Power Direct Marketing: The Book
The Prospecting Challenge
Everyone would like more new business. Those that are successful in getting it and thus in prospecting are usually so because they plan it that way.
To be good at prospecting here are 9 ideas:
1. Aim your arrow at the right audience. Identify who your best prospects are and talk to them. Usually your most profitable prospecting results will come if you select your audience in this order:
- Your current customers
- Your former customers
- Your chief competitors’ customers
- Look-alikes of your current customers
- Buyers of a product or service in a similar category to yours
2. Use an effective appeal, make a good offer, give your prospective audience a reason to listen to your message.
3. Hold your audience—be interesting, informative, useful, and maybe even entertaining. Make an outstanding presentation of your copy and art.
4. Promise all your benefits—let your prospect know what good things will happen by doing business with you and doing it now.
5. Make your story believable—tell it like it is; however, make sure your prospect will understand and believe.
6. Prove what you have to offer—your product or service—is the best bargain going. Address it to their NEEDS and provide testimonials and case histories to prove the point.
7. Make it easy to reply for more information, to see a salesperson, to buy! Give complete order information, use a toll-free number, business response envelope or card.
8. Give a reason to act now; your offer and benefits must present a reason for your audience to make a move to what you are selling and to do it now.
9. Then, and this is most important, repeat your complete story all over again—tell it again to those who missed your message the first time around.