So far, we’ve talked about typical marketing missteps, developing your goals and how to find prospects. Now comes the part about qualifying those prospects. Qualifying prospects simply means determining whether or not the prospect is a good fit for your business and vice versa.

Just because a prospect calls or emails you with a project doesn’t mean you should always take it on. Yet, loads of designers do it all the time, taking whatever walks in the door.

Here’s some information and answers you’ll need to gather:

• Have you worked in the prospect’s industry before, or will there be a learning curve to bring yourself up to speed?
• Have you worked on similar projects?
• Is there a reasonable budget for the project?
• Will the timeframe work with your current project load?
• Does the prospect appear to be a micro-manager?
• Will there be approvals by committee?
• Will you be working with the real decision maker, or will your contact be presenting to the higher ups?
• Can you do a great job?
• Is the chemistry good, or is there a nagging feeling in your gut saying things aren’t right?

These should spark some other questions in your mind. Perhaps this will sound a bit negative, but what I tend to do is look for every possible reason I shouldn’t take on the gig. If you do that and come away with a good feeling about the prospect and the project, you’ll go a long way toward avoiding headaches down the road.

Until the next
Marketing Minute
all the best,
nt