Let’s be honest. You know you need effective communication to build a relationship with your customers and prospects but…….
It takes so much time and you’re not really sure how to get the results you want. I understand. It’s a challenge.
So, how can you use your limited time to increasingly convert acquaintances into good prospects and prospects into customers – who then buy from you over and over again?
The problem with most communications to subscribers is that they are too generic. This process will transform your results:
5 effective communication techniques to keep in touch with your contacts
- Split your lists
Split your mailing list in say 3 -5 groups such as customers versus prospects, contacts you actively want to meet or people who are interested in different topics e.g. how to set up projects for success or how to maximise business opportunities with customers.
Mailchimp and Aweber (2 industry standard tools for regular communication) make it easy to split your subscriber lists and to move contacts into different lists as they evolve.
- Set objectives
Work out a specific measurable objective for effective communication for each list e.g. for a list of target prospects you may choose “Receive 5 requests to meet”. For an existing customer list your objective might be “Generate 30 repeat sales of x”.
- Multiply your impact
You do not want to be sending customers and prospects dry emails that tell them at length about your services. To get them to sit up and pay attention, or even better, to forward your messages onto their friends and colleagues you need to send messages that are quirky, funny, cute, shocking, random or controversial. You need to stand out from the crowd.
So how will you surprise them, be extremely useful or make them smile? If that seems a challenge then start to notice what you and your friends find most appealing.
- Save time: Automate the process
Continually generating really good new content takes too much time. So create a programme for effective communication. Work out a sequence so you can re use the same articles with different contacts as time goes by.
Then create a process to collect good ideas for additional programme sequences and plan regular creative time (whether its once a week or once a month) to write the articles – in a way you can enjoy it.
- Make it personal
Jon Morrow has truly cracked this space. Not only does he use these steps with impressive results, he even wrote a post (www.copyblogger.com/fight-for-your-ideas/) that inspired 30,000 subscribers to follow him!
His regular communications with his contacts are very personal. Copying him, I stopped using html emails. Now I write emails like this:
“Hello xxx,
Really sorry I’ve not been in touch with you for ages. How are you doing? I hope you have had a great summer.
I thought you might find this article interesting and useful:
‘5 warning signs you are missing massive sales opportunities’.
To read it simply click here: http://strategicplanningforgrowth.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=69da16f8b62889dcce4347e89&id=087ce812a3&e=e625f8a2bd
Do let me know what you think of it – I always appreciate your opinion.
Are you free to meet up for a coffee sometime? It would be lovely to see you. Best regards Jane”
From this one email 24 of my contacts asked to meet me! Is that not incredibly better than a 70% open rate?
So, now you understand how to keep in touch with your contacts and double sales.
I promise that, if you put the time in and work at each part until you achieve your objectives for effective communication, you will see enjoy a positive improvement that you will never look back.
If you would like to fast track your progress, our 6 weeks to Business Results service, will see you reaping the rewards fast. Click here to find out more.
