When it comes to connecting with your ideal prospects – those people who eagerly want and are searching for your offerings – do you miss the point of what really matters to them and waste your efforts (and money) or do you hit the bull’s eye?
A couple of weeks ago we put our house of 24 years up for sale – it’s a great family home and sold within 3 days. The next step, of course, is to move. Within a few days of the “for sale” sign being hammered into the front lawn, flyers, post cards, and brochures hit our mailbox. I was pleasantly surprised at the envelopes – one day there were three envelopes from moving firms. They obviously had a system to see who would be moving (fantastic) but did their messages entice us to call for a quote? Here’s what we got…
Envelope #1 – Totally Missed The Mark!
The first envelope contained a yellow paper tri-fold brochure with black printing that was obviously printed in-house. The entire premise of the content was about their history, which dated back to 1949 and details about them. In three words, “I don’t care” about their family history. I have more pressing issues at hand.
Now you’ve heard me talk about the importance of using your story to connect with prospects – but there is a time and place for everything. And using only your story as the first touch point in marketing, without sharing anything of value, simply does not work.
Envelope #2 – Offered Options
This envelope contained a full colour glossy 2-sided flyer, professionally printed. The front was limited content but clearly depicted what they could do for us. On the back, were 8 options and a big message to “Take Your Pick! You choose Any 2” of the 8 special deals. Interesting – and two of them would definitely work for us so they will be getting a call.
Envelope #3 – Gave Us Help!
This envelope had a letter and a brochure. The brochure was a 2-colour tri-fold, professionally printed. The letter introduced the company with a lot of platitudes (“team of knowledgeable professionals,” “service excellence,” “well equipped to provide comprehensive moving assistance”) and I thought: “well I would hope so” to each one. But the brochure is what really caught my attention – it showed they cared about my situation. It offered a Personal Moving Guide of what to do 4, 3, 2, and 1 week before moving, offered a Moving Checklist, and even room planning grids for furniture placement – with scale. Extremely helpful so yes, they will also receive a call for a quote.
It’s imperative to have a system to find new prospects. But your next step – what you say when you connect with them – can easily sway them to work with you or not.
Know your audience. Know what really matters to them. Be clear. And have a call to action so they know what to do next.
