(Thank you all who voted for this article recently. The article received the RainToday.com’s Readers’ Choice Award.)
You just made the decision to leverage your business into the one-to-many conversation by offering a workshop. You start promoting it using direct mail three months ahead of time, and you are thrilled at the possibility of working with so many more people in your area of genius.
You prepare all of the materials for your workshop and put a lot of effort into getting your program down cold. You’re sure that the 1,000 postcards you sent will result in phone calls from people. As the date gets closer, panic sets in, and you’re frustrated because you’re not getting calls. All of that time, effort and money, and no one registered.
You thought you did everything to fill your workshop. You sent over 1,000 postcards to a targeted audience. It had a compelling picture on the front to get their attention. You identified the workshop specifics, including the takeaways of the workshop on the back of your postcard. Then, you had the call to action and included your address and phone number. The problem is you left no other way for your prospect to get to know you. So, unless your prospect, who has never met you before, has an urgent need, that postcard likely will find its way into the garbage.
Many business owners miss the mark in cultivating the relationship (and in combining their online and offline marketing strategies). Even though you sent what seems to be a perfectly timed direct mail piece, you forgot the underlying concept of sales and marketing: people do business with people they know, like, and trust.
The solution to attracting clients can be as simple as ABC—Always Be Cultivating. The postcard missed out by not providing a way to connect further to nurture the relationship and build trust. The reality is many people may need to get to know you before they register to attend your workshop.
Combine Offline and Online Tactics to Cultivate Relationships
A better way to have marketed your event would have been to use offline and online tactics. Following the below tried-and-true process, you allow interaction on different levels and develop a relationship with the prospect, which makes it more likely that they’ll attend your workshop.
On the postcard, invite people to your website where you have a free gift waiting from them. It could be an ebook, audio recording, or white paper. Remember to describe the outcomes they will get from your gift. To receive the gift, they would simply need to opt in to your subscriber list by providing their name and email address. Once they download the free gift, you have their email address so that you can develop the relationship further.
Prior to your workshop, invite the people who opted in to your list a free teleseminar. As they achieve small wins along the way, they will see the value in working with you. They will also have a better idea about the transformation they will experience by attending your upcoming workshop.
Continue to engage your prospects by connecting through social media. Invite them to follow you on Twitter, Like your Facebook page, or connect with you on LinkedIn. Share content, invite conversations, and interact with people.
With a carefully planned marketing mix and thought-out sales process, you will find that you convert more prospects into invested clients. When you take into consideration the entire process, filling your practice and your workshops is as easy as ABC.
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