The More Clients Blog

The Art of Follow-up

You may have heard the assertion that people are more afraid of public speaking than death.

I don't yet have the statistics to back it up yet, but I think the fear of picking up the phone and calling someone you don't know, trumps both of these.

I've met many people who have little fear of public speaking, but I've seen several grown men and women quake with fear at the prospect of making follow-up calls. In fact, many long years ago, I was one of those people!

A follow-up call means calling someone by phone whom you've previously met and who might be a prospect for your services. It could also be a lead you've received from an associate or an attendee from a talk or presentation.

The follow-up call is the pivotal action between marketing and selling. Marketing warms up the selling process, but the follow-up call is the key action that furthers the business relationship and often secures the appointment.

To call or not to call, that is the question.

Not only do we not like making follow-up calls, we tend to do a bad job of them when we finally get around to it. It's not uncommon that we avoid them altogether, hoping that interested prospects will call us back instead.

However, when I meet the very rare person who is good at making follow-up calls, I know they won't have much trouble consistently attracting clients. They don't wait, they connect. They seize the opportunity, not wallow in the difficulty.

Let's do a reality check:

1. For the most part, prospects are not going to call you back, even if they are interested in your services. If you want to turn that prospect into a client you MUST make the follow-up call.

2. You will survive if you make these calls. I haven't known of anyone who has died by making follow-up calls or has had the prospect send a hit man to take them out.

3. You can get very good at making follow-up calls. You can learn how to do this relatively easy. Like anything, it will take some time and practice, but it's not rocket science.

Introducing a New Audio Program

In the Audio Program I'm launching today, "The Art and Science of Telephone Follow-up" I interview Denise Clancey of Teledirect Partners on all the ins and outs of making successful follow-up calls. Let me share one of her main ideas.

The way to succeed with follow-up calls, is through scripting.

If you were playing in Hamlet, you'd have a script. If you didn't, can you imagine how you'd come across? You'd bomb! Well, isn't your business more important than a play?

With follow-up calls, you can't wing it; you need to know what to say, when to say it and how to say it. You need to write out your scripts and use them as guidelines as you make your calls. You never actually read your scripts, but use them as outlines to keep you on track.

Denise recommends four kinds of scripts:

1. The script for voice mail
2. The script when you reach a prospect
3. The script for dealing with gatekeepers
4. The general purpose information script

Armed with these four scripts, you finally have power when you make your calls. You will start to control the flow of the call instead of the call controlling you. (In the audio program, we go over these scripts in great detail and even role-play each one of them.)

Also, like being in Hamlet, you need to practice. Out loud. Use a mirror and a tape recorder for immediate feedback. Until you feel comfortable with your scripts, you will sound awkward and hesitant, missing that authentic connection with your prospects.

If and when you master the art of the follow-up call, you will see the following results: Fewer opportunities missed, more appointments with qualified prospects, and more business closed.

Follow-up calls need to be a central part of your marketing plan. No matter what marketing activities you do, follow-up calls need to be part of the equation. If you don't make them, you may be waiting a very long time for prospects to call you back. And that, my friend, can kill you!

For more information on this audio program, link here: "The Art and Science of Telephone Follow-up"

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The More Clients Bottom Line: Learning how to make more effective follow-up calls can give you more marketing leverage than almost any other marketing activity. Follow-up calls can dramatically increase the opportunities to present your services to potential clients. Avoid learning this skill and it will cost your business dearly.

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How have effective follow-up calls helped your business? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Antidote to Pushy Marketing

After last week's eZine on "Playing it Safe" I got this response that Ruby Curran posted on my blog:

"I am enthusiastic and passionate about my business, but I must admit, I do a good job of keeping it to myself - unless someone shows an interest during a conversation. Why?

"I'm concerned about turning people off. I'm often turned off when someone I meet goes on and on about something I'm really not interested in. It often seems like they're trying to push me into something. I don't want to do that to others, so I find it hard to promote myself.

"Does that make any sense? Anyone else know what I'm talking about? How can I be sure I'm being passionate without annoying other people? Ideas?"

Thanks! Ruby

Thanks for this question, Ruby. This really gets to the heart of what stops people from marketing successfully.

There is a fundamental misunderstanding about marketing that you are making. You think marketing is about you. You think marketing is boasting, a big ego trip and fundamentally self-centered. You think that marketing is "going on and on about something I'm not really interested in."

If you believe that, of course, you'll keep your business to yourself. You don't want to be seen as an obnoxious egomaniac.

But marketing is NOT about you. It's not even about your services. It's not about all the things you do and it certainly isn't about going on and on until people are turned off.

Marketing isn't about what YOU do, it's about what THEY get.

Just think, when someone asks you what you do, you tend to talk all about you and how your business works. It just pours out automatically. You can't seem to help yourself. But you realize that this is a turn-off, so you solve the problem by not talking about your business at all (unless someone shows interest).

Clearly, this approach doesn't work.

When someone asks me what I do, I NEVER talk about my business. I talk about the problems my prospects and clients are experiencing. And when I do that, most people do show interest.

I say, "I work with Independent Professionals who have a great service but who struggle with attracting clients." There's absolutely nothing about me in that message. And it interests people because it's about them.

When they ask me how I do this, I say, "I work with them so that marketing is easier for them and becomes less of a struggle, and so that they ultimately attract more clients."

Again, nothing about me, it's all about what they get. And that is interesting as well. It starts a lot of good conversations.

And if they want to know more about how it works, I tell them a story of a client I worked with and the results they got. Again, nothing about me. Stories are great because people can see that if you helped someone else, maybe you can help them as well.

And you know what? When you talk about your business like that, people become interested. They want to know more. Then you provide more information in the form of an article or details of your services on your web site. And, of course, you get their email and put them on your regular eZine list.

Why do I have 50,000 people on my weekly eZine list? It's because that's how I've consistently communicated about my business over the years. It's all about communicating value, not going on and on about how great my business is.

But there's also another way to look at this.

I realize, that at any given time, I'm not going to communicate perfectly. I may say things that turn people off. I might send one too many emails and have someone unsubscribe. Once in awhile I might forget myself and go on and on.

But so what?

I do my very best to communicate with integrity. I know my weekly eZine provides value. I know that my products and services have made a huge difference to thousands of people.

But you can't please everyone all the time. In fact, if you're doing really well with your marketing, you're still only going to please (get positive response from) about 10% of your audience (at best).

For instance, I've been promoting my Fast Track to More Clients workshops since early March. In that time, about 2,000 people have visited the information page about the workshop. And about 200 people have signed up for the workshop. That's just 10%.

What am I going to do, weep and wail that 90% didn't sign up and then beat myself up because I might have turned them off?

Give me a break!

Look, if you communicate about your business with passion, if you stop playing it safe, inside your comfort zone, and instead, put your attention on the value you provide to your clients, your business will take off in ways that will amaze you.

So where do you start with this?

First, you need to understand some fundamental marketing principles. There are seven distinct principles you need to know if you're going to market yourself successfully:

1. The Game of Marketing
2. Your Marketing Mindset
3. The Language of Marketing
4. Your Marketing Message
5. Marketing Information
6. Marketing Strategies
7. Marketing Action Plans

In this eZine, I just touched on the Language of Marketing. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. The more you understand how these principles work, the easier and more effective your marketing will be.

If you don't understand and apply these principles, you're going to struggle. You're going to play the game ineffectively, you're going to hold yourself back, afraid of turning people off. The chances of winning will be very slim indeed.

How long do you want to be a victim about your marketing, worrying you'll offend someone? This is a completely powerless way to live and to run your business.

Learn the principles and then get out and spread the word.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: If you are worrying you'll offend people when you get enthusiastic about your business, you're just not marketing correctly. Your premise is at fault, not marketing. Master the principles and skills of marketing and you'll be free to be enthusiastic, while turning more people on than off.

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Do you have any examples that prove the premise of today's eZine? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Playing It Safe?

Note: today's eZine just may offend you. Please don't read if you don't like being challenged. You have been warned.

In the InfoGuru Marketing Manual, I discuss the most successful way to promote professional services. Understanding this approach can have a profound impact on how successful you are with your ability to consistently attract clients.

In the Manual I say:

"InfoGurus work at spreading the word about how to make things work better. They are committed to results, passionate about solutions, fanatical about what really works. And they spread their gospel far and wide using any and every marketing tool they can get their hands on. InfoGurus get business from all corners because so many people hear about them and their innovative problem-solving approaches."

If I lined up ten of your friends and associates, would they all report that you are passionate, even fanatical about the work you do and the difference you make?

My observation is quite the opposite.

Most business owners may love what they do, but more often than not, they come across as tepid, hesitant, and uncommitted. When they talk about their business they are about as inspiring as a wet sponge.

Look, I'm not out to insult you, but to challenge you.

If you are not passionate about what you do, excited by the difference you make, eager to share with others, inspired by your clients and moved by the abundance of opportunities and possibilities afforded by your business, you are missing the boat.

And what's perplexing to me is that this is the very last thing that business owners focus on.

Many people will do very little to nothing. Others will study everything they can about marketing. Still others will work hard to make external changes to their marketing. But very few will do the thing that makes the biggest difference of all:

Expressing Authentic Excitement About Their Business!

Excitement, enthusiasm and passion are contagious. Certainly more contagious than "knowing it all" or having a perfect marketing message or even a beautiful web site.

Those things (and many more) will emerge naturally out of your enthusiasm and passion. You don't do all of that stuff and hope that it adds up to excitement. You come from excitement and all your marketing will come together effortlessly.

But you say:

"But I can't act excited, Robert, if I don't feel excited! You might be enthusiastic and passionate about your business. That's great, but my business is not inherently exciting. And besides, that's not my style. When you talk about having marketing breakthroughs, I just can't relate."

I hear this kind of thing a lot. And it sounds very reasonable. In fact, most people would nod in agreement: "Yes, don't get too excited, you might be disappointed and you'll probably turn people off. Better to be low-key and play it safe."

Ah yes, the mantra of the mediocre: "Play it Safe."

What you may not realize is that playing it safe is killing your business, eliminating your future, suffocating your soul. Playing it safe has become more important than being fully alive.

When you are fully alive, you don't think about yourself much or how good you look. Instead, you think of those you can serve, those you can make a difference with, those whom you can contribute to. And what more natural outlet to do this than through your business?

Ask yourself, "What is the deadly cost of playing it safe?"

And then ask, "What's really the worst thing that could happen if I let myself get excited, enthusiastic and passionate about my business?"

Finally, ask, "What breakthroughs might happen in my business if I allowed myself to express this excitement, enthusiasm and passion?"

Are you ready for this kind of breakthrough?

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The More Clients Bottom Line: Marketing breakthroughs come from expressing your natural excitement, enthusiasm, and passion about your business. They do not come from playing it safe. Honestly answer those questions above. They are the gateway for the breakthrough you are looking for.

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What business breakthroughs have you had when you stopped playing it safe? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Outside the Marketing Comfort Zone

Last week I stated that "there are no marketing breakthroughs inside the comfort zone."

When you are stuck in the marketing comfort zone, by definition, you will avoid doing *anything* that is uncomfortable. And so the *only* way to get outside of the comfort zone is by taking actions that make you uncomfortable.

I know that's bad news.

What you probably wanted to hear was that you could get outside the comfort zone by doing something that was different, but still comfortable. Sorry, it doesn't work that way.

One of the dictionary definitions of discomfort is, "a state of mental unease; worry or embarrassment." Yes, that's pretty much how you'll feel when you step outside your comfort zone.

Mostly, the unease, worry or embarrassment is that you'll make a fool of yourself, get rejected or fail. And since nobody wants to feel that way, the best alternative is to simply avoid the discomfort at all costs.

Yet people do step outside of the comfort zone all the time. They take risks, do things that might not work, face rejection and embarrassment and somehow live to tell the tale.

How do they do that?

Very simple. They realize that the cost of staying comfortable, the cost of inaction is much, much higher than the cost of taking action and being momentarily uncomfortable.

Let me contrast a marketing activity to make my point.

Comfortable: Not making follow-up calls.

Uncomfortable: Making follow-up calls.

Cost of not making follow-up calls: Failure to make a business connection, failure to turn a prospect into a client, failure to grow your business, failure to make a difference.

Cost of making follow-up calls: Feel uncomfortable with the thought of possible rejection.

Doesn't that put things into better perspective?

Blinded by our momentary fear, we don't take action, despite the fact that the long-term consequences are astronomically higher than the short-term discomfort.

However, when you look at the real cost of action or inaction, things look very different. The price of inaction then seems extraordinarily high compared to the price of taking a risk.

And this is what creates breakthroughs, these shifts in perspective.

Here's a simple exercise that can literally create such a shift, resulting in a marketing breakthrough.

1. List all the marketing activities that you are now avoiding. The test is that just thinking about doing these things makes you feel uncomfortable, uneasy or worried.

2. Now create three columns, one titled "Imaginary Cost," the second titled, "Real Cost," the third titled "Potential Payoff." Do this exercise with just one marketing activity at a time such as giving a presentation, writing an eZine, or making follow-up calls.

3. In column one, "Imaginary Costs," you'd write all the things that might happen if you took a risk: "People might laugh at me, I wouldn't do a very good job, the response would be poor."

These are imaginary costs, as you really have no proof any of these would happen, you just fear that they might happen.

4. In column two, "Real Costs," you'd write all the things that will definitely happen if you don't take action: "People won't hear about my services, I won't make any impression, people won't be talking about my services, people won't have the chance to respond."

These are real costs, because it's easy to see that if you don't take some action, nothing will happen.

5. In column three, "Potential Payoff," you now write all the positive things that could possibly happen if you took action: "People might respond and make inquiries about my services, they might talk to others, they might set up appointments with me, they might even become clients."

It's easy to see that these potential payoffs are much more real than the imaginary costs.

If you do this exercise honestly, you'll have a shift in perspective; you'll start to see that avoidance is actually more uncomfortable and more costly in the long run than taking action.

And you'll see that the discomfort of taking action is so much safer, so much easier than the "comfort" of avoiding action.

And when that happens, I promise you'll start having marketing breakthroughs that were once impossible.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: The comfort zone is relative. When looked at though our fears and aversions, it seems crazy for us to take actions that would make us uncomfortable. But when we look at the real cost of inaction, we see that those consequences are infinitely more uncomfortable and costly. In that light, it will be relatively easy to take action on things you may have been avoiding for years.

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What's the real cost of avoiding uncomfortable marketing activities? Please share on the More Clients Blog.