When it comes to success with selling tree work, you know it’s all about the lead. Sales leads are the gold that you’re trying to mine. And just like the gold miner is hoping to uncover as much gold as possible, you are hoping for a steady stream of new leads continually coming through your door.
But do you really want ALL of the tree service leads?
The truth is, there are going to be plenty of undesirable leads mixed in with the desired ones that are going to lead to wasted time and energy. Think of those like Pyrite…or “fool’s gold.” They might seem as good as any other lead at first but they don’t actually hold the same value.
That’s why it’s so important to qualify your tree service leads. In this article, we’ll explain how to go about doing that.
We understand that getting tree service customers is your focus. But the truth is, not every potential customer is going to be a good fit.
That’s why you need to come up with the criteria of what defines an optimal customer for your tree service business. Unless you actually take the time to think about this in advance, you can’t possibly begin to narrow the scope of your incoming leads.
For Joshua Tree Experts franchise owners, we have already determined some guidelines as to what constitutes a desirable lead for our franchises.
One example would be a single-dwelling home. This is the type of work that we are best suited to handle and that we desire.
The point is, you have to know what kind of customer you ultimately want to have in order to attract those specific leads. And you need to know the right questions to ask once a lead does come in.
In other words, you want to be able to recognize if a lead is a bad fit before ever sending someone out to the property. This is important as your team member’s time and their vehicle’s gas are two big expenses.
At Joshua Tree Experts, we spend some time quickly pre-qualifying a lead before ever sending a sales team member out to the property so that we’re not wasting time or money on a lead we don’t really want. We can quickly determine in a phone call if a potential lead is not the right fit for us at which point we might recommend another tree care service to them.
This doesn’t always come easy to some. We understand that some people have a hard time saying no….or you’re just used to chasing down every single lead that comes in. While you might have felt that was necessary if you had a small business and were on your own, it’s simply not a long-term, sustainable model.
The good news is that if you’re a Joshua Tree Experts franchise owner, you’re not on your own and we’re here to help.
We get that you don’t want a ton of undesirable leads coming in in the first place.
It takes time to manage those phone calls, emails, and web inquiries. Plus, you then have to turn people away which might be difficult for you.
So how can you make sure you’re getting more of the types of leads that you want from the get-go?
It’s all about targeting the right audience.
Since you’ve already worked on determining your optimal client (per the point above), now you want to make sure that your advertising channels are driving that client to you.
To do this, we’ve found that working closely with your advertising vendors is important. Over the years, we’ve built relationships with different vendors who know exactly who we are trying to reach. They have helped us to be successful in reaching those customers.
When leads come in, it’s also important to track data so that you know where your leads are coming from and whether they’re the right fit. If you find an advertising channel that is consistently helping you to reach the type of leads you’re looking for, then it makes sense to continue that relationship.
On the flip side, if you are consistently bringing in poor leads (or maybe not generating a large quantity of them) from a certain advertising channel, then it would be prudent to spend your dollars elsewhere.
As you think about how to best qualify your tree service leads, keep in mind that there needs to be some formal criteria in place. You can’t just have your sales team haphazardly determine what might be a good lead or a not-so-good lead.
Instead, everyone should be fully aware of exactly what type of lead you’re looking for when selling tree work.
We already mentioned that one of Joshua Tree Expert’s preferences for a lead is single family dwellings. We know which clients we can serve best and that will work best for our company.
These are some other points of consideration as well:
Qualify leads based on the prospect’s needs. It’s important that they have needs that you are able to actually solve. At Joshua Tree Experts, we have a clearly defined scope of work. We can offer clients a lot…but not everything. And sometimes we do get leads that come in for services we don’t even offer.
Qualify leads based location. When selling tree work, you’ll quickly learn that leads will come in from locations that simply don’t make sense for you to service due to being so far away. You can’t be running all over creation and you need some boundaries in place.
Qualify leads based on project size/scope. Finally, it’s also important to mention that other criteria might make a job seem like a good fit, even when it’s not. Perhaps it’s a great location and the customer fits your model. But the job is so small (such as trimming one branch away from the sidewalk) that it still may not be worth your time. You might want to have a minimum for which you’d accept work. The only exception to that would be if you think a small job might be a foot in the door for other work. Sometimes these situations can be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Who knew that selling tree work could have so many nuances? In reality, it’s all about that saying: Work smarter, not harder.
There’s no reason you should feel as though you’re chasing your tail all of the time when you can start focusing on generating better leads and then qualifying them in advance. The better your leads, the better your success rate.
Plus, you’re not on your own. If you are a Joshua Tree Experts franchise owner, we are here to be your partner in success whether it’s generating leads, qualifying them, or whatever else you need support in.
At the end of the day, we want to see you succeed.
Are you ready to grow a successful business from strong roots? Joshua Tree Experts has the proven systems and processes in place to help. Request a meeting and begin your journey today.