CONTACT, CONTACT & LOTS MORE CONTACT....
/by Josh Amidon
You know your potential customers need what you sell. You know they want what you sell. Heck, they even sent away for your free catalog or called you with a question about a service.
But the fact is you are missing one major piece of the puzzle.
No matter what else you know, often, the missing piece is knowing when they will actually make a purchase. THAT you will never truly know.
“Oh Josh, that’s not true – I ask my customers when they plan on purchasing so I can follow-up.”Guess what? Customers lie - it’s a fact of life. (Pro Tip: want to know the fastest way to get a salesman to stop talking to you? Lie to them and tell them what you think they want to hear.)
Truth is, people search for information and solutions in many different ways and on many different time tables.
Some will buy immediately; some may take a year or even more.
The key to solving this dilemma is consistent and repeated contact, because you never really know when they will need you.
If you build a marketing program that guarantees your potential customers are contacted at least 8-10 times a year you can significantly increase the odds that your name will be at the top of the list when they do actually decide to purchase.
Another benefit of continually reaching out is by sending your customers useful information that doesn’t always contain a sales pitch, you can establish a bond of trust, and trust wins business. Think about it, nothing is more annoying than a sales rep who only connects with you to push their products and/or services.
Take this blog post for example, the goal of this post is for you to call me and hire me to execute your marketing needs. My strategy? Continually create educational and semi entertaining blog posts that builds your trust in me as a marketing genius ("genius" might be a strong word, but it’s Friday and I’m in a good mood so it stays).
Anyway, create a database of prospects, set-up a schedule of different types of contact and then stick to it. And don’t forget to include your current clients in that list. Reselling them can lead to more and more business and referrals.
As always, if you have any questions, comments or concerns - you can always reach me at (315) 258-8780 or josh@asterfg.com