Almost every business owner out there has a list of business contacts. (If you don’t we’ll cover how to build your list in another post). If you are like many business people, sometimes your list of contacts may be a bit neglected. This can happen pretty easily. Why? It’s because most of us remain in business building mode, trying to generate new leads and new business.
When I start to work with clients, I often discover that they have a cash cow that is readily accessible to them. That untapped resource is their current (and often neglected) list. For most of us, unless a contact is someone that we are in regular communication with, a repeat customer, a friend or someone else we do regular business with, most people just send them a holiday card, if that.
Let’s walk through the 7 Steps To Leverage Your List and get you more customers at the same time.
Step 1 – Organizing Your List Data
This is the first roadblock for many. If it’s not already organized in an immediately usable platform like Outlook for direct mail or AWeber for emails, then you will need to get it into a spreadsheet like Excel. Don’t worry about getting it into anything like Outlook, Saleforce or anything like that. Just hire a temp if needed to get it into a spreadsheet. You can import into the service of your choice later.
Step 2 – Adding contacts to your list
Most of us only add direct business contacts. You need to go beyond that and include everyone you meet. Your doctor, your kid’s teachers, etc… So have a way of adding to your list easily.
I always advise people to build their list ”organically,” and don’t try to buy one. Purchased lists have very low conversion rates on direct mail. And if you send an email to a purchased list without having gone through all the hoops to ensure that it was CAN – SPAM compliant, there is a chance your ISP or your mailing list provider will cut you off. A list you build yourself and have an established relationship with, will always produce better results.
An important note about adding anyone to your email list, don’t add someone to your email list without letting them know that you are doing it. You also need to give them the ability to unsubscribe from your emails. Got that? Just because they gave you a business card at some networking event does not give you the right to blindly email them your special of the week. They really don’t care.
Step 3 – Start engaging with your list
Now that you have it organized and can add people to it, you need to engage. The rule that applies to social media also applies to your contact list. If you use social media, you know that there is immediacy to it. You’ll need to develop that with your list.
Depending on the nature of your list and business, it may lend itself to either direct mail or email. Choose one to start, get that process going and then move on to the other.
If you are sending out direct mail pieces, seriously consider what you are sending your contacts. If you got it in the mail, what would you do with it? What is the value you offer? Why should they care? Until you can clearly define that, save your money.
If you always send an email trying to sell something, or worse, you’ve bored them with some generic mailings that tell them how great you and your business are, chances are your list will not be responsive. You’ve just trained them to ignore you. I know of more than a few realtors who are guilty of this.
Instead, start providing them with value and information on a consistent basis. I mean real value. If you wouldn’t care to read it yourself and if it doesn’t interest you, why would your list care? If you have a blog, tell them every time you make an update. You can also take all your blog posts for the month and send that out as a newsletter to your list. You want to be the person or business they think of when they need that widget you sell.
Also, don’t forget to promote your Twitter and Facebook fan page. You do have those set up, right?
Step 4 – Tracking
I put tracking before making sales for a good reason. Most businesses will set up some kind of sales campaign and have absolutely no way of tracking where the lead, prospect, or sale came from. Print ads and Yellow Pages are notorious for this. Unless you use a tracking system, you will have no idea how well you did or how to improve.
If you use a email mailing system like AWeber, Get Response or Mailchimp, they have built in tracking, that tell you things like; how many people opened your email. You’ll also want to consider setting up a dedicated phone number and a web page that is specific to your sales campaign. It is the simplest form of tracking.
The benefit of a dedicated phone number and web page is that they can be used in any kind of medium: email, direct mail, radio, TV or print. Also when people call on that number or go to that web page it’s because you directed them there.
Step 5 – Determine The Need
Okay, now that you’re engaged with your contacts and you have tracking set up, it’s time to really leverage that relationship. It’s time to ask your list for something. But what do you ask? Well if you have a specific product or service, you may think, that is what you are going to sell. Not so fast.
Anyone can send out a 20% off coupon and say that they sell the best radial tires. That doesn’t guarantee any sales. To make the sale you need to understand your list’s need. You need to survey that list and you need to know things like:
- Who are they?
- Are they mostly male, female? What‘s their age?
What do they do for a living? Etc… - What do they want?
- And no, it’s not a new set of golf clubs.
It’s how the new set of golf clubs make them feel.
You need to build a profile based on your list and their wants, needs and desires. If you are a realtor, you aren’t selling a house; you’re selling a dream, security, peace of mind. You need to tailor your sales communications, to the majority demographic of your list and then guide them through a process that fulfills their wants needs and desires.
Step 6 – The Sale
There are many schools of thought on how to get the sale. But for simplicity sake, let’s focus on an easy one:
- Tell them what your product or service is
- Tell them what it will do for them
- Tell them how to get it
That’s it. If you’ve done your homework and engaged with your list and you know who they are along with their wants needs and desires, then the sale part will take care of itself.
You should have built up enough trust and good will by engaging with them and providing them with value. So now when you ask for the sale, they are more likely to respond to it.
One question I often get is, ”Is there a ratio of content to sales emails?” Not really. It really depends on the industry. Some can promote once every 8 or 9
emails. Some only do it on a quarterly basis.
Step 7 – The Referral
Always ask for referrals. Most people or businesses just fail to do this. If you are providing value to your contacts and clients, ask them for a referral. Ask them who would benefit from your product or service. Ask them to make that introduction. And if it’s appropriate to your business, give them something for it.
Make sure to reciprocate. Your contacts may need help with referrals as well. As part of the engagement and survey process, be sure to ask them want kind of contacts they are looking for. If contacts on your list have their own list, you may be able to work out some kind of joint venture, where you can cross promote your products and services.
What are some of the tips you’ve discovered on how to leverage your list?
Manny Acevedo
Web: BuzzDigitalMedia.com
Email: manny@buzzdigitalmedia.com
Twitter: @MannyAcevedo
Linked in: linkedin.com/in/mannyacevedo
Facebook: facebook.com/manny.acevedo
