By this time, you should be thinking about how you are going to fill your funnel. You should also realize that you need a follow-up system in place in order stay in front of the leads you generate. Now this chapter relies heavily on our secret of mastering the moment. In fact, the process of turning prospects to customers depends on your ability to execute the secret faithfully. When you choose to interact with your prospects through follow-up, the messages you send need to have a purpose, or some value attached in order to be effective.
That is precisely what “Convert Your Funnel” refers to. It addresses the type of messages and sales tactics that you use to move prospects down the funnel and finally convert them into customers. This process is often referred to as sales force automation. It includes everything in the sales process, such as, keeping and updating prospect information, a contact tracking system, and the valuable information you provide your prospects. In other words, it’s every effort you make to turn prospects into buyers. (That includes providing a lot of “moments” to master.) Never Trust a Man Who Says, “Trust Me!” You can no longer place a product on the market, give it a price tag, tell your customers it’s a great deal, and have them make a purchase. If you’ve been in business very long, you know the whole “trust me” tactic doesn’t work. The more you say trust me, the more that little warning voice is going off in the heads of your prospects and customers.
So don’t expect your prospects to immediately see the value of your product. Show them the value. If you can think back to your high school and college English classes, you probably remember hearing the phrase “show don’t tell.” The same thing holds true for marketing. To convert your customers, they need to know exactly what they will be receiving, and exactly how it is going to have an impact on their lives. You can have the greatest product in the world, at the best price you’ve ever seen, be following up continuously, and still not see the results you want. If that happens, it’s because you have failed to convert. Do your prospects understand the benefits of your product? Did the information you gave them make them want to buy? Do they trust you?
Remember, if you fail to move your prospect through the funnel, you’re not making money. Companies continuously try to “force” people into buying their products. They don’t know how to do anything else. They’ve got a product, they need it sold, so they’re going to take the most direct approach and keep trying until they find someone who agrees to buy. But is it a matter of sell at all costs? Selling shouldn’t be painful. In order to make the sale, small businesses must answer the question: why you? Why should your prospect choose you as the company to do business with? What have you offered them that others can’t? Usually, the answer is “nothing”. Whatever you are willing to give, another person is willing to match. For example, if one dentist gives away a free toothbrush with every visit, another dentist gives a toothbrush and toothpaste. Still another hands out a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a two-minute egg timer.
And so it continues, because none of the dentists are differentiating themselves or offering what other dentists are not. None of them are really offering anything of value. They are not giving their prospective patient the “why me” answer they so desperately want. “Choose me, because I’ll give you a free toothbrush” is not an adequate reason for picking a dentist. Prospects are searching for value. Value they usually don’t find in typical marketing messages. Value that small business owners are neglecting to include and therefore failing to differentiate themselves. When it comes to spending money, if you don’t stand out, if you don’t give the prospect a real reason to buy, they won’t. Despite the money Americans are willing to spend, you, as the small business owner, must draw them in and convince them that your business is the place to spend it. The following three sections provide you with three conversion techniques that do precisely that.
I want you to keep one thing in mind. Content rich materials. Obviously not all of your followup material is going to be centered in valuable information. Sometimes you just need to inform your prospects you have a sale coming up or that the offer you presented before is going to expire. However, a good portion of your follow-up materials should be valuable to your customers. Let me clarify what I mean by valuable. Value does not include discounting your prices or offering free bonuses. Those tactics certainly work. But any company can do that. The value I am talking about is any knowledge you impart to your prospect that they will appreciate. Let me give you a few examples. If you run a sporting goods store, you might choose to send an email letting your customers know the dates for the upcoming X-games.
You’re following up with your prospect. But in this case, there is no sale. (At least not an apparent one. You are always selling.) What if you are a mortgage company? Rather than start tooting the “we have the lowest rates” horn, perhaps you could send a report that explains the differences between adjustable and fixed rates. Think of all the individuals who have recently lost their homes because they got loans they were unable to pay. What if you were the one company that took the time to educate your prospects? It would certainly set you apart.
Author Resource:
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