by Wendy Burge
If you are like most solo-entrepreneurs, you attend anywhere from one to three events a month. That is a lot of networking with a lot of new business cards at the end of the month! However, while getting out meeting people is essential to growing your business, how many of those business cards end up in a pile on your desk without any follow up? I would wager that the percentage is high.
Why is this?
First, there are no established follow up marketing systems in place which promote continuing the dialogue with the warm prospects. Second, there is lack of clarity in how your service might help the warm prospect right now. And, third, time slips away and a few days or weeks have passed since the meeting, so now, it feels like a sales pitch if you call -and not wanting to sound pushy you don’t call.
While many people may stick to the hot leads for immediate business, they are leaving money on their desks by not continuing the conversation with the rest of the people they have met. Implementing a follow up marketing strategy is a sure fire way to turn those new contacts into warmer prospects, clients, and referral generators.
It is a known fact that it takes seven contacts before a person will purchase – so, consistency is the key. Often the reason people struggle maintaining on-going marketing systems is due to this point. With a few simple steps, create your ‘warm prospect’ marketing campaign today and watch it work for you again and again-easily and effortlessly. As the old business adage states, “The fortune is in the follow-up!”
Develop a Warm Prospect Marketing Campaign
Create a system to cater just to that new contact who thought you and your business were “interesting” – like the ones you meet at events, seminars, workshops, or the hundreds of other locations you have that dialogue “What do you do?” With a relationship foundation bound by their interest in you-well, enough to keep them speaking with you and in turn, offering you their business card build on this initial meeting and conversation by showing them you are the best person to call if ever they should need your services or products. Incorporate into the system the three contact points they have on their business cards: physical mailing address, direct phone number, and their email address. Each of these can offer you three unique approaches to re-establishing your conversation with them.
Care to share then leverage with an offer
No one likes to be sold to unless they are ready to buy. But, sometime people do not know they “should buy” as a matter of being “ready”. Offer tips, articles of interest, and timely pieces that provide information for new leads to become better consumers when it comes to using your product or service in their life. Develop short information pieces for direct mail and email using this simple formula:
Create a Catchy Title
”7 Tips for Prepping Your Lawn In-Time for Spring”
“Stop Money from Slipping Through the Cracks – 5 Ways to Energy -proof Your Home”
“How to Save Time in Your Business Without Hiring Employees”
“Where to Find Lasting Love Just by Looking at the Stars”
Tell why they should know this information
“Pump-up the appeal of your home value and aesthetics with early planting and seeding.”
“Save up to 35% on your energy bills just by caulking the drafts around your doors and window.”
“Increase your productivity and profits by outsourcing to a virtual team.”
“Discover your long term love compatibility by assessing star charts and astrological signs.”
Show what they can do about it
This is where you would explain the steps, process, and or action they should take to make this a benefit for them. Keep this section brief and simple. Use short paragraphs and bullet points that are easy to read.
Leverage how to make it happen
In closing, your expertise can be offered if they should need help implementing any of the information you shared. Leverage this with a free consultation, free trial offer, free information package, free assessment, and or coupon. Furthermore, invite them to follow you on social network sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Linked-In to establish more trust by getting to know you better.
Automate your conversation
The gold within business cards is the amount of contact information they contain. Use this information to reach out and keep your conversation going by putting it on auto-pilot. Thanks to the internet, there are numerous tools to help automate your follow up messages after initial set up.
Email
Auto-responders allow you to develop a series of emails that can be scheduled ahead of time for specific mailings dates. A series can last as long as you want – often up to a year out. (Talk about convenience.) Just add the new contact’s name and email address and it initiates the email series. Many programs also allow for particular information to be extracted about the email receiver so the email looks and reads more personal -like using first names. Auto-responder programs such as Getresponse.com, Aweber.com, and Constantcontact.com allow you to create continuous email communication easily and with a “set & go” philosophy.
Direct Mail
In spite of the cost of traditional direct mail used to market, businesses should still blend-in some postal mailings as a component of their marketing puzzle. People do not like junk mail but will appreciate follow up cards, postcards, and letters. Sendoutcards.com is a great way to automate the direct mail process allowing you to upload your own hand-writing sample that can be imprinted with a message; you create, on any one of their thousands of templates for greeting or post cards. Once the warm prospect’s name and mailing address is uploaded in your account database, you can create a series of greeting cards for a more personal touch -again they can be scheduled up to a year out. Thank you cards, well wishes, invitations to special events, workshops, or seminars now have a personal touch. Best of all, card services print and send the cards out for you saving on time, as well.
Voice Broadcast
Reach more warm prospects with the ease of voice broadcasting. Create follow up specials, invitations, and announcements that can be generated to your warm prospect list over the phone. Voice broadcasting simply allows you to record your own message and have it distributed to your phone list on a scheduled date. Create your account, set up your message, and broadcast it out to warm prospects. Review your current phone systems. It may have a broadcasting option. There are numerous, resource companies online which also are able to meet your specific volume needs, as well, and many offer optional payment systems like IfbyPhone.com .
Now decide who is “hot” and who “is not” without losing all the great leads you have created while out networking. Just a little bit of front end effort can open the door for sales down the road by having established yourself as the expert to turn too when it’s time for that warm prospect to need your service or product.
© 2009 Wendy Burge – Radiant Edge Consulting.
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Conscious Business & Marketing Coach Wendy Burge publishes the On the Edge! weekly ezine–Where business, marketing, and lifestyle meet. If you’re ready to have radiant marketing, make more money, and have more freedom in your small business, get your FREE tips now at www.RadiantEdgeConsulting.com
