Help! I’m being qualified!

[JonPayne]

We’ve all been there, you’re in the process of buying something - typically in real life - and you suddenly realise you’re in a lead qualification process. What are some of the best (and worst) experiences you’ve had as a lead being qualified? No shaming of people or brands please - it’s just for fun (and for us to learn).

*To learn more about this, check out the Developing a Lead Qualification Framework lesson via HubSpot Academy. 

[AThompson66]

Funny you should mention that because I have definitely told somome that was trying to solicit me on LinkedIn that I am not their target buyer and therefore not a qualified lead haha!

[FReyes0]

Being asked "What's your budget" in the early stages of my due diligence. That just sends the signal that they only want my money. I usually walk away from these folks because I'm looking for a trusted advisor that will help me during my fact-finding exercise. Those that use the consultative method will get more info from me that will help them qualify me. Asking for budget from the start turns me off. 

[KDomínguez]

something that is a bit annoying when you receive too many emails but they do not have good content and it is very repetitive to receive the same email several times a day

[PBrown1]

I think we've all gotten 1775937 emails from that one company who really wanted to either talk to you, or just buy their product. Very annoying, and a huge turn off for the whole brand. The question is, are companies learning that consumers don't actually like being sold? #Inbound

[AnaQuintela]

I find a bit annoying to receive the typical "You left something in the cart" email notifications. It makes me feel overwhelmed and frustrated for not buying and instigated by the brand to be a better customer, I think it's a practice that some companies do that doesn't fit all types of customers.

[LBJR]

I wont say the companies name but I was bombarded so much by emails I unsubsrcibed. I never even got the chance to really reply I signed up and they sent wayyy too many emails im in the middle of replying to the beginning of the sequence got hit wih 7 a day. I get it but dude relax

[Mahmoodrizvi]

yup

[JCampos11]

I've had a bad one that i'd like to share. Before arriving, I called a dealership to make sure they had a specific car. I told them I was x minutes away and he said great, he'll meet me there. When I arrived he was no where to be found so i walked the yard. He comes running out and tells me that he was expecting me to go inside and find him.

I'm a guy in my 30s and looking at EVs, something I shared during our phone call. He mentioned that all his EVs are under a recall and that he wouldn't be able to sell me any but wanted me to take a look at some of his sports cars (I was driving my bright red 2016 Audi A5). I told him that I wasn't interested unless it was an ev which is why im even considering getting rid of the Audi. He didn't seem to understand and we left. 

For about a week I kept getting emails of that brand's sports cars and convertibles. Talk about zerio situtional awareness.

[EPaasewe]

Interesting discussion and tactics given to identify the kind of leads we need to give more energy. 

[Raúl-Suárez]

In a ERP for a small company seeking, I try with some Demos. As some of you already said, some of those sales rep insisted on get their ERP´s even when We were not clearly the target for their value proposition. I think MQL proccess is not actually good refined in many many companies so I should keep learning and researching how qualify as goog as possible our leads. Thank´s for this training and thank´s all for sharing. 

[CeeKayNg]

Interesting discussion thread.

In the part of the world I live, Whatsapp is used for lead nurturing. 

I once showed mild interest in purchasing a property that was too expensive for me, and I got sucked in lead qualification and nurturing process. The real estate agent consistently sends me properties that are out of my price range through automated messages. What is bad about is, the sales team have not even qualified me as a lead yet, because they never really asked me why I didnt buy. Obviously price and financing would be a major factor in real estate purchase decisions but they seem afraid to address the topic. They settled with bombarding me with messages twice a week of new offers of houses I cannot afford. About a couple weeks ago, I ended up blocking the person on my Whatsapp. 

[Agentdelaney]

the amount of websites out there that allow you to view and depict what you are or aren't willing to purchase to only recieve an email minutes later about "forgetting something in the cart."  I realize the importance of this stuff from a company and revenue standpoint, but i have yet to find a company to complete it tactfully and without getting buyer's remorse from me.

[ENHarrison]

Help! I’m being qualified!

I'm a musician as a hobby. Like most musicians that use digital workstations to create music, I use 3rd party plug-ins that help shape your sound in ways the stock plug-ins don't/can't. There are endless vendors of these products ranging in price from free to hundereds. Many of them offer a free trial period, in exchange for your email... obviously. Most that I trailed put my email into a drip campaign. Most campaigns are acceptable and NOT so spammy that it boarders disrespect. But one them, put me into a relevant content cadence that is soooo good. As a sales professional it makes me want to weep. With joy? Envy? IDK!! But I open and read so many of them that the Gmail algorithm now marks them as "important." The reason I like it so much is that it covers pain points NOT solved by their solution, and recommends "coopetition" products. Truly a trusted advisor, they have become to me.

[SuzC]

I was qualified by a car dealership.  I was looking for a MPV and had 3 children under 5 with me.  I booked a test drive for when my children were in nursery and when i turned up 2 days later i was told the appt hadn't been made because my husband hadn't been with me.  🤯 

[JonPayne]

😡 @SuzC it's amazing that this sort of stuff still happens! From a sales perspective I can almost understand why the dealership would prefer to have all family decision makers there. But to assume that you have a husband and that he is key to these decisions is archaic and closed minded. Hope you bought somewhere else! 🙂

[SuzC]

Love your bio on your company page Jon 🤣

I did buy elsewhere, and by email!  The salesperson didn't understand the job I needed to get done, had no clue what my buying journey was and the dealership had a curious sales process that enabled him to disqualify without asking questions😂

[JonPayne]

👌

[ThaynáSantos]

Chatbots with slightly aggressive responses. Totally frustrated my experience.

[JonPayne]

"Chatbots with slightly aggressive responses." sounds like one of Dante's Circles of **bleep**! 🤣

[MSNovelli]

I recently was checking options for training material and entered my information to get the "free" fundamentals video, only to get bombarded with emails and calls with offers to close NOW. Mind you, as it turns out it's the end of their fiscal year and they needed to close on those leads. As understanding as I am, it was very annoying to get my inbox filled, and I ended up sending them to spam.

[JonPayne]

Thanks for sharing @MSNovelli  - it's a useful reminder of how easy it is for the bad habits of some sales people (me included!) can impact the deliverability of emails for a whole brand. 😣