If you are a sales professional and not already using the power of the Internet to reach your customers, you are not only missing out on a great way to communicate with your existing customers, but also missing opportunities to attract new ones. While you focus on the old ways of doing things, your competition is likely already using the new 21st century technology to steal your customers away! Here are some simple strategies that you can use to quickly turn this around and reach more prospects and customers than was possible even just a few short years ago:
1. eProspecting: There are a number of e-networking tools commonly referred to a "social networking" tools, but are now being harnessed for "business networking." Linked-in and Twitter are two of the most popular ones used by more and more people everyday. Linked-in is the number one business networking solution that can connect you with other business people in your target industry or territory. It is free and easy to use. Just sign up, set up your profile, and then send invitations to your existing customers and colleagues to join your network. Then periodically keep in touch and leverage your network to reach friends of your friends. In contrast, Twitter was started as a "social networking" phenomenon, but it is now being used by many business people to connect with others around the country and around the world. You might even think of these as meet up sites, the equivalent to virtual meeting of the local Rotary Club where you can connect with other business people. The trick is to make sure that you follow people who have an interest that is complimentary to your business. Depending on your product, you could be reaching many more prospects and customers beyond your existing customer base simply by joining these networking platforms today.
2. Blogging and Blog advertising: A blog is a quick and convenient way to "post" news about your industry, company, products, and any other topic that might be of interest to your customers. A blog is just a simple website or "web-log" where you publish periodic "mini-articles" or posts that are simple one or two paragraph messages about a relevant topic to the theme of your blog. The key to using a blog successfully, is to keep the articles short, but relevant for your audience. A blog can help you position yourself as an expert in your field, and as an expert, people will look to you when they have a need or a question. You can also use a blog to find out what is on the mind of your audience by engaging them in forums or getting them to reply to your posts. Just imagine if you could have all your customers and prospects following your blog on a regular basis! It is a great way to keep your name and content in front of them without have to make lots of personal calls, and furthermore, you can also reach many more people quickly with the click of your mouse. It is now also possible to place small advertisements other blogs or websites that your customers are likely to visit and provide them a link to your site. If the advertisements are well written and relevant to your prospects needs, they will be able to reach your website with a simple click of their mouse. To get started blogging, you can open start a free blog using the Google free software called Blogger. If it starts working for you then you can either add more content to your Blogger site or migrate to a hosted platform with your own URL name and the most commonly used software - WordPress. WordPress is free and is highly customizable to your needs. The key to this strategy is to just get started and start authoring content.
3. "eNewsletters": If you don't want to maintain a blog, then you can get similar results by using electronic newsletters. It can be as simple as a short email, with little or no graphics, but it must provide useful and relevant information that your customers and prospects will value. If you have a blog, you can simply use the same information and deliver it by your e-newsletter, and perhaps even provide a link to either your blog or your website. There are also electronic tools called auto-responders which will help you to automate the process of delivering emails to many people and also maintain the mailing list information. These tools are available for a small fee and well worth the investment if you have a large list of people. Some may conclude that they don't need to do their own newsletter because their company already sends one out; however, just remember that you have two things to sell: your company and yourself. A company newsletter helps sell the company, but unless you can customize it with your own name and number, you should supplement the company newsletter with one of your own.
4. "Mini eBooks" and product guides: Using easily available technology, it is now possible to make good looking electronic documents like "mini e-books" and product guides. You can either make these yourself or for a small fee hire a "ghost writer" to help you. Your document can be as simple as a list of frequently asked questions, FAQ's, or a more complex manual with diagrams or photographs. The choice is yours, but the advancement in technology allows you to deliver this information right to your customer's computer so they can download it when they need it, 24X7 any day of the year, and without you having been there! Imagine if your customer needs an answer to a question on a weekend or holiday to make their product work and you are not available. If they can help themselves, then most customers would gladly do so, but you have to provide them the means. A simple electronic document may help them to solve their problem and avoid frustration. This means happy customers for you and your company.
5. "Ezine" articles or reports: These are short articles or "white papers" that provide useful information for your customers and prospects. They can be published on the Internet so that they are available to many more people than you would ordinarily be able to reach. Normally you will be able to include a link to your own website or contact information, so someone who reads the article and wants more information can contact you as the expert. This is a great way to not only reach more people, more prospects, but also to position yourself as the expert in your field.
6. Webinars or teleseminars: Once again the technology has advanced to the point where it is now possible to connect with literally hundreds of people over the Internet all at the same time and offer them learning opportunities. Using this technology, you can make presentations; demonstrate products, or train people on new techniques or skills. This can all be done from the convenience of their office or home while you are at your own home or office. Using webinars or teleseminars avoids travel costs, and also allows you to record presentations so they can be available online if someone can not be at the live session. These are powerful techniques that are growing in popularity everyday. One terrific use of this technology is to offer a training session for people who have recently purchased your product or service. By offering them a bonus training session, you can make sure that they get the most out of their recent purchase and avoid implementation problems that are frequently experienced by new users. This will not only add value to your offering but help to convert your customers into raving fans.
7. Other trends: The technology and capabilities offered by the Internet are constantly improving and changing. Here are some recent trends: Adding video and audio files to your websites and emails so you can more intimately communicate with your customers. Using search-related advertising where people see relevant advertisements that pop up when they are searching for answers using their Internet browser. This can be done on sites like Google or Yahoo, but it is a little more complicated to do when compared to just a simple listing of an ad for a flat fee on another blog or site. Nevertheless, the customer experience is the same in that they can reach you as fast as it takes to click on your site. Finally, exploring new networking websites customized to communities of interest. There are a variety of new sites and services that coming online all the time. They offer new ways to communicate information and network with others who have a common interest. Once you are leveraging the first six strategies above, then you can more easily take advantage of these new opportunities too.
These are simply a few ways that savvy business people are now using technology to easily stay in touch with their customers and prospects, and provide them with up-to-date, useful information. Providing information and training is how they position themselves as "the expert" in their industry or chosen field. These techniques are simple to use and implement. If you are not using them, you should check out what your competitors are doing, because they are very likely already using them. Don't get left behind. Harness the power of the Internet today.
1. eProspecting: There are a number of e-networking tools commonly referred to a "social networking" tools, but are now being harnessed for "business networking." Linked-in and Twitter are two of the most popular ones used by more and more people everyday. Linked-in is the number one business networking solution that can connect you with other business people in your target industry or territory. It is free and easy to use. Just sign up, set up your profile, and then send invitations to your existing customers and colleagues to join your network. Then periodically keep in touch and leverage your network to reach friends of your friends. In contrast, Twitter was started as a "social networking" phenomenon, but it is now being used by many business people to connect with others around the country and around the world. You might even think of these as meet up sites, the equivalent to virtual meeting of the local Rotary Club where you can connect with other business people. The trick is to make sure that you follow people who have an interest that is complimentary to your business. Depending on your product, you could be reaching many more prospects and customers beyond your existing customer base simply by joining these networking platforms today.
2. Blogging and Blog advertising: A blog is a quick and convenient way to "post" news about your industry, company, products, and any other topic that might be of interest to your customers. A blog is just a simple website or "web-log" where you publish periodic "mini-articles" or posts that are simple one or two paragraph messages about a relevant topic to the theme of your blog. The key to using a blog successfully, is to keep the articles short, but relevant for your audience. A blog can help you position yourself as an expert in your field, and as an expert, people will look to you when they have a need or a question. You can also use a blog to find out what is on the mind of your audience by engaging them in forums or getting them to reply to your posts. Just imagine if you could have all your customers and prospects following your blog on a regular basis! It is a great way to keep your name and content in front of them without have to make lots of personal calls, and furthermore, you can also reach many more people quickly with the click of your mouse. It is now also possible to place small advertisements other blogs or websites that your customers are likely to visit and provide them a link to your site. If the advertisements are well written and relevant to your prospects needs, they will be able to reach your website with a simple click of their mouse. To get started blogging, you can open start a free blog using the Google free software called Blogger. If it starts working for you then you can either add more content to your Blogger site or migrate to a hosted platform with your own URL name and the most commonly used software - WordPress. WordPress is free and is highly customizable to your needs. The key to this strategy is to just get started and start authoring content.
3. "eNewsletters": If you don't want to maintain a blog, then you can get similar results by using electronic newsletters. It can be as simple as a short email, with little or no graphics, but it must provide useful and relevant information that your customers and prospects will value. If you have a blog, you can simply use the same information and deliver it by your e-newsletter, and perhaps even provide a link to either your blog or your website. There are also electronic tools called auto-responders which will help you to automate the process of delivering emails to many people and also maintain the mailing list information. These tools are available for a small fee and well worth the investment if you have a large list of people. Some may conclude that they don't need to do their own newsletter because their company already sends one out; however, just remember that you have two things to sell: your company and yourself. A company newsletter helps sell the company, but unless you can customize it with your own name and number, you should supplement the company newsletter with one of your own.
4. "Mini eBooks" and product guides: Using easily available technology, it is now possible to make good looking electronic documents like "mini e-books" and product guides. You can either make these yourself or for a small fee hire a "ghost writer" to help you. Your document can be as simple as a list of frequently asked questions, FAQ's, or a more complex manual with diagrams or photographs. The choice is yours, but the advancement in technology allows you to deliver this information right to your customer's computer so they can download it when they need it, 24X7 any day of the year, and without you having been there! Imagine if your customer needs an answer to a question on a weekend or holiday to make their product work and you are not available. If they can help themselves, then most customers would gladly do so, but you have to provide them the means. A simple electronic document may help them to solve their problem and avoid frustration. This means happy customers for you and your company.
5. "Ezine" articles or reports: These are short articles or "white papers" that provide useful information for your customers and prospects. They can be published on the Internet so that they are available to many more people than you would ordinarily be able to reach. Normally you will be able to include a link to your own website or contact information, so someone who reads the article and wants more information can contact you as the expert. This is a great way to not only reach more people, more prospects, but also to position yourself as the expert in your field.
6. Webinars or teleseminars: Once again the technology has advanced to the point where it is now possible to connect with literally hundreds of people over the Internet all at the same time and offer them learning opportunities. Using this technology, you can make presentations; demonstrate products, or train people on new techniques or skills. This can all be done from the convenience of their office or home while you are at your own home or office. Using webinars or teleseminars avoids travel costs, and also allows you to record presentations so they can be available online if someone can not be at the live session. These are powerful techniques that are growing in popularity everyday. One terrific use of this technology is to offer a training session for people who have recently purchased your product or service. By offering them a bonus training session, you can make sure that they get the most out of their recent purchase and avoid implementation problems that are frequently experienced by new users. This will not only add value to your offering but help to convert your customers into raving fans.
7. Other trends: The technology and capabilities offered by the Internet are constantly improving and changing. Here are some recent trends: Adding video and audio files to your websites and emails so you can more intimately communicate with your customers. Using search-related advertising where people see relevant advertisements that pop up when they are searching for answers using their Internet browser. This can be done on sites like Google or Yahoo, but it is a little more complicated to do when compared to just a simple listing of an ad for a flat fee on another blog or site. Nevertheless, the customer experience is the same in that they can reach you as fast as it takes to click on your site. Finally, exploring new networking websites customized to communities of interest. There are a variety of new sites and services that coming online all the time. They offer new ways to communicate information and network with others who have a common interest. Once you are leveraging the first six strategies above, then you can more easily take advantage of these new opportunities too.
These are simply a few ways that savvy business people are now using technology to easily stay in touch with their customers and prospects, and provide them with up-to-date, useful information. Providing information and training is how they position themselves as "the expert" in their industry or chosen field. These techniques are simple to use and implement. If you are not using them, you should check out what your competitors are doing, because they are very likely already using them. Don't get left behind. Harness the power of the Internet today.
| Leonard Kloeber is an author and consultant. He has extensive business experience of over twenty-five years as a hands-on leader in a variety of businesses large and small. He started his career in sales and was quickly promoted to sales manager after winning a national award for the most sales in an international real estate franchise organization. Later he was promoted into sales management and then general management in several other companies. Most recently he was a senior human resources executive for a Fortune 100 company. His book Victory Principles, Leadership Lessons from D-Day, illustrates seven bedrock leadership principles that all successful leaders use. Download a free summary of the Victory Principles at-a-glance at: http://www.victoryprinciples.com or contact him at staffride@gmail.com He also retired from the US Army Reserves as a Colonel after more than thirty years of service. |
