Nov 192012
Recently I gave my keynote presentation, “Blast Past Your
Competition” to a group of business owners and sales agents at a client’s
office. She had assembled the group as a way of reminding them that she could be
a powerful partner in their marketing success as a resource for all their
printing needs. She put together a gorgeous luncheon (see the photo below) and
hired me to educate her clients prospects on the 5 critical business best
practices from my book, Fortune
is in the Follow-Up®.
I was asked the question, “What should my holiday message to my clients and prospects say?” during the Q&A. And I thought it was a great and timely question.
So what should your holiday message say? Should it be solely focused on the
message of peace, goodwill & gratitude–the theme of holidays? Or should your
holiday piece have a pitch of some sort? Should you make an offer in your
holiday message?
It will depend on what kinds of marketing messages you have been sending out all year. Have you been building relationships or just trying to get them to hire you?
Of course, no one wants to be constantly pitched to, but we all like to learn about great deals and to hear about offers that give value. This has been the overriding theme of this year: people want value. They (we) are willing to spend our money on goods and services that we perceive are worth it.
Don’t know what your clients want in messages from you? A simple way to find out is to ask. And I recommend that you ask them directly. Pick up the phone and ask them what they think of the marketing pieces you have sent them this year? Ask them if you offered enough variety in terms of delivery through email, phone, newsletters, blog posts, direct mail pieces and meetings. Find out what they think.
Note: this should NOT be done via email. This is a task that must be done in real time, and will accomplish all sorts of objectives including reminding them that:
I was asked the question, “What should my holiday message to my clients and prospects say?” during the Q&A. And I thought it was a great and timely question.
It will depend on what kinds of marketing messages you have been sending out all year. Have you been building relationships or just trying to get them to hire you?
Of course, no one wants to be constantly pitched to, but we all like to learn about great deals and to hear about offers that give value. This has been the overriding theme of this year: people want value. They (we) are willing to spend our money on goods and services that we perceive are worth it.
Don’t know what your clients want in messages from you? A simple way to find out is to ask. And I recommend that you ask them directly. Pick up the phone and ask them what they think of the marketing pieces you have sent them this year? Ask them if you offered enough variety in terms of delivery through email, phone, newsletters, blog posts, direct mail pieces and meetings. Find out what they think.
Note: this should NOT be done via email. This is a task that must be done in real time, and will accomplish all sorts of objectives including reminding them that:
- You are still in business.
- You are a caring & trustworthy person.
- You can help them solve their problems.
- You are striving to do better and be better.
- Learn from your clients.
- Educate your clients on what you can do for them.
- & of course always use the contact to ask them to recommend you to people they know!
What your holiday message says
should fit in with what you have been sending to your contacts all year. It
should reflect you and your business’ values. Remember, marketing is about
building relationships with your prospects until they feel comfortable enough to
do business with you. Your holiday message should be all about building a
relationship with each of the people on your list.
Yours,
Yours,
Oct 182012
I know there are a lot of business coaches running around these days telling
everyone that you need a business plan BUT here is the deal: unless you need
outside capital or funding, you don’t need a business plan. In fact, investing
your time and energy in a business plan a waste of your precious resources.
What you need is a marketing plan and you need a simple one to help you meet your business’ financial goals. A great marketing plan should be straightforward and uncomplicated. Basically a marketing plan is like a GPS for your business– and just like you wouldn’t go on a road trip without a map of a GPS, you shouldn’t run your business without a marketing plan.
As a serial entrepreneur, I always use a marketing plan to help me grow my business and my bottom line. And you can too. There are great resources on how to create a simple-to-use marketing plan online. Basically, you want one with only 6 to 8 powerful strategies that focus your marketing activities on building relationships with your prospects or great referral sources until they feel comfortable enough to do business with you.
What you need is a marketing plan and you need a simple one to help you meet your business’ financial goals. A great marketing plan should be straightforward and uncomplicated. Basically a marketing plan is like a GPS for your business– and just like you wouldn’t go on a road trip without a map of a GPS, you shouldn’t run your business without a marketing plan.
As a serial entrepreneur, I always use a marketing plan to help me grow my business and my bottom line. And you can too. There are great resources on how to create a simple-to-use marketing plan online. Basically, you want one with only 6 to 8 powerful strategies that focus your marketing activities on building relationships with your prospects or great referral sources until they feel comfortable enough to do business with you.
If you are interested in having a
marketing plan by the end of the month, check out the bonus chapter in my
bestselling book, Fortune is in the Follow-Up® called, “How to Create a
Marketing Plan” OR attend my workshop, Marketing Momentum 101 on October 29th in
Mountain View. This marketing plan seminar will have you go from marketing
misery to marketing mastery in just one day.
Business owners, who want to start making serious money, know that they need
a plan to help them eliminate distractions and pinpoint their focus on powerful
marketing strategies that show up in their bottom line.
If you are interested in
attending Marketing Momentum 101 there are only 5 seats left. AND
for business owners who know how to grab an opportunity, I am offering a $200
discount if sign up by Friday, October 19th at midnight. Use the code: VIP when
you register to get your 40% discount.
Yours,
Sep 252012
How do you follow-up with prospects? Do you differentiate between leads
picked up at networking events versus leads from clients? And what about past
clients? Do you consider them prospects? If not, why not?
Challenge yourself. This week, call 10 people. Do this every week for the next 12 weeks. Make appointments to get together–start building relationships. We all know that people do business with people we know, like and trust. Be that person!
Prospecting from new leads and
past clients should all be part and parcel of your follow-up strategy. Think
about your list of prospects and past clients. How often do you schedule time to
contact your leads either on the phone or in person? If you have read my
book, Fortune is in the Follow-Up®, you know that I am biased
against following up via email. I think that building a relationship means you
need to have a real conversation in real time using the phone or better yet in
person.
If you don’t have follow-up as a regularly scheduled activity in your weekly
calendar, you are missing out on the wealth that may be sitting on your desk in
the form of business cards, just collecting dust. My suggestion is to block out
time in your calendar that is just for follow-up. Then think of information that
is relevant to the people you want to contact. Perhaps a timely news story or
something that you learned recently that will mean something to them. Next pick
up the phone and start dialing.Challenge yourself. This week, call 10 people. Do this every week for the next 12 weeks. Make appointments to get together–start building relationships. We all know that people do business with people we know, like and trust. Be that person!
Yours,
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