In my last article “Why you are only selling to less than 5% of your target market” I covered the rather frightening scenario and rather worrying revelation that most businesses are likely to be marketing to that tiny percentage of their target market that is ready to buy.
Getting out of the price war
As we saw, what makes this minuscule 3% even more difficult to convert is the fact that all your competitors are probably chasing them as well – hence there is likely to be a price war which has a negative effect on margins.
In this article we are going to look at investing in the long game so you can sell easily to the main body of your followers or prospective clients.
The clients you will be approaching will be those willing to buy, those who are open to purchase but not actively looking, and those who trust your brand but are not currently considering purchase. The tool we are going to use is email marketing but not in the traditional sense of sending out bulk mails to everyone and anyone. We are going to be using the principles set out in my earlier article 8 Factors to Include in Great Preparation to ensure your message is hot and engaging.
Personal and powerful email marketing
As with all successful and dynamic marketing messages, it’s not just about knowledge of your product, service or brand that is going to win the day – the most effective information you can have at hand is information about your clients business. From there you can show you have an understanding of his industry – how his business works and how it interacts with solutions you can offer.
You can also reference past events when you have successfully worked together or when there have been positive moves in the relationship. Show interest in the growth of their business rather than a desperate need to put forward your products.
Leverage business information to determine who to approach
But knowing your clients business well also offers you the chance to be more informed when you are deciding who you should approach. Once you have specific information about a company, you have a much better idea as to how you can lever their decisions and what products they will be looking for. In particular be on the lookout for:
- Recent changes in legislation which will affect their business
- Poor quarterly or annual results
- New management or ownership (clarify decision makers)
- Negative impact of foreign currency rates
- New Mergers or acquisitions
- Expansion into new market segments or geographical areas
- Important new product/service announcements
- New funding received
Your knowledge of their business will set you apart from the competition.
Your email should include the following three elements to engage your readers: This is what I call CIA.
C – Credibility (Why should they be reading an email from you?)
I – Interest (You have to create interest and desire)
A – Action (There has to be something within the email to initiate an action – now)
Or in other words when you have finished your email and are checking it as if you are the prospective client you should be able to answer the following 4 questions:
- Why should I read this or listen to you?
- Why should I trust you?
- Why should I do anything about it?
- Why should I act now?
An email needs to be short, succinct and to the point because in seconds
they will either delete or go further.
An email needs to have a subject line that captures the readers attention
and prompts them to open it.
Here is an example of an email that uses the CIA template which you can find in my ebook B2B Selling….made easy!
Hi John/Mr Jones (Depending on your protocol)
C – Your colleague Samantha Brown suggested that I get in touch with you regarding increasing both your existing customer base and the lifetime value of your existing customers.
In reviewing your 1/4ly financial report your CEO stated that your #1 priority is to increase sales by 15% to enable you to reach your forecasted figures for the coming financial year.
I – In working with our clients we typically increase sales by 20% – 400%. Another company we worked with, achieved an increase in sales from £126,000 to £1.1million within 12 months by increasing their existing customer base and increasing repeat business.
A – If you would like to learn more please let me know and we can arrange to meet. Alternatively, I will call you next Thursday at 8.45 AM.
I look forward to talking to you.
Best regards
Dylis
Make sure you follow up at the time stated.
This sort of email has opened many doors for me because it is client focused not company or product focused. It differentiates you from your competitors and honestly, I have had clients who were shocked and delighted with the information I had about their company and they didn’t hesitate to meet and do business with me.
With this sort of approach you will start to attract the 3% as well as some of the 67% because you have demonstrated your expertise and your knowledge of their business. You are not another seller peddling your product!
Next time – I will give you the next steps to further engage the 67% who are not looking for your product or service right now.
“No” just means “No, not right now”
As Brian Tracey said, “Your greatest asset is to stay with it longer than your competitors”.
If you haven’t already downloaded your FREE “21 Surefire Ways to Find Your Ideal Clients”
Do it today. CLICK HERE
Find a Way and Be The Best You Can Be
Email: dylis@dylisguyan.com
