It's On My Heart
How do you keep up with people?
I mean the people who have helped you in your business, your personal life, all the ones who have been a part of your life either in the past or present.
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Using Technology!
I decided to do a newsletter a couple of years ago; it has changed my business completely...Actually my son Jon is the driving force behind my newsletter; he put it together and sends it out each month.
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.... Continued
So we send a newsletter to all kinds of people. Some friends from years past, some customers, everyone in between. This last month I had a great experience. A friend from the past is Don Lytle. He is also a customer, we have done several projects in the last few years. Don enjoys the newsletters, or at least he says that he does. I realize that he may just say that to humor me, but it still sounds good. So he sends me a note after the newsletter goes out, something along the lines of "sure enjoyed the latest letter, spoke to my heart, hit all the right buttons, couldn't put it down", that sort of thing. I am glad to hear from Don, and tell him it was good of him to send along the e-mail. Then something funny happened. Actually not so funny, more like really great. He told me he was ready to do some business this last month. An actual order! Which is a nice thing to have happen. I had not forgotten about Don, but he was not on my radar screen as the next guy I was going to do business with.
The best part about all of this is that Don called me, I did not have to call him. Would he have called me to do some business anyway? Maybe, but it may not have happened this month, maybe not at all. This is not the first time I have gotten business from someone that was not on my short list, it happens rather frequently. I believe that one of the factors is that I have a regular system to get my name in front of lots of folks who know me and know what I can do. Even more importantly, these e-mails are not "selling" e-mails, they are just lessons from life that I see as I go across the nation.
What's the Point?
So my point is this: keep in touch with your customers. Let them know what you are doing, what your latest projects are, what new projects and services you are bringing to the table. We must realize that customers are busy, they have a lot going on. We just may not be on their short list of things to do. If you are a contractor, you may find that a newsletter for your homeowners sent out every few months may be fine. Commercial customers may be more often, or less, depends on your business. Some dealers send out a Spring and Fall newsletter, complete with recipies and tips for the home. Others go out every other month, or some go out quarterly. Lots of options, the important thing is to keep your name in front of the customer, to help them remember you as the guy who can help. We use a system called Constant Contact. It gets through all the spam filters, and is completely customer friendly. You can do the same, in fact, e-mail me, we can get a trial package put together for you, cost you nothing to try it out.
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You are getting e-mail addresses on each service call, aren't you?
That is how people like to be contacted today. The phone is disruptive, but we can open an e-mail at any time. I know people with a Blackberry who can look at e-mails while at a stop light. Not that I would try that, but I have heard that it happens. OK, so just a couple of times, and they were emergencies.
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What's It Worth?
I go to a Dr. Greg Crawford, my chiropractor. He sends out a newsletter every few weeks. His typical customer does a few hundred a year in business, not thousands. Yet he works hard to keep in touch. I am amazed how many times I have come back from a trip across the nation, and my back is out of alignment, and I got an e-mail from him that morning. It just makes it easy to call him, and I do. Because he has top-of-the-mind awareness in my life. So his e-letter works. Keep up with your customers, it will pay dividends. And the rent as well. Get those addresses, start keeping in touch with your customers. Like my dentist said, customers are like teeth, if you ignore them, they'll go away! |
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Sales Improvement Professionals Inc.
James Hinshaw
Ph: (970) 482-5622
JimHinshaw@SipTraining.com
www.SipTraining.com
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