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Sales Management |
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Moving a Business Relationship from Free to Fee: Turning Strangers to Friends with Power of Freebies
In the last issue I shared with you a technique for getting permission to follow up with people who have seen you speak on stage. This was just one example of a tactic for filling your pipeline. In these next two issues we'll look at one of our favourite and most powerful tactics for attracting new leads and turning complete strangers into customers as efficiently and enjoyably as possible. So buckle up and hang tight as we take another trip down the Lean Marketing Pipeline... Whenever we attempt to attract new business, we're paying for the privilege. You're paying to educate, inform, attract and persuade. Right up to the point where they pay for the product or service you provide, you're parting with money and time in return for nothing but their attention. So, if you're already giving all this time, energy and money away for f'ree then it's not going to hurt to give something away that they actually value, want and need. In fact doing this sets up a nice chain of events and really helps to move people through your relationship pipeline. Believe it or not, people don't like being sold to. We like to believe that we make decisions based on rational thought. That we chose a particular course of action because we were shrewd and well-informed. We like to feel in control and expect to be treated respectfully. Being sold on a freebie? Well that's another thing entirely. If we're offered a f'reebie and it looks interesting enough then we'll take it. There's nothing wrong with being guided to something of value - we just don't usually like the hard sell. So a f'reebie can be seen as a little sweetener for getting strangers into your pipeline or as a bonus incentive for people deciding to buy what you sell. We'll look at a few categories for the freebie, how you might use them in your pipeline and the pros and cons but first, let's just consider why a f'reebie is probably your most powerful persuasion tool. 5 Reasons Why The F'REEBIE Is Good: 1. You're Paying Anyway... You're usually paying to get people to do something that they'll initially resist. Give something for f'ree and they'll usually gladly give you useful information and permission to contact them in the future. 2. Everyone Loves a Bargain... People who found the f'ree information useful will probably tell their contacts how to get hold of the same information. This applies equally to potential customers, the press, resource guides and websites. You can get a lot of unpaid sales-people on your side with very little effort. 3. Humans Are Generally Reciprocal... You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours is the mantra for many animals but especially humans. Many of us even have an aversion to being 'indebted' and may go out of our way to ensure our 'debts' are repaid. Potential customers might just be tempted to give their business to you over a competitor, because they 'owe you one'. Once they've made the decision all you have to do is deliver what you promised. 4. Feel Good Marketing... By deciding to give away information to others without expectation of reward you'll feel good. For those people who've always thought marketing was a form of manipulation then approaching the process from a place where you give first can make the whole process far more pleasant. 5. You Look Like A Hero... If you provide something truly useful and don't even expect payment then people will think you're a trustworthy character. If you provide big value without asking for a penny in return you could look like a hero. People look to, trust and admire heroes. It's good for business to have your customers looking to you, trusting you and admiring your work don't you agree? In the next issue I'll give you ideas for creating powerful freebies of your own. But as a really easy start to get you into the spirit of things why not just share something of ours for free with your contacts today? I've found that pointing someone you've recently met to some useful information is a great way to start a new relationship off on the right foot. You could... * Tell them to join you on the Lean Marketing Champions eZine by sharing this link... www.leanmarketing.co.uk/free-news.php * Point them to a selection of f'ree eBooks by sharing this link... www.leanmarketingpress.com/books-free.html * Let them know about a fantastic publishing package that gives authors 50% royalties by sharing this link... www.leanmarketingpress.com Givers Really Do Gain - Try it today and see for yourself! 'Dangerous' Debbie Jenkins (c) Copyright 2005 www.BookShaker.com SUMMER CAN BE SLOW FOR BUSINESS
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