May 2010
Direct Mail Success Story:
 
Our most effective direct marketing campaign was sending out seeds to a money plant and then a week later, sending out a garden shovel with the message "we have the tools to help you grow your business" Initial response was a typical 2%, when we made our follow up telephone calls - we increased the response rate to over 40% - generated over $100k in new business and landed 3 new clients. 
Sales Tip:
Who is your ideal profitable client?  Marketing Manager, VP of Sales, Production Manager? 

Did you know you can use LinkedIn to research your ideal profitable client? Simply type in the title and the geographic
area of who you are looking to connect with into the site's search engine.
 
Example: If I search for "Marketing Manager"  "Toronto, Canada" through LinkedIn - I get 2844 results. As it turns out I'm already connected to 243 of these marketing managers through 2nd connections, or people I already know through LinkedIn!  I don't have to cold call these people. All I need is an introduction through one of my existing Linkedin connections. I've just found 243 potential "warm calls" as the
introduction through a mutual connection means we aren't strangers anymore.
What did your Mother teach you? 
 
May is a fantastic time of year.  New growth is taking hold everywhere.  As we celebrated Mother's Day a few weeks ago,  it's also a time for reflection.

During Mother's Day church service, our minister asked us to reflect on all the things our mothers taught us. What exactly did your mother teach you?

When I put this question to some friends and colleagues the answers were sometimes sweet, sometimes funny and sometimes serious.
But most of them could be summed up as follows:

My Mom and daughters.
Mom Picture
-  Be kind and always respect others
-  Every morning, put on clean underwear!
-  Don't talk to strangers

Now that we're all grown up (at least in calendar years) that last piece of advice just doesn't work in our line of business.  In order to grow our business we have to speak to strangers if we want to succeed. Your success depends on your ability to effectively communicate, network and speak to complete strangers at networking events, tradeshows and cold calling!  Well, as we move into a stronger economy, this spring is an optimal time to grow your business - - now's not the time to start listening to your MOM and not talk to strangers!  However, you can implement a few strategies to help introduce yourself to strangers and warm up your call!

  • Use a creative direct mail campaign with a clever marketing message. Follow up with a clever sales message to get you the meeting.
  • Ask for referrals from your existing clients and reference your client's name
  • Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media- use these powerful new tools to get to your connections  and expand your circle of influence.
 
Of course, you know these sales strategies - which one will you put into action to help you grow your business this spring... to work smart - sell smart !
 
Mom would be so proud.  You're not talking to strangers!  Enjoy a great weekend!

 
Lisa Leitch
Strategist, Speaker & Coach
Teneo Results Inc.
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