Getting Response

The key to a building a great Marketing Strategy is knowing how to find and filter your prospects to finely selected customers and clients. This is not to say you can't and won't accept customers that come by any other means, but your business won't survive by relying on walk-in customers.

You want to ask yourself, "Where do I find prospects"? You find them where they normally go. I know, what a lame answer. But, it happens to be the right answer. Many entrepreneurs don't give this simple fact enough consideration. A few ways to reach these prospects could be Publishing a Newsletter, Writing Articles, Discussions Lists, Direct Mailing, Chat Rooms, Newsgroups, Calling them on the Phone, Sending letters or brochures, Free & Paid Advertising, Joining Online Clubs and Organizations, Attending Conferences and Conventions, Ad and Banner Swaps, Link trades, Search Engines and Directories, and make yourself available to help others as much as time allows. These are just a few ideas. You have to know where to look and who you are looking for. Remember your target group. I mean you wouldn't join a technical list if you wanted to interact with prospects that were getting married.

You must qualify the prospect by making them realize that you are talking about them. You can find more about this in a recent article I wrote: HEY! You're Talking About Me!

http://216.147.104.180/articles/data/20000501054507.shtml This article will offer an example of getting the prospect to realize that they should be listening to what you have to say.

Once you have their attention then what? You have to get them to see the benefit of your product or services. Here are 3 crucial questions you must answer to make your prospect see your benefits.

What exactly is the benefit of your product or service

How will you go about making this benefit work for them.

Why they will be more successful with your product or service.

As soon as you have the prospect's attention, tell them the benefit (your product or service) that you provide. Keep it clear, easy to understand, short and to the point. Describe your service or product in such a way that there is no mistaking yours will make the difference. Offer proof of competence, experience and testimonials. Don't overdo it. Just a little invites interest, too much invites suspicion.

To turn a prospect into a customer you must make them an offer and show them how to respond to the offer. There are two ways to get the response. The hard and soft response request. The difference between them is the commitment you require from them. A hard request might mean that they must commit to speaking with a representative or even committing to the product or service at that time. A Soft Response on the other hand could mean getting a free brochure. The value of each response differs as well. The CPP (Client Per Prospect) Rate is much lower from a Soft Response Request than a Hard Response Request. The way you decide to go will depend on your circumstances. Direct sales should always close with a Hard Request. Whereas a department store would work better with a soft response. You must decide on your best Response Requests.

Gaining the response is what we call activating your prospect.

Important rules to calling a prospect to action:

Be Prepared and know the answers.

You must show, tell and/or demonstrate to the prospect what he/she/they are buying.

You must make an offer that is too good to be ignored.

A few techniques used in activating a prospect:

The "Free Sample"

The "Great Introductory Deal"

The "No-Risk Offer"

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