When I work with clients on “Marketing Automation” and “Fixing Their Follow-up Failure”, sooner rather than later, they ask the Question, “How long do I have to Follow-Up, with my leads?”

That is always an interesting question.

When it comes to conventional business models, we often spoke about “Building a Loyalty Ladder” business, rather than a “Revolving Door” business.  A “Revolving Door” business, depended upon people walking in the door, buying something and then going out the door again, and the business owner had to wait for that person to come back again, OR, find a way to get a steady stream to people to come through their doors.

Actually I could have titled this “Blog Posting”….  “How to move from CRM (Customer Relationship Management) to CRD (Customer Relationship Development).”

What is CRD (Customer Relationship Development)?

You will have to read to the bottom of this blog to get that answer…..   Hint…  the concept came from a friend of mine in Australia…..

Most of the Marketing in the 80’s and 90’s was based on this strategy.  Slowly over time, we began to hear phrases like,  “Customer Retention Strategies”,  “Customer Relationship Marketing” (or Management) and we started to hear mentioned, “Building a Loyalty Ladder”, based on Customers that love doing business with you.

Does building a “Loyalty Ladder” really work?

Well, the early studies have shown that it cost 7 times more to run a “Revolving Door” business compared to a “Loyalty Ladder” type of business.

That seven (7) times somehow, made it’s way to mean that you had to have 7 touches with a prospective lead, before they made the switch or would purchase anything from you….

I really am not sure  or have found any concrete study that says…  you must contact a prospect on average 7 times….

I do know that in the “Small to Medium Sized Businesses” (SMSB) segment, over 80% stop the “Follow-Up” process after 2.5 contacts, on average.  I know this because I have worked the numbers with the SMSB’s that I have worked with.

Now, let’s get back to the marketing “Law of 29”…… well, the “Law of 29” states,  that a typical target client must hear—see, be told, think about, embrace—your marketing message a total of 29 times before they will make the transition from prospect to a paying subscriber or customer.

This is quite a bit more than 7 contact points, before purchase!

So where did this Marketing “Law 29” come from?

In the late 90’s I.S.P.’s, that’s correct…  Internet Service Providers, were trying to capture large market shares for their business growth….

Many ISPs setup dedicated marketing departments and gave them significant resources to use.  They found that the results from their campaigns resulted in inconsistencies in delivering  their sales message to the marketplace.

When they geared up, it was always for a blitz, which produced a large amount of leads, which led to the sales and customer service teams being swamped.  They could not handle the influx effectively, and the leads went cold.  This in turn caused a marketing budget to be drained and this resulted in large gaps between ad campaigns— this slowed growth, and it gave rise to the chance for “Churn” to overtake growth. They then had to start the process over again, with surprise, surprise the same results…..

They found that this approach was not effective in capturing the highest return from their “marketing expense”.  I use the word “Expense” because this type of marketing is truly an “Expense” and not an “Investment”.

This soon gave rise to something called “Drip Marketing”, and in turn, “Marketing Automation” and “Fixing Your Follow-Up Failure.”

The marketing “Law of 29”, came from the amount of contacts required for ISP’s to make a conversion.

Does this “Law 29”, apply to most businesses?

My experience has been, “It depends on the products and services you are selling”….  29 contacts,  is most likely quite accurate for a “Strictly Internet Business”, however, for many SMSB’s it is most likely much less than that….

I do know this, that it is much more than 2.5 times, and this is the point that most businesses STOP the follow-up process…..

The question then becomes, “How can you be the one to sell to them when they are ready to buy?”

When we start thinking  in this manner we come up with different responses for our “Target Market”.  The action steps now become the release of a progressive series of marketing impacts on our very narrowly defined market (Segmentation) —which will allow sales process to quickly “Follow-up” to nearly every new lead, without losing sight of “Your Existing Client Base”…..  In effect a “Loyalty Ladder Development Plan”.

“Marketing Automation”, “Drip marketing” and “Fixing Your Follow-up Failure”  is not  just for acquiring new customers. Rather, you can, and must use this approach to help up-sell or cross-sell existing clients for enhanced services and products….

Now for the answer to the “Concept of CRD”…. A Business Consultant & Coach friend of mine from Australia, Peter Rowe, and his company is called Profitune. Peter sent me a follow-up last week from my last Blog posting….

I will post an excerpt from that email….

“Kevin, CRM – I moved away from the phrase “Customer Relationship Management” some years ago and have brainwashed myself and my clients into the view that CRD (Customer Relationship Development) is a better label in the sense that it implies more than just maintaining the status quo.  It’s just a one-word difference, but it changes the game considerably.  Besides, CRD is not a common acronym and so it provokes thought, questions, and discussion, and gives us the chance to distinguish our thinking from others in the field.”

So, CRD (Customer Relationship DEVELOPMENT”….  It is….  I agree with Peter, this small one word change provides a wealth of different marketing strategies we can use….  When we emphasize Development rather than just Marketing and Management….

This change is also in line with a new way of describing us as business people…   To capture fully the description of the business people of the Future, I developed a new word to embody the required characteristics for this “Evolution”…. “Creatrepreneur”, rather than “Entrepreneurs” or “Business Owner”….  One of the characteristics of a  “Creatrepreneur” is being able to see the “Bigger Picture” and the longer term effects of our CRD….  Business Development.

When it comes to CRD concepts it is the equivalent of the “Tortoise and the Hare”. High-powered bursts of media promotion can succeed in some circumstances, but slow and steady more often wins the race.

In future blog reports and CRM Tips, I will put together a list of Strategies to implement that can Dramatically increase Your CRD efforts, that will have a positive impact on Sales and Profits…. so keep posted!!!!

Photo credit to Steve Berger A fellow Floridian from Ocala, Florida.

I received an email from a Business & Coaching Consultant I know in Australia, his name is Peter Rowe and his company is called Profitune. Oh, stop by and visit with him, there is a wealth of great information at his website… tell him I said G’day..

In fact check out his August Newsletter it has a great article on “Time Management for Sales People.”

A little background, I lived and worked in Australia for over 16 years as a Business & Training Consultant. Peter Rowe is helping a very close friend of mine Alan Clare, get his Organic Wine Distribution Company up and running smoothly in Australia.

So, when Peter sent this email to me, with the Subject Line: Positive actions cause a ripple effect, I opened it straight away…

I guess I read the line more as “What goes around Comes Around” and ties in very closely to a past CRM Tip I sent out called the  “The Effect of the Power of Giving on your Business”

Here is what Peter wrote and I would like to share his words with you now, as food for thought… Also a big thank you to Peter for providing the “Seed for This CRM Tip” as the Aussie’s say… “Good on you, Mate!”

“Hi Kevin ,

A few months ago we provided some help when it was asked and considered the case closed. However, last month I was on the receiving end when someone whom we’d helped referred his best friend – in Northern Ireland – to me as a potential coaching client!

That kindness created a slightly magical journey for me. I’ve begun coaching with his best friend and the incident left me with a few pearls that I’d like to share with you.

1. Positive actions tend to provoke others. We did a favour and it was immediately returned to the benefit of two other people – and the ripple probably hasn’t stopped yet!
   
2. Referrals save time because the referrer has already perceived a match between the needs and capabilities of two parties and so the likelihood of a positive outcome for all is high.
   
3. Technology has dissolved the geographical boundaries for many businesses – and will progressively dissolve ideological boundaries for us all. (Skype Video helped my client & I to get a feel for our compatibility that was sufficient to commit to coaching together.)
   
4. Distance is no bar when it comes to liking someone you’ve yet to meet in the flesh.

Regards

Peter…”

What Peter has to say makes a lot of sense…. we are at the front end of what I call the “Creation Society”… a “Transition” from the “Knowledge Society” a term coined by Peter Drucker. (The Creation of New Ideas, Products and more importantly… Creating New Way’s of doing Business)..

We must turn Knowledge (Knowledge Society) into something of Value, in short we MUST CREATE Something with that Knowledge… by creating something new… in new ways…. we are becoming more than Entrepreneurs…. we are evolving into what I call “Creatreprenuers”..

Our Template for these Creations is “the Global Social Network.”… making as many quality connections as possible.

Literally, what we send out can come back in many astounding ways… so the choice is ours… TO CREATE VALUE or not to create value… As I outlined in the “Power of Giving” CRM Tip…. We can make a difference… let’s make it a Positive Difference.

One of our tools in managing these connection is through effective Customer Relationship Management. Whatever tools you use…. you must use them… an old adage… not sure where it originated but it says…. “If you don’t use it, you loose it”

This is very true with business relationships…. actually with any relationship..

Just something to think about….

One last observation…

We tend to do relate with people we like…. and we tend to attract people that share common values as we do…. in effect people that are like us… This holds very true in Business….

Remember to visit Peter Rowe at his website… Profitune…. and tell him I said Hello… O.K.?

Customer or Profit? A Case for Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

In practically everything I do, I’m a customer, and I expect the businesses I patronize to put me first. But my expectations often don’t stand up against all the financial reasons the companies have for doing things other than the way that’s best for me. And I understand that.

I came across an article this week written by Alison Bond, and she makes a compelling arguments for how doing things that are right for your customers, does not have to be different from doing what’s good for your bottom line.

Alison Bond,is a director of The Halo Works Ltd., is the author, with Merlin Stone, of Direct Hit (Financial Times/ Prentice Hall, 1995), The Definitive Guide to Direct and Interactive Marketing (Financial Times/ Prentice Hall, 2003) and Consumer Insight (Kogan Page Ltd., 2004). She is also visiting fellow at CSEM, a partner of Brunel University.

Bond builds her argument on the difference between transactional metrics and customer-aligned metrics. Morrison tells how customer feedback can make your business more efficient. And Johnston illustrates how you can use customizable software to improve the service you give your customers and build you business.

At the end of the day you must be able to measure key aspects of your business to be able to make the correct business decisions.

One of the first mentors I had when I got into business was a Quality Assurance Guru, his name was W.Edwards Deming. Dr. Deming was hired as a consultant by 3M and I had the privilege to work with and learn from this Great Business Leader.  (Here is the link to learn more about Dr. Deming http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Edwards_Deming)

Well, one of the things I remember Dr. Deming preaching, was if you can’t measure it you can’t change it.  This is one of the first things I tell businesses that contact me for help in their business, and one of the reasons I am such a proponent of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and products that help make this function almost effortless.

This article below helps point out the importance of tracking your customer every step of the way.

I hope you enjoy the reprint of this great article by Alison Bond

Have the Customer at the Heart of What You Do and Your Business Will Benefit

By Alison Bond, The Halo Works  The Halo Works Ltd.

An organization goes in the direction of its measures, or at least it tries to. That is why it has measures. So for example, if an organization has a target to make a profit, the people in that part of the organization will shape themselves around the need to make that profit. If everyone in the company is focused on that profit target, that will be the staff’s primary concern.

However, it often doesn’t work like that. The extreme cases like Enron are classic examples of a target driving behavior in a negative way, but there are plenty more.

Say you are a creative business and hire a bunch of creative people to service your creative hungry clients. You, then, focus your creative people on profit. What effect does that have on their creativity? Does it make them more creative, or does it divert their attention away from the creative process and end up giving them creator’s block? What has this got to do with giving the customers want they want?

‘Company Y expands to hit its target of 50 vans but, sadly, runs out of money.’

We have worked in this area for many years, and we know that an organization that sets transactional targets such as how quickly representatives answer the phone or how many sales calls agents make are more likely to end up busy. Organizations follow their measures. But does being busy make your business better? We know from our work that busy is more likely to create a desire to “work the system,” which can create a climate that contributes to a move away from the customers. What we have found—and this is not rocket science—is that if an organization measures benefits and focuses on those, it will end up with a positive organization. A positive organization will want to focus on the customer because there is no benefit not to. But positive benefits include:

• Attracting and keeping the best people. There are not too many customers, or staff for that matter who are committed to making your company rich, but people do like to feel that they have made a difference.
• Attracting and keeping the best customers. People buy benefits. Customers are keen to realize the benefits they expected to gain from your product or service in a tangible way.
• Removing the temptation to match numbers with expectations. This eliminates one of the biggest drivers to contravene normal corporate governance rules and focus away from the customer.
• The organization will have a real and positive reason to sustain itself. This is because the reason for existing will be more than just profit. It will be a about doing things that help the customers and the staff members be the best they can be. This always benefits the customer.

Which company is going to be the most successful? One in which everyone is focused on profit? Or one where people are focused on the benefits the business provides? All our work has shown that the profitable businesses are the ones who align themselves behind the benefits they sell. Yes, they measure profits, but the main focus is on an alignment behind the core business they operate. Employees stay, and the customers are loyal.

A question we often are asked is how come Company X is doing so well while Company Y is struggling. Company Y appears to be working hard. You see its advertising or its vans driving around. But suddenly it goes out of business. Was it just unlucky? Can any organization just go bust? The good news is that it is not bad luck that forces companies out of business. It is a devotion to the wrong things, and being too successful in following those things.

Company Y might have set itself a target for growth, something like 50 vans on the road by the end of the next financial year. Company executives will, then, do everything it can to hit their target, including borrowing money, taking on slightly unprofitable contracts and not always paying attention to the service the company is providing. They are focused on a volume business, not a quality one.

Their customers, though, want something different. They do not care how many vans the company has. They want their parcels on time and delivered by people they trust. This is what Company X does so well. Company X focuses on quality, not just in its mission statement but also by what it measures. Company X executives think 50 vans would be nice, but the firm has only 32 really reliable drivers. So what is the point of 50 vans? A reliable driver delivers a reliable service. So Company X stays smaller and makes very good profits, and Company Y expands to hit its target of 50 vans but, sadly, runs out of money and has to close its doors.

Company X takes on 20 of Company Y’s drivers, 18 of whom prove to be very reliable. It gets some of Company Y’s customers, too, and has its best-ever profits. It was not luck. Company X is run by a team of people who know exactly what their customers want and the characteristics of those who can deliver what their customers want. They measure those things and stick with them. It makes Company X successful.

Being customer-focused allows Company X to do the “right” things for the customer. It is much easier to do the right thing when the organization is aligned behind the benefits that the organization sells and when employees are encouraged to provide those benefits and are measured on that. Ultimately, being customer focused is good for business. It may not meet a short-term target for mega-growth, but long term, clearly aligned customer focus will make organizations successful in a way that swift forays into the World of a Fast Buck will not.

To help put a system in place to keep track of your metrics.. < strong>Trial for 30 days Infusionsoft.

If you’ve been in business for very long, you already understand how difficult running your own business can be. There are employees to manage, customers to wow, and overhead to maintain.

What usually happens is small business owners get so caught up in running a day-to-day marathon that they don’t take the time to put a system in place. However, without a system small businesses owners:

• Must Work Harder
• Must Work Longer
• Lose potential Sales
• Often Make Mistakes
  

No matter what type of small business you own, implementing a system is critical to effectively manage your company.  Think about how quickly fast food restaurants are able to serve their customers, Consider how smoothly employees at an amusement park, like Disney World, get people through the lines and on to the rides.

It is because they have perfected a system, that works…  Michael Gerber, the e-myth guru, recommends that we work “On-our Business” and not “In-our Business”.  The only way to do that is through a system.

When a business owner takes the time to put functional systems in place, they:

• Work smarter
• work faster
• Make more money
• More accurately fulfill customer needs

Don’t trudge through the chaos.  Systemize  your company and watch how easy managing your business becomes.

If you want to grow your business instead of just manage it, then you need Automated Follow-up Marketing and the software to do it for you. Discover the difference.

Did you become a small business owner because you enjoy marketing? Probably not. But, if you’re going to continue to grow your business you have to realize this important fact: you are a marketer, not a widget provider.

Let me quickly show you the difference between a marketer and a widget provider.

A Widget Provider:                A Marketer:
Has products                            Sells products
Talked to prospects                   Continually talks to a list of prospects
Has customers                          Builds relationships with customers
Owns a business                       Grows their business
Hopes they’ll stay in business     Is building their business future

So how do you become a marketer?

I’ll get into that with subsequent emails. However, here are a few questions I want you to think about:

Do you know the difference between advertising and marketing?
Are you building your prospect and customer lists?
Does your business have a marketing “system” in place?

Remember, marketing can make the difference between doing alright, and skyrocketing your business!

If you want to grow your business instead of just manage it, then you need Automated Follow-up Marketing software. Discover the difference.

Ever have a situation where you have been in a planning meeting and everything seemed to be going very well…but in the end, never amounted to anything, no decisions were taken, back to zero again?

Chances are you’ve been caught up in something called “Analysis paralysis”. In other words, good ideas have been presented, but by the time enough people consider and reconsider the situation, everything seems so much more complex, now.

The ideas that were presented were not as great as you originally thought. Worse yet, in most cases, a conclusion about what course of action to take is never reached.

But, guess what? There is such as thing as “over-thinking.” In sports, analysis paralysis might keep an athlete from reacting quickly enough. In politics, analysis paralysis might cause a simple issue to be debated for years. And, in business, analysis paralysis can keep business owners from moving forward in some pretty amazing opportunities!

Thinking over things is good…   “Analysis Paralysis” in not good….  It comes from a place of “Fear” in the decision making process.

Benjamin Franklin, who is considered to be a pretty clear thinker…  recognized that he often had the same problem of “Analysis Paralysis”.  The easy decisions are just that easy…..  either yes or no and then getting on with the task of putting things into action.

He found there were times that the situations were not that clear, and he needed a simple way of deciding the best course of action, so he devised a list what is now called the Pro’s vs the Con’s List.  He would make a large “T”, on a piece of paper and on the top of one side he would write “For” and on the top of the other side he would write “Against”..

He then listed all the reasons “For” and then all the reasons “Against”…  now the easy part…  just total the all the “For’s” and then all the “Against”.

The highest number WINS and you move on to the action taking process…

I know some are thinking…  BUT, there are something’s that are more important than other’s, and the list should be weighted some how!!!!…

Well Benjamin Franklin realized that did not matter…  What really matters is just making the decision..

Once that was made then all of the resources were then put into motion to MAKE IT HAPPEN!  And it becomes the correct decision..  Interesting!!!!

In Sales we used to call this the “Benjamin Franklin Close”….

To avoid analysis paralysis:

• Quickly jot down the pros and cons of an idea. (Make the Benjamin Franklin List)
• Make a decision (If an entire group is deciding-take a vote, Actually The Benjamin Franklin process takes away the need for a vote.)
• Write out the steps required to follow through.
• Assign the steps.
• Follow through.

You didn’t become a Creatrepreneur (entrepreneur) to become a hesitant decision maker. By following these steps, you will make good, well informed decisions. Some will work out and some won’t. But, at least you won’t miss out on BIG opportunities!

If you find it difficult to be a decisive person, remember this, “The success is not in the decision you make; the success is in HOW you deal with the decision you make.” Make your decision and then go to work to make it the right decision. It usually will be the correct decision in the end…

Last year I started using BeBiz. BeBiz it is a product from the Internet Marketing Center. I have been associated with IMC, since 1997. I was living and working in Australia at the time and I had an Internet Education Project I was working on… it was then I met Cory Rudl, the founder of the Internet Marketing Center.

Over the years I have continually referred to that group for information and cutting edge Internet Technologies and Information.

Setting up an on-line business can be quite easy….. Setting up a Successful On-Line Business, is not as easy. It requires certain steps and a lot of research. Most people do not do the up front research for niche’s, opportunities, and after that getting the website up and running. Starting and business requires some work…. and if the truth be known, a lot of work… it is not a “Get Rich Quick Scheme”.

So, when the Internet Marketing Center came out with BeBiz I was one of the first to put it through it’s moves. In fact I still use this product as it is one of the best for logically taking you through the exact steps in getting your business up and running and running quickly.

What is BeBiz?

BeBiz is an easy-to-use interactive program that guides you every step of the way as you create your own Internet business.

It includes full video tutorials that walk you through each step – removing every single barrier standing between you and your own successful online business.

Below are the crucial steps that Bebiz guides you through in order to turn an idea into a money making business…

A. Market Research
Find customers who are already waiting to buy BEFORE you decide what to sell.

1. Guarantee there’s DEMAND for your product or service before you develop the business!

2. Be 100% confident that your business has REAL profit potential!

3. Transform your personal interests, hobbies, and experiences into a profitable Web business!

4. Evaluate your competition to be certain you can compete with a unique offer and still enjoy a significant profit per sale!

B. Products
Select the right product for your market, then set up for delivery.

There are absolutely NO LIMITS to what you can sell on the Web (provided it’s legal of course …

1. Sell information products like newsletters, eBooks, memberships, courses, audio series, video series, and more!

2. Sell physical products you’ll deliver via Fedex or Courier!

3. Or even use the website to attract qualified leads for your service business or your brick-and-mortar offline store!

… It’s completely up to you!

C. Salescopy
Fill in the blanks and watch your own compelling salesletter come to life.

Obviously, one of the attractions of running an automated Internet business is that it can generate sales 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

However, to attract those sales, you’ll need some compelling salescopy hard at work on your website!

If you’ve never written salescopy before, don’t worry.

With BeBiz, you’ll simply fill in the blanks, click a button, and out will pop a ready-to-go salesletter that’s been 100% customized for you, which you can use to start selling your product or service right away!

For example, BeBiz will prompt you to…

1. Cherry pick from the array of proven headlines offered, or use the custom headline feature to write your own.

2. Fill in your subhead, salutation, problem, and credibility-builders to create the backbone of your copy.

3. Flesh out your salescopy so it leads visitors through a clear, step-by-step sales process. You’ll tell your story, add testimonials, and explain how the reader will benefit from your product.

4. Then use BeBiz’s examples and wizards to close the sale, offer a guarantee, ask for the order, show a price reduction, and add a signature.

… And of course, the library of proven examples provided in BeBiz make writing your salescopy easier than ever before.

It’s everything you need to write persuasive copy that converts maximum website traffic into eager, paying customers!

The easily assemble a functioning, professional sales website in no time at all with a wide range of templates.

D. Website
Overcome the #1 hurdle faced by wannabe Internet business owners…

Launching your first website!

It’s confusing, right?

Do you learn HTML? Spend $300 to $1000 on expensive design and graphics software? (And then another $200+ on books and tutorials to learn to use it?)

Or, do you drop $500 to $3,500+ hiring a web designer?

With BeBiz, you won’t face these challenges.

Because BeBiz already includes every tool you need to create a professional looking ecommerce website designed to convert maximum visitors into maximum sales!

… Every step has been laid out for you in advance.

As you finish each task, BeBiz will prompt you to move onto the NEXT step of creating your ecommerce website. You just point, click, and when asked, type the product descriptions and sales details required. BeBiz does all the heavy lifting of transforming YOUR choices and text into a compelling sales website!

And by simply choosing the “Publish My Website” button, you can immediately launch your website live on the Internet, where visitors can instantly view it and start making purchases!

It’s that easy!

E. Payment
Set up and easy payment system that accepts credit cards.

The ecommerce website you create using the BeBiz Business Management Center can be easily hooked up to PayPal, arguably the most recognized payment processor on the Web!

You can start accepting credit cards from your website right away, using a trusted payment service that your audience will already be familiar with!

F. Contacts
Harness the power of email marketing for future sales.

Here’s another big hurdle that BeBiz will sweep aside for you… Adding an email opt-in form to your website!

It’s well known that the majority of people who visit your website will leave without making a purchase.

So it’s absolutely essential that you capture the names and emails of these folks -– because they’re clearly your hottest sales leads!

With as little as just 4 to 7 email contacts with these people, you can expect to convert as many as 30% to 40% of them to paying customers!

The problem is most small business owners find adding an opt-in form to their website confusing, frustrating, and generally intimidating!

Where do you get the opt-in form?
How do you add it to website?
Where are the emails sent?
How do you deliver the “opt-in offer”?
And how do you manage your subscribers?
With BeBiz, you won’t need to worry…

Because BeBiz will do all the complex coding in the background.

G. Traffic
Learn industry secrets that will drive potential buyers to your site.

Start Driving Eager, Qualified Potential Buyers To Your Website…

It’s absolutely essential that once your new website is ready to launch, you have a plan for attracting 1,000s qualified potential buyers.

And BeBiz helps you here, too.

Your Business Management Center includes step-by-step guidance for:

Attracting FREE traffic from search engines like Google, MSN, and Yahoo -– without spending $1,000s on SEO services!

Getting high-traffic websites to give you links, for the double benefit of attracting more visitors and better search engine rankings!

Using low-risk paid advertising campaigns to attract highly targeted sales leads that are easily converted to paying customers!

So after launching, you can watch a stampede of eager buyers arrive at your website and start making purchases!

Well maybe not a stampede but visitors that are highly targeted so that you can start to earn income off this business.

This product has my highest recommendation, and should be in every Internet Marketeers arsenal.

Some of the feed back I have been receiving indicates that people are not always receiving my CRM Tips that I send out and because of this feed-back I have archived the past CRM Tips for easy access here Past KJ Barrett CRM Tips Archive

I have also been asked to post the CRM Tips here on my blog…. so I have also done this… This allows people to make comments and provide more direct feed back on these CRM Tips.

Thank you all for your feed back and enjoy the latest CRM Tips from KJ Barrett & Associates…

Did you know that your customers and prospects are being bombarded by over 3,000 marketing messages a day? That’s a lot of messages. And, in order to avoid information overload, they’ve trained their minds to completely ignore those messages.

Once you discover the steps to leading your customer to a sale…you can easily overcome those marketing filters.

I receive a lot of information via email from a lot of people. I relay on the internet and email for valuable information. I have people that I know and trust that send me great information that I can pass on with my own slant on the topic.

How do people get their messages to me? Well it boils down to these four easy steps, and they have followed these steps. Now, here are the steps to gently nudge your prospects towards a purchase decisions… exactly what others have done for me.

Step 1- Get to know them. When you know a lot about your prospect’s, your messages become much more targeted. Which gets your prospects attention. And, your prospects will feel as though you truly care about them. Keep in mind people do not like to be sold, but they love to buy. Create rapport with your prospects.

Step 2- Follow up consistently. When you consistently and effectively follow up with your prospects, your message will eventually sink in. In a previous CRM Tip, referred to this as “We can not control when people will buy, we cannot and should not force them to buy… our responsibility is to be there when they do decide to make a buying decision, and that is through “Open, Regular, Quality Communications.”

The statistics show that most companies stop following up after four contacts, and most purchases take place after seven contacts. So our responsibility is to be around when our prospects do decide to buy.

Step 3- Offer your prospect value. Every marketing message out there is an attempt to get your prospects money. Imagine how you’ll stand out when your message does more than make a sell. It educates, engages, entertains and/or helps your prospect in some way. Value does not equate to the lowest price. Price is only one part of the Value Equation.

Step 4- Value your prospects. Once your prospect becomes your customer, don’t abandon them. They need the same attention you offered them as a prospect’s. Offer that same personal attention and they will become a raving fan! This is one of the most important and I am sorry to say the most overlooked step…. I call this step building a “Loyalty Ladder”….. and you will be surprised how many people they will send your way.

If you’ve been reading these messages consistently, this will sound very repetitive to you. However, these are fail proof methods for turning your prospects to customers and your customers to raving fans. And, that is worth a whole lot to your bottom line!

And CRM Strategies from Infusionsoft can help you automate the Sales and Marketing Process. “Working Less for More Sales and Profits!”

You can Now give Infusionsoft a trial run at no cost for 15 days….. and with the new pricing structure choose from three different versions to meet your business needs, with NO UPFRONT SET-UP COST (They have been waived)… From Basic to the Pro…. CRM implementation could not be easier and cost effective.

By Kevin J. Barrett

It is interesting!, that if there is anything that you want to get, or if there is anything you need in this life, then it will probably involve someone else’s help in getting it. This is true no matter who we are and what we do, It is particularly important if you are in “Sales”. No matter what you do, the ability to develop and maintain rapport with a large range of people with varying backgrounds will allow you to get what you want most of the time. Having rapport with someone will allow you to do most anything. In the sales process probably the most important skill to develop is the skill of “establishing rapport”.

The basis of rapport is that when people are like each other, they tend to like each other. We tend to associate and relate to people better when they are, similar to us. When people are not like each other, they tend to not like each other. A successful Sales professional needs, to he able to expand the range of people they will be able to relate to. It is important to remember that the “Sales Process”, is really the process of “communications”.

Each person is 100% responsible for their own communication, and the true meaning of communications is the response you get from that communication. Your response equals your meaning and all meaning iscontext (process or structure) dependent. This means that the words we use require context for meaning. (Alfred Korzyhski, General Semantics, 1933). If you are not getting the response you want, It is up to you to find a way of communicating what you want in a manner that will obtain the response you want. This means increase rapport. It is not the fault of the other person. This is one of the hardest concepts for people to accept. It is so much easier to blame the other person for not understanding.

When it comes to communications and establishing rapport it is important to remember that 93% of the meaning (response) in the communication process takes place on an unconscious level. Only 7% isbased on objective words or at a conscious level, while 38% is based on the tone of voice and 55% is based on physiology, which is by an large unconscious.(Robert Birdwistle, University of Pennsylvania,Kinesthetics and Communications. 1970).

Have you heard the saying; “Buyers are Liars”? I don’t believe Buyers are liars. I believe it is up to the Sales Professional to polish their communication skills and “sensory acuity” to obtain the responses they want, and to assist their clients in “Buying and Owning” what they want. Helping them achieve what they want. People do not like to be sold, but they love “Buying and Owning”. It is the “Sales Professional’s” responsibility to assist people in “Buying and Owning”.

What often happens in life is that we associate with people who are most like us. If people are not like us we move away from them. This can limit our life experiences. In sales, this can limit the number of prospects in which we can relate effectively with and in turn limit those where we can have successful sales outcomes. I believe that successful living is really Success: Full Living, and successful sales is reallySuccess: Full Sale.

One of our goals in life is to be able to achieve and have what we want. To do this it requires that we have the help and support of others. To gain the help and support of others we need to be able to establish rapport with them so that they want to willingly help us. The greater range of people we are able to relate with improves the scope in which we will be able to have Success: Full Living or as we say in sales,Success: Full Sales.

The following is a five step sales process that can quadruple your Success: Full Sales. It outlines a proactive approach that will enhance your ability to dynamically adjust and control the sales and communication process so that it is exactly matched to the client. Everyone is different and once we can determine the various strategies people use we can assist them in achieving what they want in their life. The following is based on an N.L.P. communications model. To learn more about these strategies and models contact Kevin Barrett at www.kjbarrettcrm.com .

1. Establish Rapport: Remember, people who are like each other tend to like each other. Match and Mirror
the other person, their:

• Physiology

• Tone of voice

• Representational system

• Breathing

• Key words

2. Ask Questions: The questions you ask are directly related to the business of the person who you are

interviewing. Talk their language. Ask questions in the language of their business.

• “For what purpose…..”

• Discover client’s internal representations (fear or pleasure, moving toward this or away from things,
etc), desired states.

• Meta Model

• Discover their internal strategies and anchor their needed to those states

• Discover Meta Programs and Values.

3. Find a Need: Establish need – establish value. No need? Stop here. Find another client. There are plenty
of clients to work with that have needs.

• Anchor it – Anchor it (Need)

• Conditional close

• Tag questions.

4. Link the their Need or their Value to your Product or Service:

• Conditional close (“Is it fair enough….)

• “What would happen if…

• “Compared to.. . .“ (Contrast Frame)

• Because “ I agree with you because….)

• Agreement Frame

• Fire Anchors that supports them

• Use strategies and language patterns

5. Close:Ask for the order. Chain anchors to:
Handle Objections

• If no: (go to #3)

• If yes: Future pace. Fire! The reassurance anchors. Get referrals

Resistance to your message almost always indicates lack of support. If that happens at any point, build more rapport. Remember there is no such thing as uncooperative buyers or clients, only inflexible sales people. In 1930 Norbert Weiner, in his book Cybernetics, came up with the Law of Requisite Variety, which means that the system/person with the most flexibility of behaviour will control the process or system. The Sales Professional with the most flexibility of behaviour will have the most Success: Full Sales.

This is a very effective outline in achieving Success:Full Sales.

And CRM Strategies from Infusionsoft can help you automate the Sales and Marketing Process. “Working Less for More Sales and Profits!”

You see…the easiest person to sell to is one you’ve sold to before. It’s someone who already trusts you, someone who’s already had a “Wow” experience with your company. Tony Alessandra called this creating “Moments of Magic” for your customers. Usually, it’s someone who is willing to give you a testimonial…if you ask for it. But, you have to ask for it!

Tony also said,  ”The very best time to ask for a testimony or a referral is when the sale is made.”

Here are 4 quickfire ways to build your store of testimonials like crazy:

• Use industry endorsements and/or respected experts
• Put together user groups
• Create a feedback form on your website
• Ask directly, and then help your clients write the testimonial

One of my favorite ways to get testimonials is a trick I learned from my friend, Clate Mask at Infusionsoft. When a customer tells you something great about your product or service, ask this golden question, “Can I quote you on that?” Then write up their quote, email it to them for their approval, and voila! You’ve got a great testimonial!

Why are testimonials so powerful? Because, what someone else says about you is much more believable than what you say about yourself. If you’re talking about your own business, you’re bound to say how good it is. Everyone expects it, and no one really believes it. But if someone else raves about your business…then it’s a whole different ball game.

So, if you don’t have testimonials…you need them fast!