How to Follow Up For Success

How to Follow Up For Success
(c) 2003 Warren Smith

If you have been online for more than a day, you've heard
some 'guru' say that you must 'follow up at least five
times' with every prospective customer in order to make the
sale.

Well, it's true.

Following up with those who ask for more information is
perhaps the most powerful marketing technique on the
Internet, and one of the least used. Think of it this way,
if you have a very successful website you will convert 5% of
visitors into customers.

That leaves 95% of visitors in a kind of information 'no
man's land' unless you follow up with them.

Follow up works because people buy from people they trust
and building trust takes time. In addition, when a person
first visits your web site they might not be *able* to buy.

How many of us have seen a product or service we want
(but needed to wait for payday to get) and then forgotten to
return and make the purchase?

For these reasons and more, anyone who sells online needs a
follow up system containing at least five messages. The good
news is that it's very easy to create a powerful follow up
system. In fact, you can create your own follow up system by
following these five simple steps.

1. Write down the three most important benefits of your
product or service. Remember that people buy benefits, not
features. A feature is what a product does; a benefit is
what your product does for me.

A good example of features vs. benefits might be someone who
purchases life insurance. While life insurance protects
one's family in case of a tragic loss, the reason people buy
it is that it provides peace of mind in the here and now.
People are buying peace of mind, not insurance.

2. Now write a short message, about 200 words will do fine,
that tells people 'in a nutshell' why they should own your
product or service. This will serve as your introductory
message (or message #1) so be sure to include the three
benefits you listed in the form of a bulleted list.

3. Next, write a short message (again, about 200 words will
do the job) about each one of the three benefits you listed.
These will become your messages #2 to #4. Be sure to paint a
'word picture' about each, where the reader can project
himself or herself into the picture.

Staying with the life insurance product for a moment, you
might say something like "Just imagine the peace of mind you
will feel knowing that you have taken the steps necessary to
protect your family."

4. Finally, write one 300-word message that summarizes
everything you have said in messages one through four. This
is your message #5. Be sure to include your bulleted list
from message one.

Also, make the case for the reader to visit your site and
take action now. Many follow up systems fail when they
simply forget to tell the reader what they want the reader
to do!

5. Now all you need to do is find an autoresponder service
that can deliver these messages over a period of time
(called a sequential autoresponder) and begin inviting
visitors to get your free e-Course on the topic you've
chosen.

Creating a powerful follow up system is good business.
That's why all the 'gurus' have at least one follow up
series. Now, you can have one too! Using a follow up system
helps you maximize the value of your visitors and puts time
on your side. Now that's a powerful place to be!