How Business Owners Mess up Their Follow-Ups and What to Do about It

Look at most websites and what you see is the online equivalent of "Hey, wanna buy my stuff" or "Hey, let me sell you something cheap"? They are blunt and pretty retarded sales pitches. In a way this is the sales equivalent of date rape: Get the other person to the meeting place after sunset, wrestle her to the ground and fulfil your pervert desire while she is screaming "no".

When visitors arrive at most websites out there, they scream "No! Not another bloody sales pitch." But they get sales pitches over and over again.

You must understand that people go to the web to search for information not to be sold to. This is the reason why most websites out there fail miserably. They are blatant and pretty poorly structured sales pitches.

We have to overcome this "used car salesman" mentality. We have to court prospects before they become clients. And we have to court them without pitching them over and over again. With our communication we have to create an environment in which they can make up their minds without being pitched to all the time.

So, how to do that?

Listen to marketing legend Claude Hopkins, the author of the world-renowned book "Scientific advertising".

"Remember the people you address are selfish, as we all are. They care nothing about your interests or your profit. They seek service for themselves. Ignoring this fact is a common mistake and a costly mistake in advertising. Ads say in effect, “Buy my brand. Give me the trade you give to others. Let me have the money.”

That is not a popular appeal.

The best ads ask no one to buy. That is useless. Often they do not quote a price. They do not say that dealers handle the product.

The ads are based entirely on service. They offer wanted information. They site advantages to users. Perhaps they offer a sample, or to buy the first package, or to send something on approval, so the customer may prove the claims without any cost or risks. Some of these ads seem altruistic. But they are based on the knowledge of human nature. The writers know how people are led to buy."

We all know that the best way of getting new people into our sales funnel is by giving them something of high perceived value. It can be a free report, executive briefing, consumer guide, etc., it can also be some audio stuff.

And this is where the dead dog lies so to say. Most business owners are out for instant sales because they don't understand the value of building databases. In a way they are like whores, going for instant gratification.

So, where the cricket can we start?

Everything starts with a form where people can enter their names and emails, in return for the free giveaway offer.

So far so good, but here people fall into two categories. Some collect names the wrong way, and some collect them the right way.

Here is the wrong way:

The visitor comes to your site and sees the "Get our free report" sign. She yells out in delight - "This is the bee's knees, the cat's arse and the wasp's nipples. This is what I need."

So, she enters her name and email into the system. Upon submitting her details, she arrives at the "Thank You" page and there is the link where she can download the report.

But the problem is that many people give you false email address, because they want only the free report, but you failed to sell them on the value of receiving your newsletter that comes to them (every month or week) after downloading the report.

You have to sell visitors both on the report and the follow-up, that is, the newsletter.

And since they gave you false email address, you lose them forever. You want to create so much perceived value that people are looking forward to your messages. Every message must be of high perceived value.

Now, let's look at the right way of doing this…

The visitor comes to your site and sees a well-crafted letter, which is basically an informative article.

She reads the article that introduces a special report on a very specific topic. Stay away from retarded topics like "how to stay healthy" or "how to get rich". They are too vague. Be very specific. "Ten ways one-eyed, overweight female lawyers can increase their fees" is a lot better than "How to grow a law practice".

So, while your visitor is reading the landing page, she sells herself on the idea of getting your report. She also agrees to receive your newsletter too.

So, she enters her name and email in the box at the end of the article.

And this is where the rubber hits the road for you…

Make sure that in the form you inform your subscriber that you will send a separate email with the download link. So, now she knows she has to enter a correct email address, otherwise she won't get the report. Not even a sausage.

Upon submitting her details, she arrives at the "Thank You" page and that link informs her that the link will be delivered via email (second instruction).

But now she is compelled to get the free report no matter what. Let you visitors know that they have to expect an email from you with the download link to the report.

So, now she receives the email. But before anything else could happen, she has to confirm that it was her who actually submitted the request.

After the confirmation she receives another email with the link to the report.

Now you know that you have a legitimate email address from a real person and you can start your follow-up process.

I don't say these leads turn into instant sales, but these are high-quality leads and now they are in your sales funnel until you piss them off so much that they leave. So, now it's up to you to provide quality content both in the original report and in your newsletters.

The the journey from first contact to signed contract has started. Make sure they enjoy the ride.