By Robert Middleton - Action Plan Marketing
"What am I going to do with all these leads?!"
That was the cry of one of my Marketing Mastery participants when she generated 40 inquiries for her services when she held a webinar that 250 people attended.
A good problem to have, right?
Well, yes, but if you don't have a system to get back to all of those people you're going to be overwhelmed, lose the goodwill of some potential clients that slip between the cracks, and be a little more reluctant to do another webinar.
The solution is a step-by-step follow-up system.
The great thing about any marketing or selling system is that you can repeat it over and over, bringing in clients consistently and reliably month after month.
Here's the system I recommended:
1. Lead the webinar. I won't go into the step-by-step plan here of how she set this up, as this is focused on the follow-up plan.
2. Offer a complimentary Strategy Session at end of webinar (let them know there are a limited number you can do). Have them send an email to you directly requesting the session.
3. Immediately follow-up their email, based on an email template you've pre-written. This becomes a repeatable system. You don't have to think up a different email response every time, just tweak the one you have.
This email tells about what a Strategy Session is, who it's for, what is discussed in this session and all the benefits of the session. Just because they requested it, doesn't mean they really understand what it is. Educate them.
4. At the bottom of the email, include a questionnaire to learn more about them. This is a qualification tool. You want to learn more about them and see if they are really a qualified prospect for your services.
5. At the very bottom of the email ask them to give three times they can meet with you (based on your schedule). This prevents a lot of emails back and forth to nail down a time.
6. For those who fill out the questionnaire and seem qualified, you get back to them by email and set up a time to meet. Ask them to confirm the appointment. Send a little more information for them to read before the session, such as an article.
Some who fill out the questionnaire may not be qualified. My client offers high-end leadership coaching. And not everyone who requests a session is qualified. So you let them down gently and recommend another course of action. Don't feel guilty. You can't meet with everyone.
7. Do the Strategy Session which includes learning about their situation, goals and challenges, shares some ideas and success stories, and presents your services and how you might work together.
8. Offer to prepare an initial proposal, again based on a template that you can customize in a few minutes. Set up a time to go over the proposal by phone. Don't put your price on that proposal.
9. In the proposal meeting, discuss the proposal, answer any questions they might have and invite them to work with you. Talk about fees and sign up those who are ready to start.
Of course, the exact details of your follow-up process might differ, depending on your target market, the services you offer, the fee for your services, etc.
The secret to all of this is not the exact steps you take but that you turn these steps into a system that you can fine-tune until it gets consistent results every time.
Now that's she's experienced overwhelm once, this is the process my client will use the next time she does a webinar.
Would you like an in-depth report on this process? You can get a copy of my report "From Contact to Close" that outlines in great detail how to develop a step-by-step process to convert qualified leads into high-paying clients. It comes free with online access to the Fast Track to more Clients Program. Just go to this link.
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The More Clients Bottom Line: You need to turn all your marketing and selling into repeatable, step-by-step systems and processes. If you don't, your marketing will be random, disorganized, overwhelming and ineffective.
Robert, you're so right. Most people really don't realize just how much time they will save bu setting up a system. I think the other take away is that the system will insure that your follow up is consistent.
Great post, thanks for sharing it with us.
Posted by: Susan Hand | March 21, 2011 at 11:39 PM