How many questions should you ask on a form submission?
Have you ever wondered how many questions you should ask when a prospect wants to send you a message from your website or book an appointment with you? It’s a common question that I deal with and there are many legitimate perspectives.
I have always believed that for sales inquiries, it’s best to ask as few questions as necessary. I know some “gurus” believe you should ask a plethora of questions to ensure that the prospect “self qualifies” – meaning they say “forget it” if there are too many questions. They believe that if someone takes the time to complete a bunch of questions that they are a more qualified prospect.
To be clear – that perception may be reality, although I don’t want to miss the opportunity to talk to someone who is genuinely interested simply because they didn’t want to take the time to answer a bunch of questions before they fully understood how I and my team might be able to help them.
I ran into such a “multiple question” form this morning and I said “forget it!” While I would be interested in learning more about what this company has to offer – and how they can make my life better – I’m not taking the time to fill out this LONG form. Opportunity lost for the company who hooked me with a great advertisement and then lost me with their form.
What do you think? Should you use a LONG form such as this or should you ask only for the basic info you need – such as an email address or phone number & name when someone wants to submit a sales inquiry to you?
