Increasing Short and Long Term Profits

By Charlie Cook


"I was at your site for all of two minutes before I bought one
of your manuals. I'm impressed!" I love to get emails like this
one sent by Vicki from Tucson, Arizona. Marketing my business
would be easy if every client bought my products within two
minutes of seeing my marketing materials, or signed up for my
coaching services after a few minutes on the phone with me.

Do you make most of your sales in 2 to 20 minutes from the time
a prospect first reads your marketing copy, visits your web site
or calls you?

Neither do I. I make approximately 10% of my sales at the time
of first contact, but most prospects take weeks, months and, in
some cases, years to become clients.

As I mentioned in my marketing blog, I track sales on the day I
send out my marketing newsletter. Typically, orders for my books
begin to come in within a couple of hours. Some will be from
people who just found my web site and aren't even on my mailing
list, others will be from prospects who signed up for my
newsletter a couple of weeks ago, and still others will be from
people who have been getting my marketing materials for a six
months or even longer, sometimes as long as two years.

When Do People Buy? Prospects buy from you when they know you
exist, know which problems you solve, feel confident in your
products or services and understand their value, and, most
importantly, when they want to do something about their
situation or are ready to solve a problem. Prospects looking for
an immediate solution may buy your $149 product or $5000 service
today, but most won't want to purchase it until next month or
next year.

Increasing Profits You need a marketing strategy that helps you
increase immediate, short-term and long-term sales.

Does your current marketing strategy do this? Does it prompt
people to buy from you the first time they visit your web site
or call you, make a purchase a few weeks later and in some cases
buy from you years after their first contact?

Would you like to improve your immediate, short-term and
long-term sales? Below are marketing strategies you can use to
accomplish this.

Making Immediate Sales You want a prospect reading your
marketing materials for the first time to immediately see you as
an expert and understand the value of your products and
services. Don't make the mistake of thinking the best way to do
this is to describe products and services, credentials or list
clients.

Introduce yourself with a marketing message that describes how
you help your clients, phrased in terms of their concerns, not
yours. Follow this with a few testimonials from clients that
focus on the results you've generated.

Then describe the solution your product or service provides,
again in terms of your prospect's needs. Finally, ask for a
commitment, an order or contact information.

Generating Short Term Sales Not everyone arrives at your web
site or at the other end of the phone line ready to make a
decision. In fact, 80% of people spend two or more weeks
researching their purchasing decisions. What can you do to keep
these people interested?

First, get your prospect's contact information. Stay in touch
and continue to demonstrate your expertise and the value of your
products and services.

You may have an interested prospect, but the prospect isn't
clear on why or when they should use your product or service.
When you follow up a prospect's initial contact, give them
useful ideas they can use related to your product or service,
and take advantage of this opportunity to educate them about the
problem or concern you can help them resolve.

Improving Long Term Conversion Rates I had one prospect that I'd
talked to three or four times on the phone over the course of
two months. When they didn't respond to two follow up calls, I
stopped calling. Two months later, that is, four months after
our first conversation, they called me to say that after
researching a dozen other consultants, they'd finally decided to
use my services and at the same time had expanded the scope of
the project and the price I'd be paid. You've probably had
similar experiences.

Some prospects take even longer than four months to make a
decision to buy. Why? Because people buy based on their own
timetable, not yours. They buy when they have a need and when
they want to act on that need. Even after deciding you want a
new tax attorney or financial advisor, it might take you years
to end your relationship with your existing advisor and place
your trust in someone new.

Most people use contact management software to remind themselves
to call or write prospects. This is a first step in keeping a
potential sale alive, but a strategy of using only follow up
phone calls can fall flat when prospects don't have any news
about a project to report, haven't made a decision or just
aren't ready to make a purchase.

One effective strategy for staying in the "front of mind" of
your prospects is to use a newsletter or ezine to continually
demonstrate your expertise and remind them of ways you can help
them. Send it out biweekly or monthly, and they'll remember you
when they are ready to make a decision or a purchase.

To make sales today, next week and in months to come, give your
prospects the information they need and the solutions they want
immediately and continuously. Have a plan in place to follow up
with those who don't purchase your goods and services right
away. Keep providing the information they need to make a
decision, and you'll increase sales and profits today, tomorrow
and in the coming years.

About the author:
The author, Charlie Cook, helps service professionals and small
business owners attract more clients and be more successful.
Sign up for the Free Marketing Plan eBook, for small business
owners and people responsible for marketing, '7 Steps to get
more clients and grow your business' at
http://www.marketingforsuccess.com