How to Follow Up for Success
If you have been online for more than a day, you've heard some 'guru' say that you must 'follow up at least five times' with every prospective customer in order to make the sale.
Well, it's true.
Following up with those who ask for more information is perhaps the most powerful marketing technique on the Internet, and one of the least used. Think of it this way, if you have a very successful website you will convert 5% of visitors into customers.
That leaves 95% of visitors in a kind of information 'no man's land' unless you follow up with them.
Follow up works because people buy from people they trust and building trust takes time. In addition, when a person first visits your web site they might not be *able* to buy.
How many of us have seen a product or service we want (but needed to wait for payday to get) and then forgotten to return and make the purchase?
For these reasons and more, anyone who sells online needs a follow up system containing at least five messages. The good news is that it's very easy to create a powerful follow up system. In fact, you can create your own follow up system by following these five simple steps.
1. Write down the three most important benefits of your product or service. Remember that people buy benefits, not features. A feature is what a product does; a benefit is what your product does for me.
A good example of features vs. benefits might be someone who purchases life insurance. While life insurance protects one's family in case of a tragic loss, the reason people buy it is that it provides peace of mind in the here and now. People are buying peace of mind, not insurance.
2. Now write a short message, about 200 words will do fine, that tells people 'in a nutshell' why they should own your product or service. This will serve as your introductory message (or message #1) so be sure to include the three benefits you listed in the form of a bulleted list.
3. Next, write a short message (again, about 200 words will do the job) about each one of the three benefits you listed. These will become your messages #2 to #4. Be sure to paint a 'word picture' about each, where the reader can project himself or herself into the picture.
Staying with the life insurance product for a moment, you might say something like "Just imagine the peace of mind you will feel knowing that you have taken the steps necessary to protect your family."
4. Finally, write one 300-word message that summarizes everything you have said in messages one through four. This is your message #5. Be sure to include your bulleted list from message one.
Also, make the case for the reader to visit your site and take action now. Many follow up systems fail when they simply forget to tell the reader what they want the reader to do!
5. Now all you need to do is find an autoresponder service that can deliver these messages over a period of time (called a sequential autoresponder) and begin inviting visitors to get your free e-Course on the topic you've chosen.
Creating a powerful follow up system is good business. That's why all the 'gurus' have at least one follow up series. Now, you can have one too! Using a follow up system helps you maximize the value of your visitors and puts time on your side. Now that's a powerful place to be!
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