Your web business probably gets product inquiries from
potential customers around the globe. Inquiries come via
e-mail and your web site, and you try to send information to
each hot prospect as quickly as you can. You know that you
can drastically increase the likelihood of making a sale by
satisfying each person's need for information quickly!
But, after you've delivered that first bit of information to
your prospect, do you send him any further information?
If you are like most Internet marketers, you don't.
When you don't follow that initial message with additional
information later on, you let a valuable prospect slip from
your grasp! This is a potential customer who may have been
very interested in your products, but who lost your contact
information, or was too busy to make a purchase when your
first message reached him. Often, a prospect will purposely
put off making a purchase, to see if you find him important
enough to follow up with later. When he doesn't receive a
follow up message from you, he will take his business
elsewhere.
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ARE YOU LOSING PROFITS DUE TO
INCONSISTENT AND INEFFECTIVE
FOLLOW UP?
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Following up with leads is more than just a process - it's an
art. In order to be effective, you need to design a follow up
system, and stick to it, EVERY DAY! If you don't follow up
with your prospects consistently, INDIVIDUALLY, and in a
timely fashion, then you might as well forget the whole
follow up process.
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CONSISTENT FOLLOW UP GETS RESULTS!
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When I first started marketing and following up with
prospects, I used a follow up method that I now call the
"List Technique." I had a large database containing the names
and e-mail addresses of people who had specifically requested
information about my products and services. These prospects
had already received my first letter by the time they
requested more information, so I used the company's latest
news as a follow up piece. I would write follow up
newsletters every now and then, and send them, in one mass
mailing, to everyone who had previously requested information
from me. While this probably did help me win a few additional
orders, it wasn't a very good follow up method. Why isn't the
"List Technique" very effective?
* The List Technique isn't consistent. Proponents of the
List Technique tend to only send out follow up
messages when their companies have "big news".
* List Technique messages don't give the potential
customer any additional information about the product
or service in question. He can't make a more informed
buying decision after receiving a newsletter! If
someone is wondering whether your company sells the
best knick-knacks, what does he care that you've just
moved your headquarters?
* List Technique messages convey a "big list" mentality
to your potential customers. When I used to write
follow up messages using the List Technique, I was
writing news bulletins to everyone I knew! I should
have been sending a personal message to each
individual who wanted to know more about my products.
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WHAT FOLLOW UP METHOD
REALLY WORKS?
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Following up with each lead individually, multiple times, but
at set intervals, and with pre-written messages, will
dramatically increase sales! Others who use this same
technique confirm that they have all at least doubled the
sales of various products! In order to set this system up,
though, you need to do some planning.
First, you'll need to develop your follow up messages. If
you've been marketing on the Internet for any length of time,
then you should already have a first informative letter. Your
second letter marks the beginning of the follow up process,
and should go into more detail than the first letter. Fill
this letter with details that you didn't have the space to
add to the first letter. Stress the BENEFITS of your products
or services!
Your next 2-3 follow up messages should be rather short.
Include lists of the benefits and potential uses of your
products and services. Write each letter so that your
prospects can skim the contents, and still see the full force
of your message.
The next couple of follow up messages should create a sense
of urgency in your prospect's mind. Make a special offer,
giving him a reason to order NOW instead of waiting any
longer. After reading these follow up messages, your prospect
should want to order immediately!
Phrase each of your final 1 or 2 follow up messages in the
form of a question. Ask your prospect why he hasn't yet
placed an order? Try to get him to actually respond. Ask if
the price is to high, the product isn't the right color or
doesn't have the right features, or if he is looking for
something else entirely. (By this time, it's unlikely that
this person will order from you. However, his feedback can
help you modify your follow up letters or products, so that
other prospects will order from you.)
The timing of your follow up letters is just as important as
their content. You don't want one prospect to receive a
follow up the day after he gets your initial informative
letter, while another prospect waits weeks for a follow up!
Always send an initial, informative letter as soon as it is
requested, and send the first follow up 24 hours afterwards.
You want your hot prospects to have information quickly, so
that they can make informed buying decisions!
Send the next 2-3 follow up messages between 1 and 3 days
apart. Your prospect is still hot, and is probably still
shopping around! Tell him about the benefits of your products
and services, as opposed to your competitors'. You will make
the sale!
Send the final follow up messages later on. You certainly
don't want to annoy your prospect! Make sure that these last
letters are at least 4 days apart.
Following up effectively seems complicatedFree Reprint Articles, but it doesn't
have to be! So many potential customers are lost because of
poor follow up - don't you want to be one of the few to get
it right?
Articles Source - Free Articles
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tom Kulzer is the CEO of AWeber Communications.
Less Work - More Sales.
http://www.aweber.com/a/p163
