List building in any business is an absolute must-do and here we look at some of the many ways to attract those buying customers to your list
List building a success story
List building in any business is an absolute must-do because you are creating value for your business.
It will often seem like hard work but one day it will pay off providing returns that you would never have thought possible.
The story goes that everyone on your list should average $1 a month in sales so a 100,000 list will return over a million a year in sales.
Many will tell you that $1 is a myth and it should be $3 or $5 and even more.
It does, however, depend on what you are selling and how you do it.
Most of all it leads to the simple fact that your list will generate income and consequently develop a value as an asset on its own.
How to develop a list
Every day you are talking to customers in person, on the phone or by mail.
Consequently, every one of them comes with three vitally important bits of information.
You will meet people socially and at networking functions or as a referral from another customer and they have a very important item.
On your web page, you should have a link to collect names, a pop-up or exit pop to grab even more names.
This will be done with a small promise to deliver something of value at no cost to them.
More vital components.
You can run a raffle, a competition, a survey or even a questionnaire to collect details so that you can gather more names for the mix.
The inherent difficulty is in doing so just how can you overcome this block and what can you do to achieve a very important goal.
First up are your business records, your customers your quotes, invoices, and debtors, all of these contain the valuable information that you need.
You can pay your staff, that’s correct bribe them to collect and store names.
Have a lead generator on your web page with a capture page to collect the information.
Networking, trade shows, demonstrations the list is endless.
As a result, you will see endless leads pouring in.
What do you need in a list
Naturally, a name is always good, great to start out by saying, Hi Fred.
Personalizing anything you write or do is a good practice.
We all want to be recognised.
Now, what are the three vital bits of information?
Number one is the Telephone number, mobile number and Email.
these are your contact points and will determine the next list.
Number two, what is the best contact medium for the above?
It could be Email first up, low cost, effective and covers many opportunities we will describe shortly. SMS messages or a Phone call.
Number three; Did you guess it, are you reading along with me here
and saying I know what number three is.
If you said segment, you are correct. Not every customer lives in the same barrel and they should be treated differently.
Example Joe’s Hardware.
Everyone is interested in Hardware that’s a given but the Painter has a particular interest, as does the Plumber and the householder.
We have a bulk deal in 10-litre cans of paint.
It Fell off a truck price.
This would be especially relevant to the painter but the Plumber is not your target customer.
Therefore you are wasting his time and yours in trying to stir up some interest.
If you have a car park sale though it is an all-in approach for this instance.
In conclusion, every name, number and email has an intrinsic value.
That’s it except for my ongoing coaching at Coachhanley where we cover extensively the pillars to your list
Peter Hanley
One part of a series by CoachHanley
Peter Hanley