TheMiddleShelf.com

If the people already know you, buy from you and trust you, you can ask them to do things like sign up for a managed or retained service, or perhaps buy additional or upgraded products.  That same request on a cold list (or list of people who don’t know you) is very difficult and in most times will not work.  You’ll need to use email to drive them to a website to sign up for a free “something”, download a free report, sign up for a seminar, or some other ‘baby step’ action that will lead toward making the sale.

Speaking of email, well, I’m definitely a fan of email marketing.  It’s not only easy and inexpensive to do, it can also be a powerful marketing tool if done right.  Ideally, email marketing should be personalized and definitely relevant.  It should also be appropriate for achieving the goal you want.  You can definitely use email as a tool to market and sell not only to your prospects, but to your existing customers as well.

Here are a few quick tips and lessons . . .

First, make sure you have all your clients’ and prospects’ email addresses – but make sure you get them the legitimate way!  Have them opt-in on your website.  When sending an email, always give your subscribers the opportunity to unsubscribe.

Second, don’t over-think getting a campaign out.  Sometimes you just need to craft up a really good offer and then simply call your clients!  If the offer is really good and your clients trust  you, it’s often enough to drive sales.  If you can include direct mail along with the email and phone calls, by all means do so.  But a quick email with a really good offer is better than doing nothing at all.

And finally, there’s gold lying in your customer base.  Never assume they won’t buy more until you’ve made a solid effort in selling additional services to them.  Remember, situations change . . . the thing they said “no” to today may be the very thing they need tomorrow.  I strongly suggest you send a cross-sale campaign to your customers at least once a quarter, if not more.