TDW #002: 4 Tactics to Close Higher Quality Clients

Let's talk about how to close premium clients with almost no friction. By using the tactics in this week’s post, 75 percent of the “close” will be done before you even jump on the call.

First, let’s define what a “high-quality” client is: it’s the person who pays you the most the easiest.

If you’re not working mostly with these folks, there’s a good chance you have mid- or low-quality clients.

Symptoms of working with mid- and low-quality clients:

1. You get a lot of people in your pipeline who can't afford your services.
2. You have a close rate that's lower than you want it to be (every industry has “average” close rates – just Google “your industry” + “average close rate” to get an idea).
3. You have to offer discounts just to get the sale.

If that’s you (and even if it’s not), I have good news and bad news.

Bad news: if you’re attracting anything less than high-quality, it’s because the perception is your service is low-quality. Doesn’t mean it is. Just means that’s what people think (and perception is reality).

Good news: with just the next few easy tweaks, we can start turning the corner from low-quality to high-quality.

Let’s dig in…

Tactic #1: Qualify Your Leads With a Scheduler

This is super basic. You might already be doing it. But send every lead you talk to an online scheduler.

I use Calendly and love it. If you don’t know where to start, use them. (Or just Google “online scheduler” and pick one you like.)

The thinking behind this is simple: if someone shows interest in working with you, they’ll book a call to learn more. If they don’t book a call, they aren't interested. This bumps up your quality from the start. It protects your pipeline from the tire-kickers.

Said differently: if someone can’t take two seconds and follow directions to book a call with you, what are the chances they’ll be a good client?

Protect your time. Start scheduling your calls.

Tactics #2: Set the Stage

Now that you’re booking calls through your scheduler, it’s time to up the ante.

We don’t want you taking any call that comes your way. We want you to take the right calls. (Remember the objective: high-quality clients.)

The best way to do this is to get some basic info about the person you’re speaking with. For us, that's the monthly revenue of the business owner we’re talking to: 

• I want to know where they’re at
• I want to know where they want to be
• The spread is where I determine if we’ll be able to help

For instance, let’s say someone books a call and selects “10k - 24k” as their current monthly revenue. In the “desired revenue” box they put $25,000. That’s someone I’m not going to be able to help. 

The gap between where they are and where they want to be is too small for our agency to have an impact. The investment to work with us isn’t small. The economics wouldn’t make sense.

And because I value their time and mine, I’d cancel the call with an explanation why we cancelled.

You don’t have to ask for revenue. It might not make sense based on your ideal client. But you need to ask for some info. Some ideas I’ve seen elsewhere:

1. Age
2. Gender
3. Location
4. Goals they want to achieve
5. Facebook / Instagram URLs
6. # of email subscribers

And just like booking a call, asking basic questions weeds out low-quality leads before they get on your calendar.

Tactic #3: Increase the Friction

This one's my favorite.

At this stage we’re going to make it more difficult for someone to book a call with us using a “forcing function.” For one of our forms we have two required questions at the end. They have to answer them or the call won’t get booked.

The first question:

If given the opportunity after our call is completed, are you interested in and able to invest TIME and MONEY in a program that will help you hit your desired goal?

Yes or No. No wiggle room. It “forces” a lead to tell us where their head is at.

99% of the time people answer “Yes” and they book the call.

Occasionally I’ll get a “No.” While I appreciate the honesty, that’s almost always an immediate cancellation. These are low-quality leads that are self-selecting out–and keeping my calendar clean.

Notice the wording here. I’m not saying they have to invest with me. I’m simply asking if they’re willing to invest, period. And we’re both wasting our time if they’re not willing to invest in themselves to meet their own goal.

The second question:

Do you agree to show up at the scheduled meeting time, and understand that if you no-show without notice you will be permanently banned from working with Justin or anybody on his team?

(HT to JK Molina for this one!)

Low-quality people book appointments and then don’t show up.

High-quality people don’t.

You’re letting low-quality people know there are consequences for low-quality actions. (This has an added benefit of carrying over to the relationship if your lead becomes a client–you’ve already trained them on how to interact with you).

Tactic #4: Show Gratuitous Proof

I love me some good testimonials. Spoiler alert: so does the person who just booked a call with you.

After booking, take your prospect to a page that showcases other clients you’ve helped. It shows them their future if they choose to work with you. The more, the better.

The subconscious signal you’re sending here is, “don’t worry–I got this. I’ve helped tons of other people do the exact same thing you want to do.” This works even if your lead doesn’t look at / view the testimonials.

Bonus points: use Testimonial to easily gather and showcase all your testimonials (that's what I'm using in the screenshot above).

Wrapping Up

All four of these tactics work together to frame you in the best possible light. You’ve taken responsibility. You’ve set expectations. And you’ve made it clear who you are best positioned to help.

Working with higher-quality clients often comes down to how you frame yourself. It’s almost all perception. If you’re attracting low-quality clients it’s because the perception is your service is low-quality. 

That may not be true. 

But perception is reality. 

Even if you change nothing else in your business besides these four tactics, your lead quality will increase.

Justin’s Featured Opportunities

When you’re ready, here’s how I can help you:

1. Attract and convert more of your dream clients here. (200+ students)
2. Create, position, and sell irresistible offers your clients can't refuse. (75+ students)
3. Watch this video if you want 3 more clients for your most expensive offer.