The Five Step Formula For Getting Prospects to Call You

Are you tired of prospecting for new business?

Are you sick of networking, begging for referrals, or spending a small fortune on advertisements that produce little results?

Wouldn't it be nice if you could just sit down at your desk and have the phone ring knowing that new business is on the other end of the line?

Who wouldn't, right...? _________________________________________

The Secret Formula for Getting People to Call You _________________________________________

No matter what product or service you sell, there is a formula for getting people to call you (instead of the other way around.)

Let me take a moment and explain each step in this formula and give you a few examples of how it works... _________________________________

Step 1. Interrupt Their Train of Thought _________________________________

People are busy, busy, busy. At any one moment you and I have a thousand things going on. So the first step to effectively market to someone is to interrupt them and grab their attention.

You can do this with...

a. Bold, compelling headlines

b. Unusual graphics or photos

c. Unique opening statements

I run an ad in a trade mag in the most competitive section of the publication. But my ad sticks out like a sore thumb because I place it UPSIDE DOWN!

That ad pulls as much as a quarter page ad does and it's only a tiny little 2' x 2' ad.

(By the way, if you want to see that ad and you have in interest in coaching you can find it in my ttp://www.CoachesMarketingBootcamp.com package.

________________________________________

Step 2. Engage Their Mind With Relevant Content ________________________________________

Once you have your prospects attention, the next step is to pull them into your message. The best way to do that is to use relevant content.

By that I mean, say something that they would be keenly interested in. For instance, I have no interest in cats so I would skip right over the headline, "How to Stop Your Cat from Ripping Your Couch and Carpet Apart."

It's not relevant to me.

But if I saw a headline that said, "The Deal Is Sealed...Shaq Gets Traded," that would stop me in my tracks (I'm a basketball nut).

Your message must be relevant to your prospect.

____________________________________________

Step 3. Educate Them On How to Solve Their Problem ____________________________________________

Now it's time to educate your prospect. Education-Based Marketing is one of the most powerful marketing strategies available today and does a number of positive things for you:

a. It gives your prospect the REASON WHY they should care about what you're saying.

b. It appeals to the prospect's emotional need to solve their problem. (People buy with their emotions)

c. It positions you as the expert and someone to be trusted.

For instance, why do you think you find all those long, long salesletters on the net? Because they work! The more you tell the more you sell.

_______________________________________

Step 4. Prove That Your Solution Actually Works _______________________________________

People today are so SKEPTICAL. No one believes anybody anymore. Every marketing message is taken with a grain of salt.

That's why you MUST PROVE what you're saying is true. Proof can come through customer success stories, study findings, quotes from experts, before and after photos etc.

You have to consider yourself as being on trial and your prospects are sitting in the jury box. You've got to prove to them what you're saying is true.

Are you proving your solution in your marketing efforts?

___________________________________________

Step 5. Offer Them Additional Help For their Problem ___________________________________________

The last step is to naturally offer your prospect additional help. Up to this point you've only teased them. Now you must lead them to the next step.

The next step should be some offer for help. This could be a free report, a video, an audio program (notice that I like low cost information products) or a free catalog, or even access to a free question and answer help line.

If you want to decrease your response and increase the quality of prospects that come to you, you can charge a small fee to make the next step.

_________________

A Live Case Study _________________

I used to do a lot of direct response advertising to generate leads for potential hot tub buyers.

I offered a free video to the respondents. We were getting a lot of leads, but many of them were from people who already owned a hot tub (if you can believe that).

So we simply asked for a shipping fee of $2.95 for the video and it cut down our leads but dramatically increased our closing rate.

___________________________________________

How to Use this Process for Your Own Purposes ___________________________________________

You might be thinking, thanks David, but "how" do I use this information for my own business.

It's simple...take each step and ask yourself these questions...

Step 1 - "What headline, photo, or gimmick can I use that would stop my unique prospect and make them pause for a moment?"

Step 2 - "What problem does my prospect have that is painful, ugly, dirty, and smelly?" When you have the answer to that question, use it in a headline, sub headline or opening statement to engage them in your message.

Step 3 - "How can I make the problem in Step 2 sound even worse and then how can I explain to them how my solution solves it."

Step 4 - "What proof can I come up with that my solution actually works and has worked for many companies (or people)?"

Step 5 - "What offer can I come up with that would be so irresistible that my prospects would have to pick up the phone and call me immediately?"

If you ask yourself these five questions and can come up with some good answers then you're well on your way to getting people to chase you down instead of you begging to steal a moment of their time. (Yuck!)

Copyright 2005 David Frey

David Frey is the Author of the Small Business Marketing Bible and the Senior Editor of the Small Business Marketing Best Practices Newsletter. To get your free lifetime subscription, visit http://www.MarketingBestPractices.com

---

Is The Company You Keep Hurting Your Business?

When you look at your friends, it's like looking into... Read More

Networking Know How

Networking, even to a seasoned professional, can seem intimidating or... Read More

Your Front End

While surfing for traffic or browsing your safelist emails, you... Read More

Are You Leveraging Your Business Network?

Just yesterday I received an email from a colleague telling... Read More

The Answer to Your Worst Networking Nightmare

Imagine you just met your ideal client at a networking... Read More

Lessons from the Wedding Mafia

One of my clients shared a story with me from... Read More

Defining a Quality Networking Group

When it comes to quality, how do you choose the... Read More

Business Networking - Common Myths and Realities

Can we agree about the meaning of networking? I don't... Read More

Building Great Business Relationships

If you're in a business relationship with anyone ? a... Read More

Five Steps for Expanding Your Customer Base with Guerilla Networking

As a single company, it is impossible to provide your... Read More

How to Gain Maximum Value from Your Networking Time

One of the best ways to get business is through... Read More

Effective Networking

The process of finding out about a job, getting interviewed,... Read More

Time to Hire a Professional Networker?

It used to be that people said that there was... Read More

Test Your Networking Know-How

Let's test your knowledge on networking:1)The best definition of networking... Read More

How To Make Your Next Networking Event A Success

There are people who are natural born networkers - those... Read More

Community Involvement Networking

It is important for you to join at least one... Read More

Did You Market Yourself Today?

"If you build a better mouse trap - the world... Read More

Real Business Networking Doesnt Happen at Networking Events

Real networking isn't about handing out business cards at a... Read More

Networking for Wallflowers: How to Profit from Getting into the Crowd

The two most common complaints about networking are: 1) I... Read More

The Five Step Formula For Getting Prospects to Call You

Are you tired of prospecting for new business?Are you sick... Read More

Keys to Successful Networking While In Transition

Let's be real. With other pressures of life upon us,... Read More

Write It Down!

Why would you want to write information on paper when... Read More

5 Ways to Wow People Who Wear Nametags

People wear nametags more often than you think. The majority... Read More

Increasing the ROI on Your Networking

Networking requires an investment of time, money and effort. Here... Read More

What Has Networking Got To Do With Joint Ventures?

What has networking got to do with joint ventures? "PLENTY"... Read More

Communication Is A 2-Way Street (The Networking Factor)

The Personal Touch 1There is a simple art to networking... Read More

Powerful Networking: Focus on Building Connections, Not Closing Sales

You can find numerous references in the business literature about... Read More

Power Networking: Getting Your Name Out There!

Today's economy presents some very special challenges to people who... Read More

The 7 Habits of Highly Horrible Networkers

Networking is a term that didn't exist (academically) until almost... Read More

How to Turn Water into Lemonade by Giving a Flavored Answer to a Fruitless Question

I remember the first time I opened the fridge to... Read More

34 Power Affirmations for Networking with the Affluent

Here are 34 affirmations I have created after studying the... Read More

A Vital Habit For Selling Big Ticket Items

I hope the title of this article aroused your curiosity!... Read More

Effective Business Networking: 5 Tips For Mastering The Art of Networking

The heart of any business is the connection it has... Read More