Many small business owners I have worked with are one-way-minded when it comes to sales and how to sell a service.
Even if you’re just starting a home business, this is also an important strategy to internalize.
As a small business coach, one of the things I often have to hammer at entrepreneurs is that people aren’t always ready to buy simply because they’re ready to sell.
So when you walk into a place where your ideal customers are, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get a sale that day. That is the truth and reality that you have to embrace. So let’s talk about the two-step marketing strategy to dramatically increase customers and sales.
Let me just say that the first thing to remember here is that not everyone is an ideal or potential customer, so you must first be intimately familiar with your target market.
If your description of your target market encompasses “everyone,” then you may have quite a bit of work to do. Once you have defined the profile of your target market, you can continue with these steps.
Step One: Let Your Customers Decide
Wouldn’t it be great if hundreds of people came to your website every month to buy what you offer? Is it really possible? Of course, it is. It happens in my business every month. So the first step is to ask them if they are interested, offering a sample of who you are and what you offer for free.
Of course, not everyone who raises their hand for that free sample is a potential customer. There are people out there who only live on free stuff. But don’t let that stop you. You will find that many of those who want your freebie will become customers in the future.
Conversely, if you never give visitors an opportunity to self-select as leads, you’re losing customers and sales every month.
So what do you have to do? Create a free sample of your work and feature it on every page of your website. If you do offline marketing, put the offer on your business card. What is the freebie you could offer? A free CD, a downloadable audio, a free special report, an e-Book, etc. All are focused on your area of expertise and the problems you help solve for your clients.
Note: This free or low-cost offer shouldn’t be all about you and your skills. It’s not even something you think is interesting and fresh.
In fact, it’s not about you at all. What you develop should be focused on the #1 problem that your clients usually want you to solve for them. What worries them and sometimes does not let them sleep at night. That’s what you should focus on when creating that promotional sample.
Second Step: Make Offers Only To Those Who Self-Select
When making your gift, don’t assume that the other person will naturally take the next step to purchase your product or service. You need to tell them what you can offer them that will help them the most. People want to know. If they’re interested in your introductory offer, many will want to know how to get more. Be sure to make that clear in your promotion.
Now here’s the key … your follow-up strategy is not just an email or a call. Studies have shown that most purchases occur only after seeing the offer 7 times or more. Don’t be shy. Remind people how you can help them.
Marketing is simply letting people know how you can help them and the solutions you offer to their most pressing problems. And you can do this in a very authentic way.
In the follow-up, you share what you have to offer, the results you can help your prospects achieve, and how they can achieve them. You’ll be surprised how many business owners forget that last part – showing them how to do it.
This means that you show them where they can buy the product or contract the service. You must be confident enough to let interested parties know where they can buy your products and services.
So how should you act in this step? Review your marketing process, and see how many times you actually follow up with a person who expressed an interest in what you do.
Check if you are really clear about the problems that you can solve for them too. Keep in mind that explaining the problems that you can solve for them is not the same as talking about your product or service…
Conclusions
Change your marketing strategy to include these two steps and you will be amazed at how much more leads you can effortlessly attract, who will later become customers.
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