• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

PlanningShop

Plan. Start. Grow.

  • Our Products
  • Instructors
  • Entrepreneurs
  • BizGear
  • Rhonda’s Blog
  • Book Rhonda
  • About PlanningShop
  • Search
  • Our Products
  • Instructors
  • Entrepreneurs
  • BizGear
  • Rhonda’s Blog
  • Book Rhonda
  • About PlanningShop
  • Search
Prospect

How to Lose the “Looky-Loos”

February 12, 2020 //  by Rhonda Abrams

You’ve had them in your small business: “prospects” who aren’t really prospects at all. They’re not truly interested in buying. They’re just using your expertise to shop elsewhere, or are looking for rock-bottom prices, or are just seeing what’s out there. In real estate, they have a term for these time-wasters: “looky-loos.” How can you figure out who’s a real prospect and who’s not?

Looky-loos eat up a great deal of your limited time. They want to learn what they can from you and then move on. And they’re not just individuals—big corporate prospects can be looky-loos too. You can use a whole lot of your resources in meetings and preparing bids and proposals, when all they’re really trying to do is get your ideas.

After “wasting” your time with even one or two of these tire-kickers, it’s easy to get cynical and become too brusque or even rude to prospects that might turn out to be very profitable, paying customers.

Figuring out how much time and energy to spend on prospective customers is a delicate and difficult balancing act. Realistically, you have to be responsive—and above all, polite—to all potential customers. But there are ways to limit the amount of time, money, and effort you spend on dead-end shoppers.

Here’s how to separate real prospects from looky-loos and perhaps turn some into paying customers:

1. Be specific in your information, on your website and marketing materials. Most prospects actually will decide whether you’re a good fit before taking up a lot of time. Let’s say you sell and install floor tiles. The more specific you are in your description, the more likely you’ll have the right kind of prospects contact you. Do you specialize in commercial or residential? Do you only serve a specific geographic area? Do you install counter tops as well as floors? That kind of information enables prospects to weed themselves out before calling you.
2. Ask questions of the prospect. In professional salesperson terms, this is known as “qualifying” the prospect. By asking a few simple, non-intrusive questions, you get a sense of how serious the prospect is.

Some potential questions:

— What’s the scope of the project?

— What’s the timeframe for the work to be started and completed?

— How soon will you be making a decision on a vendor?

— How many bids are you getting?

— What other alternatives (not competitors) are you considering? (In the floor tile example, for instance, you might ask, “What other types of floor coverings are you looking at?”

— What are the most important considerations in your decision—price, quality, convenience?

Questions like these give you a better sense of whether a prospect is ready to make a decision, whether you’re a likely choice for them, and how much time you should spend.

3. Create a sense of urgency. It’s human nature to put off making choices until the last minute, but that often puts your business in a crunch. If you can, come up with truthful, positive ways to encourage customers to make a decision quickly — “I’ve got an opening in my calendar in two weeks but then I’m booked til February,” or, “I can get a discount on materials this month.”
4. Be cautious of prospects who want TOO much information. Some prospects use proposals as a way of getting free consulting services. This is true of both small customers and Fortune 500 companies.
5. Don’t get star-struck. It’s easy to get excited if you’re approached by a large or well-known company or customer. Don’t lose your judgment. Such customers often take up more of your time, take longer to make decisions, and expect highly competitive bids. Sure, it would be nice to have the biggest company in town or the star of the major league baseball team on your customer list, but is it worth it if you don’t make a profit (especially if you can’t use their name in your marketing)?
6. Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. It’s easy to get excited about a prospect, especially if it’s a big one. So, keep a lot of balls in the air, and remember, a deal isn’t really a deal until the check clears.

Copyright Rhonda Abrams, 2020

This article originally ran in USA Today on February 12, 2020

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Email

Category: Rhonda's BlogTag: business prospect, customer, entrepreneurship, looky-loo, rhonda abrams, small business, small business tips, USA Today

Previous Post: «Year of the Rat What Does The Year Of The Rat Mean For Your Small Business?
Next Post: Does Trump Hate Small Business? budget cuts»

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to Rhonda's Blog via Email

Instagram @rhondaabrams

Sign up for my newsletter - get small business tip Sign up for my newsletter - get small business tips and the latest info. sent straight to your inbox! Link in profile~
.
.
#smallbusiness #newsletter #smallbizguru
What’s old is new again! How to stay in front of What’s old is new again! How to stay in front of your smallbiz customers, in my latest @usatoday column. Link in profile~
.
.
#smallbusiness #customer #digitalmarketing #smallbizguru
National Doughnut Day on Friday?? Great way to sta National Doughnut Day on Friday?? Great way to start the weekend!! Enjoy, and go find yourself some doughnuts 😋 🍩 
.
.
#smallbusiness #fridayfeeling #nationaldoughnutday
#smallbusiness #tuesdaythoughts #entrepreneur #ins #smallbusiness #tuesdaythoughts #entrepreneur #inspirationalquotes
“And I’m proud to be an American, where at lea “And I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free. And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.” - Lee Greenwood -
.
.
#memorialday #neverforget
We're heading into a long weekend! Here's to some We're heading into a long weekend! Here's to some R&R, productivity . . . whatever your small business needs~
.
.
#smallbusiness #weekend #entrepreneur #fridayfeeling
Sign up for my newsletter - get small business tip Sign up for my newsletter - get small business tips and the latest info. sent straight to your inbox! Link in profile~
.
.
#smallbusiness #tips #entrepreneur #newsletter #smallbizguru
#smallbusiness #tuesdaythoughts #inspirationalquot #smallbusiness #tuesdaythoughts #inspirationalquotes
Here's to a great week, small business owners! . . Here's to a great week, small business owners!
.
.
#smallbusiness #smallbusinessowner #mondaymotivation
My Tweets
  • Sign up for my newsletter - get small business tip Sign up for my newsletter - get small business tips and the latest info. sent straight to your inbox! Link in profile~
.
.
#smallbusiness #newsletter #smallbizguru
    What’s old is new again! How to stay in front of What’s old is new again! How to stay in front of your smallbiz customers, in my latest @usatoday column. Link in profile~
.
.
#smallbusiness #customer #digitalmarketing #smallbizguru
    National Doughnut Day on Friday?? Great way to sta National Doughnut Day on Friday?? Great way to start the weekend!! Enjoy, and go find yourself some doughnuts 😋 🍩 
.
.
#smallbusiness #fridayfeeling #nationaldoughnutday
    #smallbusiness #tuesdaythoughts #entrepreneur #ins #smallbusiness #tuesdaythoughts #entrepreneur #inspirationalquotes
    “And I’m proud to be an American, where at lea “And I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free. And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.” - Lee Greenwood -
.
.
#memorialday #neverforget
    We're heading into a long weekend! Here's to some We're heading into a long weekend! Here's to some R&R, productivity . . . whatever your small business needs~
.
.
#smallbusiness #weekend #entrepreneur #fridayfeeling
    Sign up for my newsletter - get small business tip Sign up for my newsletter - get small business tips and the latest info. sent straight to your inbox! Link in profile~
.
.
#smallbusiness #tips #entrepreneur #newsletter #smallbizguru
  • Footer

    Our Products
    Instructor Central

    Privacy Policy
    Contact Us

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter

    Copyright © 2023 PlanningShop · All Rights Reserved · Site design by paulinaart

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. ACCEPT Read More
    Privacy & Cookies Policy

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT