Previously we've examined what can happen when you go through your inbox to sort out customer enquiries.

We have also established that this is a good regular practice because when we fail to do this, some enquiries fall through the cracks and that bit of business ends up going to someone else.

To keep things simple we've identified a few categories that people can fall into depending on how interested they are, and the level of need that they have for your product or service.

Today we're going to look into what these categories are, and the next appropriate steps that you should be taking with them.

The best and juiciest category we have identified are those people who are "qualified" because they're the right person to talk to and the right person to negotiate with.

They might have a problem that your product or service can solve, and they might also have a sense of urgency because they need the product or service right now!

With these people, the next step is obvious!

You have to ask more questions about the nature of the problem or what they are trying to achieve and that will give you a sense of which of your products, packages, or features will be great for them.

Once you have all this information, you'll be ready to make a "presentation", "sales pitch", "proposal" or whatever conversation you have in your business which welcomes the potential customer to buy from you.

It doesn't have to be fancy, it can be something as simple as...

"Okay madam Lola, if I've understood you correctly, what you need is XYZ by October 15th because you're trying to achieve ABC. You also don't want DEF because that has no effect on the scope of your project. If that is the case, we should be considering either the silver package or the bronze package that I presented to you yesterday. Which of them are you leaning towards and why?"

This is an invitation to choose between two options you've shown them at a prior meeting... and it will also give you feedback about why this is the best option for the potential client.

After this, it's not too big of a step to ask them for a deposit to get the ball rolling.

If all this seems to be too simple and clean, then you're absolutely right!

The messy stuff is what we addressed in the prior posts... where we went through possible questions and talking points to figure out who is interested, why they are curious, their time frame for results, and what they could possibly be looking for.

Once you have done those prior stages appropriately, then getting them to "seal the deal" isn't that difficult.

If you would like to see what those prior stages are, read the older posts and you'll be caught up to date.

Now what about situations that are less then ideal?

What about potential customers in your inbox who are the right person to talk to, but they have unrealistic expectations about how much your product and service ought to cost, or other things required to engage you for your services?

We will tackle that in the next post.