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Alrighty, guys. In today’s video, we’re gonna talk about how to properly qualify your leads.
When you call a lead—whether they came from your website, social media, or wherever—you need to figure out: is this someone with the budget to move forward? Do they have serious intent to get the project done? And most importantly, are they worth your time to go out and estimate? Because estimates can take two, three, four, even five hours of your day.
Now, you can overqualify or underqualify.
Overqualifying is when you set the bar way too high—like charging a really expensive consultation fee or being overly picky about who counts as a “qualified” lead. On the flip side, underqualifying is just saying, “Okay, when do you want me to come out?” without even checking if the project will be profitable for you.
So when you’re qualifying leads, there are two really important things to do on the phone.
First—set the agenda and take control of the conversation.
When you call, start with something like:
“Hey, thanks so much for reaching out. Here’s what we’re gonna do: I’m gonna ask you a few questions, then we’ll set up your estimate.”
That immediately gives structure to the call and puts you in control. And this isn’t just for qualifying leads—it’s true for any sales interaction. Customers have a process for buying, but most salespeople don’t have a process for selling. If you let the customer control everything, you miss opportunities.
By the way, I’m reading a book right now called Selling to Homeowners. I’m about a quarter to a third of the way through it, and it’s worth it just for this principle alone. Highly recommend checking it out.
Second—find out their deeper reasons why.
Ask questions like:
- “What are you looking to have done?”
- “What made you start thinking about remodeling your bathroom?”
- “Why now?”
When you dig into their goals, not only do you figure out how serious they are, but you also build connection and make them feel understood. That’s a huge part of building trust.
Third—let people down easy.
Not every lead will qualify. When that happens, treat them with respect and dignity. Don’t just say, “Sorry, too small of a project.” Instead, be kind:
“I’m so sorry, that doesn’t fit within our scope of work, but I hope you find a great contractor who can take care of it.”
That leaves them with a positive impression. Even if 6 or 7 out of 10 people don’t qualify, they’ll still say good things about you in the marketplace.
And even better—have a referral partner. If you can refer unqualified leads to someone you trust, you’re still helping that customer get what they want. They’ll speak highly of you, and your referral partner might even send business back your way.
So, to recap:
- Control the conversation.
- Ask deeper questions to understand their goals.
- Let people down gently—and if possible, refer them out.
That’s how you qualify leads the right way. Hope this helps, and I’ll see you guys in the next video.