Master Question Index

Said after noting their low review count. Hits the ego instantly — almost no one says yes. Their defensive response ("No, been here 12 years!") opens the conversation and gives you emotional energy to work with.

Asked for time, not commitment. The only ask in the opener. Balint drills this repeatedly — you never ask if they want to hear about your service. You ask for 30 seconds and assume the yes.

Asked when a prospect already has a lot of reviews or mentions they're already getting them. Opens a gap conversation — Balint uses their answer to find inefficiency, cost, or inconsistency. Works even when the prospect thinks they don't need you.

Softer version of the above. Used when the prospect isn't defensive. Sets up the gap without confrontation. Lets them describe their current (broken) process in their own words — which you reflect back later.

The longevity question. Establishes the time-based contrast — "You've been in business 8 years and only have 23 reviews?" The longer they've been in business, the more dramatic the gap. Balint uses it to do "the math" out loud.

The volume question. This is where the math starts. Jobs × months in business = total customers served. Versus current review count = the gap. Balint rounds down when calculating ("let's just say 15") — making the gap look even larger. "You've serviced 540 people and only have 45 reviews."

The gap question — the first real hit. Said matter-of-factly after the math. Then Balint goes silent. Lets the dissonance sit. Don't rescue them from it. The prospect feels it themselves. This moment is where the need is created without you saying a word.

The history question. Shows they've tried but haven't succeeded — they're not lazy, they just don't have the right system. Whatever they say, you can improve on it. If they use Housecall Pro or Jobber: "Our clients using Housecall Pro still get 10–15% more reviews from us because our message is different." If they ask in person: reflect the low conversion rate back at them.

The ownership question. When they say the problem, you don't have to argue it later. They diagnosed it themselves. This is the most important question in the qualifying section — if they identify the issue, they've already sold themselves on needing a solution. Balint returns to their own words in the close.

The ticket question. Balint says: don't react, don't comment. Just note the number. It becomes leverage in the close — "If you get two more calls a month off page one at $800 a job, that's $1,600. You're paying me $499." Let them do the math themselves. They almost always justify the price on their own.

Scale signal — reveals revenue capacity and shows the prospect isn't a one-man show. Two crews = real business = real budget. Also useful for the scholarship close: "You've got two trucks, less than five employees — you'd qualify." Balint picks 1–2 of these scale questions, not all of them.

Required for the DBR campaign to run. If they don't have a spreadsheet: "Phone contacts, old invoices, anyone you've texted before — even 50 names works." This question simultaneously qualifies the lead AND sets up onboarding. If they can't produce any list, the trial has limited value.

The pivot trigger. Introduced casually with "By the way…" or "Out of curiosity…" after reviews are discussed. Never announced as a new topic. The pivot works because the conversation never stops — questions just shift from the free product to the paid one. Balint uses this phrase verbatim repeatedly.

The impact question — ties ranking to revenue without you making any claims. They answer this themselves. If yes: "Imagine what happens when you're on page one instead of page two." If no: "That's what we'd fix." Either answer is useful. Never tell them what the answer means — let them feel it.

Sets you up as the educator — frame your product as "what it takes to rank," not as a pitch. Balint says walk them through GBP optimization, keyword descriptions, geo-tagged posts, schema markup, FAQs. "Most of this isn't complicated." Then introduce geo-tagging — something they can't do — and stop. Wait for "how?"

This is the question Balint says he hears from trial clients on day 6–10 — they're seeing reviews flood in and they call him asking what else he sells. This is the moment the upsell is easiest. Don't wait for it — call at day 9 if they haven't reached out. "We've already pulled in 30 reviews — I wanted to check in." Then run the Lamborghini pitch.

Used to surface competing spend (ads, social, a $99/mo service). Once they name it, Balint immediately repositions: "What kind of faucet works better — the $500 or the $50? You don't think everyone would jump on $99 to rank #1 on Google? It doesn't exist at $99." Makes their current spend look wasteful by comparison.

Multi-location discovery. Changes the entire deal structure. Balint shifts to tiered pricing immediately: "Location 1 at $499, locations 2–3 at $399 each…" — and bundles the CRM pitch: "What are you doing in 2025 without a CRM? Why not send all your customers a 25% off text? You can't — without this system." Never price per location until you know the total count.

Balint's hardest counter — calm, not aggressive. Forces specificity. "You already said you're not ranking. You know that's costing you calls. And you already know being on page one brings in more business." Doesn't accept the vague stall. Demands a real objection. Most people can't name one — and then they realize they're stalling emotionally, not logically.

Not a question — a reframe. Forces them to correct you ("No, she's not a co-owner…"), which removes the "need to ask" legitimacy. Then: "All she's going to hear is $499 a month. She's not going to hear that $499 puts you on page one and brings in five times that in new calls." Balint uses this almost word-for-word across multiple transcripts.

Don't defend. Don't justify. Ask. Let them name it — then address only that one thing. Most people either can't name a specific part (revealing it's emotional hesitation) or name something you can easily address. Either way you win. Balint says: shut up after you ask it. First person to talk loses.

Forces the prospect to calculate their own ROI. "You close about [X]%? So that's [Y] extra jobs at $[Z] profit each. You're turning $499 into $[Y × Z]." When they do the math — they sell themselves. Balint never does this math unprompted. He waits for a price objection, then asks the question and goes silent.

Don't retreat when they say they have someone. Ask what that person actually does — then contrast the results with their current ranking and review count. "They've been doing this for six months and you're still on page three?" Then offer a free audit: "I'll do it for free since you're already paying someone who's supposed to be doing this."

Short, calm, direct. Forces specificity. Pause after asking. Then quickly recap the offer. The "research" stall almost never has a real answer — they're buying time. Make them name what they'd look up.

Not technically a question — it's the takeaway close. But Balint frames it as a casual statement, not a threat. In small markets where the prospect knows their competitors, this lands particularly hard. Said with calm indifference, never urgency. "I only work with one per area." Then silence.

Comes up constantly. Answer: EIN + exact legal business name + a real website URL. Submit same day as sign-up. Average approval 16 hours, fastest 4.5 hours. If it fails: check that the website URL actually loads, the business name exactly matches the EIN registration, and the campaign description isn't generic. Run the trial setup during the wait — don't stop progress.

Almost always one of three reasons: (1) sending from a brand-new sub-account without the 2-week warm-up period — the "STOP to unsubscribe" footer makes messages look like spam, causing 2%+ stop rates that shut down the account; (2) A2P not yet approved; (3) list quality is bad (too many landlines). Solution: always use pre-warmed sub-accounts (Balint keeps 10 ready).

Balint's answer: spread it over ~20 days regardless of list size. Don't blast the full list in 2–3 days. If the list is 2,000 — make it last a month. Reason: you don't want the DBR to end before the two-week trial does. Reviews rolling in day after day keeps the client engaged and makes the upsell call natural. Sending 40–80/day is the sweet spot for most lists.

Balint says no by default — it cuts reply rates by ~50% because it adds a friction step before the Google link. Only use it for clients who are specifically worried about getting negative reviews (e.g., they have a recent event or known issue). For most clients: go straight to Google. Maximum reviews, maximum proof.

Key onboarding moment. Balint's exact framing: "Oh — almost forgot. There are SMS fees. Less than a penny a text. I just need a card on file. It puts $10 into the system so it doesn't ping your bank two cents every time we send a message." Said casually, as an afterthought, after onboarding is already locked in. The casualness is the technique.

GHL for reviews, Merchant for ranking/GBP management. Merchant can send review requests but only via email (requires Twilio for SMS). GHL gives full SMS control: personalized images, click tracking, conditional follow-ups. Example: if customer doesn't click this month, GHL re-asks next month. If they do click, it auto-pivots to asking for a referral. Merchant can't do this.

Home services first, always: plumbers, roofers, HVAC, pest control, blinds/window treatments. These businesses (a) have repeat customers = always have a list, (b) depend on local Google search more than any other channel, (c) are owned by 50–60 year old non-tech people who won't touch a computer and won't cancel. Balint says if you're "passionate about" another niche — sell that. But home services are the lowest-friction path.

200K–1M population suburbs. Large enough for real competition (so ranking matters), small enough for the contractor to know who their competitors are (makes the takeaway close hit harder). Avoid very small towns — not enough volume. Avoid giant metros (NYC, LA) — too many gatekeepers, too much noise, too little trust.

Cold calls, always — for this system. Cold SMS is too easy to ignore and risks being flagged. Cold email has very low response rates. The 1-call close only works when you have someone live on the phone — because decision energy is highest at the moment of first contact. SMS and email exist to get to a call, not to close a deal. Facebook DMs are the only digital channel that works for the website lead magnet.

Yes — always target mobile numbers. Local Prospects AI shows phone type. Landlines reach staff, not owners. You need the decision maker on the first call. Filtering to mobile also improves deliverability for any follow-up SMS.

Barely at all — the system does it for you. Automated weekly GBP reports go out automatically. Clients feel served without requiring your time. The only manual touch points: the day-9 upsell call during the trial, and handling inbound texts/emails from clients. Balint's VA forwards those to him. He only touches the front-end: pitching and client escalations.

First: understand why. If it's results-related — remind them of the timeline set at onboarding ("This takes 60–90 days — you knew that"). If it's budget: offer a downgrade, not a refund. If they want to "pause": say no. Balint's exact position — "I don't do pauses." The word "no" said calmly makes clients reconsider. Cancellation requests almost always come from clients you over-promised to or priced too low. Prevention is the strategy.

Yes — always. Adding citations? Tell them. Adding a social posting feature? Tell them. Never improve silently. Every announcement reinforces your value and makes cancellation psychologically harder to justify. Balint says clients don't track what you do unless you tell them — so tell them, every time, even for small things.

Balint's answer (asked directly by Marin): don't. Stop chasing. If a prospect didn't close, move on. Every minute on a dead lead is a minute not calling a new one. The system gives you enough volume that follow-up obsession is a form of procrastination. The only exception: if they showed very high intent and went cold without giving a reason — one text or call. Then move on regardless.