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If you don’t have a system in place to warm up your leads and aren’t sure how to get started, I have good news: Starting itself is the key. Most people never get started, and they let their best leads get away. You’re ahead of the curve. Now, the easiest way to start is to find someone to help you with content marketing. This will help you avoid the No. 1 reason businesses struggle to scale: Owners who try to do everything themselves. All you’ll need to do is gather your prospects’ email addresses, cellphone numbers, and mailing addresses. The mailing address is gold because you have the ability to communicate and connect with virtually 100% of your customers and prospects without a third party interfering. You can send a print newsletter, postcards, welcome gifts, Thank you gifts and virtually anything else you can think of. One of the issues facing many Entrepreneurs right now is that you need to communicate through multiple channels for the best results. For example, I’m almost never on Facebook. But I can easily spend way too much time scrolling through TikTok videos instead of watching TV. Similarly, some people are direct mail people, and some are email people. By using multiple different media to communicate with your prospects and clients you will not only connect with many prospects and customers you haven’t been reaching to date but in many cases you’ll also be connecting with them through more than a single media and when done correctly that will enhance your relationships with customers, help warm up prospects, increase referrals, upsells, new customers and as well as positively impact many other areas of your business. (By the way, did you know we offer digital newsletters now? You can get all the details at NewsletterPro.com/Products/.) Here’s the thing: If you don’t put the effort into keeping your leads warm, someone who knows what they’re doing will come into your niche with great content marketing and kick your butt. It’s happening right now to that deodorant company. Sure, they’re trying, but they’re doing it all wrong — probably because they’re trying to do it on their own. Don’t make that mistake. P.S. — While I was writing this, I checked in with my employee who ordered the deodorant, and guess what? I was right! It sucked. –Shaun
Here’s what they should have done — and what you can do to keep your warm leads engaged. Avoid the hard sell. It’s important to warm your leads up with content (texts, blogs, emails, print mail, social media), but the type of content matters. That’s where most people mess up. All of their messages are “Buy! Buy! Buy!” ... which turns off today’s customer who has virtually unlimited choices of places to do business with. If this was a normal social interaction most businesses are that person who is always taking about themselves with little interest in anything you have to say or think about any subject. It’s this kind of bad marketing that is a very common reason leads don’t convert into sales. To actually warm the lead up, your content should … Provide value. Regardless of how you deliver your content, you should provide value to your leads. Tell them a bit about yourself; personal and professional info. Help them with solutions to problems your ideal demographic may have. The deodorant brand should have sent my employee cool videos, testimonials, and tips on the right way to use their product. That would have made her excited to get it in the mail! You need to provide value 75–80% of the time. The other 20–25% of your content can focus on progressing the sales conversation. Create a connection. When you send valuable information out to warm leads, it shouldn’t just be about your business. You should share things about YOU, too. People like to do business with someone they know, like, and trust, and you can build that trust by finding shared affinities. Imagine you meet someone on one of the dating apps, and after chatting you find out you’re both really, really into “The Bachelor.” (Because of course, it’s secretly every guy’s favorite show!) You talk about all of the juicy gossip from last week’s episode, and boom — you’ve formed a connection. The relationship is warmed up, and you’re probably ready to meet in person. Marketing works the same way. Keep the fire going. Here’s where a lot of people mess up: Once a lead is warm, you have to KEEP them warm with a steady drip of helpful, entertaining content. This is how you sell to that person who researches for months before making a purchase. If you’re still there giving them great content, you’ll get that sale. It’s also key to keep your leads warm after they convert. They’ll be happier, buy more, stay longer, and send more referrals.
“Who is like the wise? Who knows the explanation of things? A person’s wisdom brightens their face and changes its hard appearance.” –Ecclesiastes 8:1 (NIV)
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