Stop Having Your Warm Leads Go Cold

Do you find that you get inquiries, people who have expressed an interest in working with you, and you wait before calling them? Or maybe someone has a warm lead for you, they know someone who is interested in talking to you about your services, and you are not sure how long to wait before giving that person a call? When you wait too long, your warm lead ends up going cold.
This is one of the most puzzling things I have seen. You talk about wanting to grow your business, having more clients and getting the word out about what you do. Once a prospect shows interest you find ways to delay making the call instead of jumping right on it.

Why do you do this? Of course each person has their own reason. Once you understand yours then you are able to decide if it works for you or if you are ready to do something about it.

Do you feel you will be bothering her?

Are you conce
ed you will become too busy and have to give up some of your free time?

You feel like you have to sell yourself and that is uncomfortable?

Even though you say you want success, deep down you are really afraid of success?

As you might already know each of these is just an excuse. There is a deeper belief underlying this which prevents you from picking up the phone immediately and connecting with the prospect. Your mindset is holding you back. Do you why?

Diane was a massage therapist. She was devoted to her clients and enjoyed her work. She was definitely a people person and was able to develop a quick rapport with her client. She prided herself on creating a spa experience for her clients.

Diane found her practice had leveled out and was unable to increase her income. Actually, she was getting referrals as well as leads on new clients. She admitted, however, waiting several days before returning the call. By the time she did make the call, many of the prospects had already found another massage therapist
Diane immediately doubted the client really wanted to work with her. Once she got on the phone with them she believed they would rather work with someone younger and more energetic. She discounted the fact that she had over twenty years of massage experience, in top salons as well as her own practice.

Diane told herself she would be bothering these people by calling them. That, however, was only part of the reason. Diane was uncomfortable talking about her services. She felt it was pushy, like she was imposing on them. Diane was a very quiet person and felt conflict about having to ask for the sale.

Like so many service-oriented entrepreneurs, Diane knew she was getting in her own way, preventing her business from growing. Following up with warm leads appeared to be the issue, but wasn’t. The thoughts she had about making those calls was actually preventing her from taking action.

We approached the problem of waiting too long for returning phone calls in three steps. By focusing on the mental, emotional and reframes, we were able to develop a plan to turn things around in a way which felt authentic for Diane.

First there were a couple of questions to identify the mental aspect, this focused on her thoughts and beliefs around making those calls. Diane claimed she would be bothering someone if she made those calls even though they called her first, or were a warm referral lead, and wanted to speak with her. We discovered the underlying thought was to avoid disappointment if they did not want to work with her. Instead she avoided the calls to protect herself from feeling let down.

Next we looked at the emotions. We were able to quickly identify her discomfort about calling people. Of course she wanted to have more clients. Diane, however, felt uncomfortable talking about herself or having the focus on her. The combination of disappointment and discomfort prevented her from taking the initiative to make those calls immediately. We changed the focus from selling to being of service.

With that mindset we developed packages. She liked being able to offer several different packages instead of a “one-size-fits-all.” This way they had choices instead of a “take-it-or-leave-it” service.

Finally, we focused on reframes. Looking at the warm lead and the referral as an opportunity to be of service instead of an intrusion. Instead of talking about herself, we developed a system where Diane was able to learn about the client, what her needs were and how she could be of service. Changing her approach, focusing on the client, felt more authentic and heart-centered. She could just feel the resistance slip away.

Being able to identify the thoughts, underlying emotions and actions which were preventing her from taking action was profound. Once Diane was able to clear the blocks, she felt more aligned and was returning calls quickly. As you can imagine, her practice began to build. Because the resistance had been cleared, she was getting even more referrals.

Do you sometimes feel like you are in a struggle with growing your business? You have great ideas, but not always following through to completion? Well, it might be that your inner game is not aligned with your goals. Even though you know what you want, you are creating your own resistance. Progress does not have to be difficult. When your subconscious beliefs are aligned with your goals, then you create a flow.