It’s fairly easy now market your business in a passive manner. Just schedule regular Tweets and autoresponders. You never have to lift a finger? But is this really the best way to market? No, it’s the lazy way if it’s all you do.
You want to be a proactive marketer. That does not mean you want to become a pushy sales person. You do want to really connect with people with a specific purpose in mind. Don’t just aimlessly market to everyone.
Proactive marketing includes effective follow up. Instead of waiting for your prospects to call you after they’ve downloaded your free report or attended your teleclass, send a follow up message by email or even pick up the phone and give them a call. Set up a time to discuss your services with them now that they’ve had a chance to review your free report or attend your teleclass.
When you follow up you need to do so in a focused, organized manner. To do that you need to take these steps:
1. Assess the current challenges of your prospect
2. Ask your prospect what their desired outcome is if they use your services
3. Present a solution that fits your prospects needs and will give them that desired outcome
4. Provide a clear call to action
Another important way to proactively market your business is to get out there. We often get so busy we never seem to leave our office. There’s always just one more thing to do, one more Facebook post to reply to, another Tweet to send out, another email to respond to. When’s the last time you got out of the office and attended a live, in-person networking event, meeting, seminar or conference?
Though social media is a lot of fun and can be a great way to network, nothing replaces the face-to-face connections you make when attending networking events. So get out there and network in person!
Once you’ve connected with someone in person, take time to follow up and stay in touch. Call someone you met to meet for coffee. It’s a great way to get ideas and information from your new contact, find out who their ideal client is so you know who to refer to them and then allow them to ask you about your business.
What will you do this week to be proactive (not pushy) in your marketing efforts?
