|
|
| Personal Contact: Initiating Effective Follow-Ups |
Published on 19-09-2004
|
By John Skaggs, ISOTrainer
|
|
|
Resource
|
| Website URL |
|
From personal experience, I know that many of us run into trouble
when it comes to picking up the phone to follow up with our
referrals. With over 12 years of customer-service experience
under my belt, I still find that I am occasionally nervous when
faced with a prospective customer whom I have never spoken with.
However, I know how important it is that we do follow up with
prospects. Did you know that consistently placing a single phone
call to each referral that signs up for your newsletter or e-
course can improve your conversion ratio by ten times? That is
1,000%! Imagine the difference in profit that such an improvement
could represent.
A few months ago, I came across an approach to phone calls that
has been very helpful. It is called the B.Qu.I.C. model (Be
Quick):
B - Bridge to the offer
Qu - Question to grab attention
I - Introduce the benefits
C - Gain Commitment
The BQuIC model is used to assist you in smoothly moving from the
introductions and pleasantries that most conversations start with
into a discussion about what you are marketing. Below is an
example to show how it can be used.
****************************************************************
Example:
Imagine that you have just had a new prospect sign up for a free
Ecourse that discusses the value of your product. The prospect
chose to include their phone number when signing up, though it
was optional. This means they have a genuine interest in your
offer because they provided the phone number whe they did not
have to.
So, after they have received their first few days' courses or so,
you decide to call to offer your support and see if they have any
questions. They answer the phone on the second ring and you
introduce yourself. You thank them for signing up for the Ecourse
moreover, ask what they think of it.
Your prospect says they have not read all of the emails yet, but
that they like it so far. Reading between the lines, you realize
that they may not have read ANY of it yet, so your job now is to
make sure you spark their interest enough that they actually READ
the Ecourse.
You change gears. Using the BQuIC model outlined above,
you move towards your goal, which is to get a commitment
from the prospect that he will read the Ecourse and contact
you with questions and/or comments.
The Conversation:
....................
BRIDGE to the offer
....................
(You): "So, Prospect, why are you interested in starting your own
business on line? Do you have any experience?"
(Prospect): "Well, yeah, I did try this program where you have to
get people to pay for legal help before they actually need it,
but I had no idea what I was doing, and it was very difficult to
find anyone to help me. The program was also kinda expensive."
(You) : "I can understand the position you were in. You were
paying high membership fees, but getting no support."
.....................................................
QUESTION to grab their attention (get them to LISTEN)
.....................................................
(You again) : "Prospect, what would you do if you found a program
that you could easily afford AND that proved to you, BEFORE you
ever paid a penny, that they do offer real, live support, from
real, live trainers?"
(Prospect) : "Well, if I truly believed they could show me how to
earn some real money on the Internet, I would probably go ahead
moreover, give them a try."
......................................................
INTRODUCE benefits (targeted to prospect's concerns)
......................................................
(You) : "I am glad to hear that, Prospect. I think it is great
that you are willing to give the business a try, and I think that
ISO Register fits what you are looking for perfectly.
"First, the cost is only 67 cents a day, which is $19.97/month.
Second, the support you get is enormous. There are six websites
(with resale rights) that you will get with our program, one of
which is called "ISOTrainer." This site is dedicated 100% to
offering you the training and support, you need from dozens of
experienced and accomplished e-marketers. There are loads of
helpful links and articles PLUS you can contact each of these
trainers, any time you wish, for guidance and advice.
"There is also an active forum where members and trainers meet to
exchange ideas and advice."
...............................................................
Gain COMMITMENT from prospect (to read e-course or call trainer)
...............................................................
**this is where you try to get the prospect to ACT**
(You) : "Tell you what, Mr. Prospect. It sounds like ISO is a
perfect match for you so I would like to make a suggestion, well,
actually two suggestions.
"First, I think you could really benefit by reading the Ecourse we
are sending you. Yes, we do talk about why you should join ISO,
nevertheless, there is also a lot of great information in there
that can help anyone, whether or not they are ISO members. So
make sure you read those, okay?"
(Prospect) : "I can do that."
(You again) : "Great. That is good to hear. The other suggestion I
would like to make is that you take down our President's phone
number and his email address, and then make sure you contact him.
Can you do that?"
(Prospect) : "Well, I guess, but, what should I say? I mean, why
should I tell him I am calling?"
(You again) : "That is a good question, Prospect. You see, I think
it would be helpful for you to call Darryl and tell him you are
looking at ISO. Then tell him what you told me about your bad
experience with that other program. He will then be able to show
you how ISO is different. More than that, he could also give you
a "virtual tour" of ISO so you can see what involved.
"Does that sound like a good idea, Mr. Prospect? Could you do
that?......Great!"
end of example
**************************************************************
In Summary
The most important thing to keep in mind when following up with a
prospect is the purpose of your call or email. What do you hope
to gain by contacting the person?
Your long term goal, obviously, is to encourage them to buy your
product or join your program. However, like most tasks, sales are
accomplished in steps. You work towards your ultimate goal by
achieving smaller ones.
In the example above, the goal was to get the prospect to do two
things. The first was to actually read the Ecourse, and the
second was to call the company's toll-free number.
If you are marketing ISO Register, the real value of your
'product' is its quality. ISO is a resource-based opportunity
built on a foundation of integrity and trust. From the founder,
Darryl Graham to the newly joined affiliate, this company is made
of real people who have made a real commitment. The more that
your prospects learn about ISORegister, the more they will see
ISO for the real value it represents.
If you are marketing something other than ISO, however, the same
basic concepts still apply. Your first order of business should
be to identify what it is you want your prospect to do.
If you think your free eBook is your strongest sales
presentation, then get them to read the book. If you have an on-
line tour of your web site that you think will successfully sell
your program, then get the prospect to take the tour.
Once you have established what the ACTION is that you need your
prospect to take then sit down and create a BQuIC outline that
you can use to get the customer to take the action you want
him/her to take.
Remember
BRIDGE to the topic: "So, you just got back from vacation, huh?"
ask a QUESTION to get their attention:
"Did you know that our email drip system advertises our product
for you, even when you are away from home?"
INTRODUCE the benefits:
"Our autoresponder will pay for its self many times over by
continuously selling your product for you. You also have
complete control of your own list and the timing of your
mailings"
gain a COMMITMENT:
"If I send you a link to a test version of our autoresponder,
will you make sure you try it? I mean will you REALLY take it
around the block, see if it does what you want, then call me
with your comments?....GREAT!"
Well, I hope I've properly explained the benefits of following up
with your prospects as well as providing you with some guidelines
you can use to get the most from your efforts.
Thanks for your time!
*********************************************************
Article Written by John Skaggs ISO Trainer and Affiliate
http://www.johnskaggs.com/ISO_AffiliateTraining.html
iso@johnskaggs.com 1-888-541-5006 or (540)649-0073
Reprint Rights to this article granted on condition that
this Resource Box be included.
*********************************************************
|
|
|
|
Need content? Give your website visitors quality content to keep them coming back and save yourself tons of time by not having to write your own.
Just add any of these simple codes to any page on your website and all syndicated articles will be automatically updated on your website by us.
Please click here for help in using these codes.
Simply click inside the window below or click the Button, use your cursor to highlight the script, and copy (type Control-c or Apple-c) the script into a file in which you want to display the articles.
|
|
|
|
