What's Your Follow-Up Sequence?

There's something all black business owners should know...

If you have a client call you/come into your place of business - they aren't obligated to come back. In fact, they aren't obligated to come in at all!

Most businesses get business by pure coincidence. Plain and simple. I know when my wife and I are walking by stores in the mall, we usually go into a store just because she saw something she liked in the window. Not because of advertising, not because of specials, just coincidence.
(if the spelling is a little off, get over it..) :)

When you have a customer call you/come into your place of business, they probably aren't looking to buy anything right then and there. So it's your responsibility as a business owner to ensure these clients come back in and spend their money with your business.

How do you do this you ask? FOLLOW-UP.

When you create an follow-up sequence in your business to contact customers that havne't bought from you yet, you do two things:

1. You create a "fence" around your prospects keeping you in the forefront of their mind.

2. You ensure a huge-back end profit by making a way for customers to spend money with you in the future.

Here's how this works:

Let's say you're an owner of a furniture store and you have a young couple coming in to look at your merchandise. You ask, "if you have any questions, feel free to ask."

(**sidenote - stop asking, "Can I help you?" Customers can say no to that question and when it comes to selling, you don't ever want a customer to say no - to anything.)

You can then start small talk with the prospects by asking, "Do you like more modern or more antique furniture?" And the conversation ensues..

Before they leave, you ask if they'd like some free coupons to your store. They say yes.

What you can do at that point is give them some coupons, but get their name, address, email and phone number (or just name and email) and offer to send them some special offers that your store only gives to people on their mailing list.

FOLLOW-UP SEQUENCE:

You can start by giving them a call 3-4 days later and thanking them for coming into your store. Very few businesses do this and make it personal, so you have an advantage over your competition in that aspect.

Next, you can email them some tips on buying new furniture for a good price via email. By doing this, you're educating your clients/prospect and giving them a sense of power and fulfillment by empowering them with the information you know. Trust me, whether you think it's a waste of time or not, you're positioning yourself ahead of your competition and making an impact on your client's buying decision.

Next, you can mail them a direct mail letter about a week later telling them they have been selected to receive a special one-time 20% discount on any piece of furniture in the store. However, they must use the discount within the next 5 days.

Once they receive that letter, call them the day before the 5th day making an even BETTER offer. Now, will I promise you that they will come in the store? No. But you've got a much better chance of getting them in the store and spending money than before.

Now, when they come in the store, make sure they use the 20% off special. Doing this does two things:

1. It puts money in your pocket that wouldn't have been there before if you didn't use the follow-up sequence.

2. It puts you in the mind of these customers for future purposes...

Not only that, but by making them a paying customers, you know have the knowledge that they will spend money with you. Not only that, but you can also make a record of what they purchase and continue to make them offers on what they want to buy instead of what you think they will buy.

And it's all because of the follow-up sequence...

Get one - ASAP.