Lost Opportunity In A Prospect's Inquiry

It's as easy as asking for someone's name and address....and yet in the majority of prospect inquiries calling senior communities, this simple step is often missed.

This is an lost opportunity in a prospect's inquiry and a skill that needs improvement.

Why is obtaining contact information vital? How else will you followup without someone's name, address and telephone number. Putting the responsibility back on the customer puts the customer in the competitors' hands.

It's a nice touch to start off a conversation by introducing yourself and providing your title. This way someone knows that you will be qualified to answer their questions.

Generally, people provide their name in return but if not, it's ok to ask by saying: May I ask your name? Obtain last name as well when someone offers only their first name.

It's important to obtain the name of the person that the inquiry is about--the family member for example and then use their name sometimes during the conversation. Be natural or you may want to say....your mom/your dad etc.

Address, telephone numbers and email addresses can be easily obtained even when someone is not interested in a brochure. Tell prospect that your community periodically has events and that you send mailings and invitations and would like to keep him/her on our list. Asking permission to include them on the list is a nice way to gain information. If no is still the response, you may ask for an email address.

If early in the conversation they object--it may take some further discovery to learn where they are from and if you have their name, you can do some quick research on the web to learn their home address to send a thank you for calling note.