A 4 Point Lead Qualification Checklist For Freelance Writers
Bringing Good Fits From Lead Through To Client
Demand generation is an essential part of working as a freelance writer.
Whether you’re prospecting for cold leads or leveraging inbound marketing to bring work to you, having a pipeline with a slow trickle of leads is key to staying in business and replacing projects that wrap up (or points of contact that move jobs). The greater your churn rate, the stronger your pipeline will need to be.
The first piece of technology you’re going to need to manage this process is some way of tracking who’s in your pipeline.
This can be as rudimentary as a Trello board (or a Google Sheet). You can also, of course, use a CRM. But during the initial stages of your business, that might be overkill. If scribbling names on the back of an envelope is what prevents leads from falling through the cracks for you, then you’ve got a system (of sorts).
Unfortunately not every lead that makes it into your sales pipeline is going to end up on your book of business. The lead to sale conversion rate is the percentage of qualified leads that become customers. Yours is unlikely to be 100%.
While you’ll obviously be keen to impress upon your prospects how much value you can deliver to them as writer, you’ll equally want to make sure that they’re the type of clients you’d like to work with (and that they have the budget to hire you). This activity is at the core of lead qualification. Here are some steps to help make the process run more smoothly.
What Kind Of Buyer Is This? How Close Is It To Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)?
If you’ve been writing for a number of years, then there’s a good chance that you’ve worked out some kind of profile that outlines who you like to work with.
If you want to formalize this process, you can develop buyer personas which are sort of character sketches of the type of purchaser that you know would likely be a good fit for your service offering.
Why does this matter? Sales instructors typically recommend that the closer a lead is to your ideal customer profile (ICP) the more effort you should invest in nurturing that lead. Think of it as a sort of triage system designed to maximize the return you get on your investment of time.
For many freelance writers, this level of sales formality might overkill. But if lead qualification is concerned with forecasting the likelihood that a lead will convert, this can be an important determinant.
For example: as a mid-market writer, I know that prefunded startups are not likely to be in a position to afford my rates. But a Content Marketing Manager at a medium sized company might be a very good buyer. All other things being equal, if I only had time to get on a call with one lead, in this case I would likely choose the latter.
Is The Price Right?
The freelance writing market can be a price sensitive place and many buyers are looking to get top quality content … but on the cheap.
Many writers — including this one — have therefore decided to showcase their starting rates on their website in an effort to avoid attracting inbound leads who want white papers written for $50.
While it may seem hasty to some (and it flies in contrast to the idea of only ever quoting on the phone) I recommend stating your starting rates before ever getting on a Zoom call with a prospect.
If prospective buyers aren’t able to meet your rates, then (in an idealized world) they won’t waste your time by getting on the phone.
Note: asking whether a prospect can meet your starting rates isn’t the same as giving an exact quote. You can and should reserve the right to do that later.
Is This Person Authorized To Buy?
BANT is a framework commonly used by sales rep to qualify leads. It stands for:
- Budget
- Authority
- Need
- Timing
After determining that your prospect has a suitable budget to afford your services, you should make sure that you’re speaking to somebody that has the authority to sign off on the purchase of services from you.
If the individual you are speaking to isn’t directly authorized to buy, then you might need to involve other stakeholders in the sales effort.
Why Do You Need This Writing? And When Do You Need It?
It’s very important to get to the bottom of what the prospect needs that has drawn them to speak with you. Trying to ascertain the reasoning behind a client’s decision-making here can tell you a lot about their level of intent.
I have contemplated, at times, only working with clients that need ongoing projects (because one-time-wonders often involve the same amount of initial onboarding attention as repeat accounts and are therefore less profitable). But other writers have pointed out that it’s hard to know which one time accounts will go on to become your best and most longstanding customers. Take your pick as to which approach you favor.
Make sure, at a minimum, that you properly scope out the prospect’s need. Is this a one time project or are they looking to establish a long term relationship with a writer? Might they also be looking for ancillary services that you might be in a position to provide? You won’t get answers unless you ask the questions.
I also (always, always) ask when they need to execute on this project. In fact, one of the fields on my meeting booking form asks prospects when they have a need for these writing services. I favor people who need services now or in the next few months. I find that those who “might” need services in a year’s time are far less likely to ever convert into paying accounts.
Don’t Be Afraid To Disqualify
BANT isn’t the only framework for lead qualification. But it’s probably good enough for the needs of most freelance writers who are involved in (relatively) low ticket sales.
Begin by ascertaining whether the prospective buyer you’re dealing with fits your ideal customer profile. This could involve assessing both the size of organization they are part of, cultural clues, or even where they are based.
Next ask BANT questions:
- Do they have enough budget to meet, at least, your starting rates?
- What’s their budget (most prospects are loathe to give this up, but you can always try asking)?
- Will anybody else be involved in signing off on this project?
- What challenge are they looking to resolve through ordering the services you provide? (This will inform how you can frame the value you could bring).
- And finally: when are they looking move forward with this project?
Disqualifying leads will shrink your pipeline — and sometimes quickly.
But the flip side of that is that it will free up time for you to focus on other business development and marketing activities — and on providing more attention to those leads that do stand a better chance of coming through.
