negative feelings toward the industry, you just put yourself in a hole. If they dont have negative feelings about the industry, the next sentence, Is this a good time to talk? gave the prospect the opening they needed to end the call. We will show you what we mean in the next example.

In both examples, the networker is trying to qualify the prospect. If you want to be more effective in calling leads, you must try to disqualify the prospect. In Conversational Recruiting, you will use three moves to open the call. The first move is to cause confusion. The second move is a set-up. And the third move will disqualify the prospect.

Heres a more effective way of opening the call:

Conversational Recruiter: Hi! This is Kevin, and you are? Hi, Bob. I havent caught you at a bad time, have I?

So why is this opening better than the other two?

First, we didnt use the prospects name. When the prospects name is used to open a call, three bad things can happen: 1) The name could be wrong on your list sheet. 2) That person might not live there. 3) You just tipped off the prospect that this is a sales call (which is okay if you handle the next two steps correctly).

Second, when we said, I havent caught you at a bad time, have I? we asked a negative question. You see, most networkers will ask if this is a good time to talk. The bad lead has heard this dozens of times, and has learned to say no which, in most cases, will end the call. The prospect has done this so many times; he now does it without thinking. But when the prospect says no to our question: I havent caught you at a bad time, have I? saying no causes the call to continue.

The prospect is thinking, Whats going on here?

This is a very subtle, yet highly effective, move. The prospect gets a sales call, and they give their standard reply (which is given on autopilot). They expect the call to end (as it has dozens, if not hundreds, of times before), yet because of their response, the call continues.

The prospect then becomes slightly confused. When someone is confused, the last thing they want is control. They want someone to lead them out of their confusion. Who is in control of the call now? The Conversational Recruiter, of course.

And that is when you make your next move (which we will share with you in the next article).

Go back and reread this article. Read it several times, until you fully understand the subtle difference in the way the Conversational Recruiter opens the call. But before you start calling leads, make sure you read the next two articles, which will explain the entire process of opening a call.