I recently had a conversation with a VIP Coaching Client and she was extremely disappointed that her full-color 5000 piece mailing sent to complete strangers didn’t get a response – not ONE response.
Honestly, she did a beautiful job with this full-color piece. There were just a few problems that I had to explain in my Reality Check consult.
First: The biggest was that her mailing list consisted of 5,000 who had never heard of her before and who she didn’t even a luke-warm relationship with any one of them herself. This is an enormous issue to overcome, given that people make buying decisions based on people they know, like and trust. It was too little information given to create that kind of bond between a supplier/vendor and a potential corporate buyer.
Remember, you’re only as good as your list of contacts and it’s never about quantity, it’s about quality. A database of 5,000 unknown prospects is almost useless. You’d need to commit to multiple mailings to each of them in order for them to begin to understand – in a small way – what you do and what you have to offer them.
Second: It’s impossible in my experience to follow-up (yes, you have to follow-up, otherwise you should save your time and money and not send out a darn thing!) with this many people. Isn’t it far more cost- and time-efficient to limit your number of prospects to a number that’s manageable – say 100 – 150. Commit to targeting 25 at a time with a series of letters, direct mail and content-rich information that they can use. This helps to position you as a valued and trusted resource, who they would want to seek out to do business with.
It takes time to solidify trust in any relationship, but especially between professional strangers. Start with a realistic number of prospects, identify a plan to connect with them at least four times before you ever pick up the phone to follow-up. You may be surprised and they may actually call you before you have a chance to make the follow-up call.
Third: I’d venture to guess that the viable list of prospects is far fewer than 5000. Let’s be real. The world should not be your oyster when considering qualified prospects and ideal client profiles. My total list of potential buyers (Fortune 500 Companies who hire me to address their small business and solo-preneur customer base) is less than 150 companies. That’s it. I also never send a drip campaign (I’ll explain that below) to more than 25 ideal client prospects at a time – for one reason. I’d never be able to follow-up with them, the way I should with pleasant persistence.
How do I make the determination of who an ideal client is: review industry trade publications, conference programs, small business magazines, etc., to see what companies have put their money where there mouths are and are actively seeking out small and solo-preneur customers. That’s my list. These are companies that I can get excited about working with to deliver my message to their ideal customer and prospect base. It’s a no-brainer. I get to work with their customers and get well-compensated by them to do so. It’s a win-win-win all around.
Fourth: Sending out only one mailing and expecting your phone to ring is unrealistic and naïve – at best. Utilizing a Drip Campaign, of sending information-rich content to your prospects as a way to endear yourself to them and let them know that you’re interested in building a relationship based on trust, integrity and service. This approach goes a long way in hastening a solid business relationship (perhaps a personal one as well – given that we don’t get married on the first date – typically, unless you’re caught up in the moment in Vegas).
Remember the advertising rule of thumb – it takes at least six impressions on the minds of your prospects before they make the connection between who you are and what you’re selling! Hang in there and take a slow and steady approach to building rapport with your prospects. It will pay back dividends.
Fifth: Have a plan to communicate with your prospects prior to spending large wads of cash on full-color direct mail pieces, web sites, etc. I lay out a direct mail campaign and delegate the mailings to a virtual support staff and five weeks later, before I’m even starting my follow-up calls – my phone is ringing! Go figure, but it works ever time.
Your Ideal Client Profile & Ways to Best Reach & Connect with Them - To learn more about this author, visit Nancy Michaels's Website.
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Nancy Michaels
(Visit Nancy's Website)
Is the author of five books on marketing
for small businesses, including Perfecting
Your Pitch, (Career Press 2005) Off The
Wall Marketing Ideas, (Adams Media 2000),
How To Be A Big Fish In Any Pond, Media
Madness, and A to Z to Visibility
Served as Small Business Editor at US
News & World Report, and the Small
Business Marketing Expert for Entrepreneur
Magazine. She is a regular contributor to
Franchise Update and has been featured in
The Wall Street Journal, Fortune Small
Business (FSB), Success Magazine, The New
York Post, Franchising Magazine, among
numerous other publications
Nancy also was the publicist for Matt
Lauer (currently co-host of the Today
show)
Nancy is the President of her marketing
company, Impression Impact, which she
launched in 1990 and Founder of the Grow
Your Business Network
In the spring of 2005, Nancy became very
ill and underwent a liver transplant due
to liver failure. She is the grateful
recipient of a donor liver. Find out how
you can become a donor at www.organdonor
.gov.
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