| Soft Sell Marketing Follow Up |
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Pull marketing will get prospects "in-the-door". Some of these prospects will find your Pull marketing will get prospects "in-the-door". Some of these prospects will find your products/services interesting. And, fewer prospects will be interested enough to sign up for an email, visit your store, or call for more information. What you do next is critical and can make or break your sale to these last few interested prospects. Systematically following up in a non-salesy way is the key to this numbers game. Information Gathering - It's painfully simple. Ask some general questions about their needs. No need to be a silk tongued salesman. That won't work. Better to show genuine concern for your prospect's questions. Very few people buy without doing at least some research. If the person appears to be a browser, not ready to commit or yours is a naturally longer cycle, you need some vehicle to gather their contact information so you can continue the process. Low Risk Offer - Determine something of value to this prospect that costs very little to provide. It must be something of specific interest to them, not something you are trying to get rid of. It could be a contest to win something or weekly tips they would want to know. The trade is that they give you some contact information in return. "But, people give fake information. What do I do about them?" This is the beauty of e-zines or e-newsletters: those who give you phony emails will bounce and you don't waste another minute with them. Besides, if they do that they aren't a prospect you want to spend any time with. E-newsletters - Although they are more prevalent today, sending a weekly e-newsletter is still a great way to stay top-of-mind for your prospect. If you have their address, sending a hard-copy newsletter monthly is a great way to stay ahead of your competition. Either way, if you are including high value content for your prospect your open rates will remain high and you won't have many opt-outs. As long as you keep up the weekly mailing, you have a nice follow up system. Anything less than once a week isn't worth the effort. Direct Contact - By far the best scenario is meeting someone and getting that person's card. If they express any interest in potentially working with you, ask permission to put them on your e-newsletter so you don't get a reputation for spamming. It never fails. Every time I attend a formal networking meeting where my cards are passed to all the members, someone will inevitably put me on their e-newsletter. Just because you are in the same room and have my card doesn't assume I have opted-into your list. Big no-no. Low-Hanging Fruit - People that express interest should be added to a regular follow-up list. One day each week, spend time following up with some of your prospects. Spread them out over time and continue to stay in touch. Just checking back will keep you in a professional light with them and over time you will close more of this business. Keep track of the clients you convert and start watching your statistics. Pretty soon, you will know that your average prospect takes X weeks to close or needs to be contacted X times before signing. Selling cycles are lengthening across all industries in this economy and signs don't show much change in 2009. Stay on top of the interested parties. People are still buying; still in need. Be sure you are there when they're ready. Paula Pollock is Director of the Pollock Marketing Group: helping business owners attract consistent clients with less effort. To receive her quick-read, weekly marketing tips and her Special Report, “7 Client Attraction Secrets That Will Double Your Income,” CLICK HERE and sign up. www.paulapollock.com |
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