One of the most frustrating parts of your business opportunity is going to be the daunting task of taking a lead and transforming it into a coveted sale.  This process requires patience, perseverance, knowledge and much more.  Rather than throwing in the proverbial towel and giving up on your home-based business at the first rejection, take a look at some tips below on how to help turn your business lead into a sale.

1. Respond to every lead – Many people fear that some leads aren’t worth the time.  For your small, at-home business, especially in the beginning, you should act on everything that comes from your business opportunity lead sources.  You need to prioritize and focus more energy on the leads that make more sense with your company, but it never hurts and it doesn’t take much time to respond to inquiries.
2. Make your offer stand out – There are probably a few other people with a small business offer or direct sales business opportunity that is similar to your own, so you must stand out when making your pitch in one way or another.  Specifically, make sure the lead knows what you can offer that others cannot.  If they can get the same thing from somewhere else at a lower cost, you must have a reason why they should pick your small business over the competition.
3. Know your competition – To follow tip #2 and make your offer stand out from the crowd, you’ll need to know what your competition is doing.  Don’t steal from them, because you should be confident enough in your own small business idea that you can close a sale with what you already have. Though knowing what else is out there will help you go above and beyond.
4. Be an expert – Have an intelligent response ready for every question, and be an expert when it comes to your small business.  Never let the lead stump you in any way.  Show confidence and knowledge, and the potential client will feel better about moving forward.
5. Be patient – Once initial contact has been made to your small business lead option, give the potential client a little time and space.  Don’t wait too long as you don’t want to be forgotten, but don’t pick up the phone an hour later to see if they have made a decision.  
6. Be persistent, but not annoying – After you have waited long enough and haven’t heard a peep, go ahead and check in to see if there are any questions.  Don’t immediately ask if a decision has been made.  Instead, just call or e-mail and make sure that everything is clear.  While you should check in more than once if you don’t get a response, avoid being annoying.  There is a fine line between being persistent and being annoying.  
7. Be organized – It is imperative that you have a system in place for keeping track of the status of every lead.  If you’re not sure who you talked to when about what, then you will look like you don’t know what you’re doing.  Also, keep notes about any personal tidbits you gleaned from the business lead and use it in your follow-up contact.
8. Be flexible – Don’t ever sell yourself short, but if the potential client is stuck on the price, see if offering a little wiggle room will sweeten the deal.  If this is a strong business lead that could bring more business over time, then you might consider being even more flexible.
9. Know when to move on – Unfortunately, a good percentage of your leads are going to leave you hanging.  You have to be observant and listen to the language that your contact is using, and know when to give up.  When a lead continually tells you they just “don’t know” and have no real reason for not wanting to move forward, it may be time for you to pack up and move on to the next opportunity that is just around the corner.