One problem I’ve found that many entrepreneurs have is not having the time or resources to follow up on leads. What’s the solution? Establish a system for keeping in touch with contacts.
So why should you worry about having a system? It’s said the fortune is in the follow-up. If you just take those business cards you collected or leads you received and stuff them in a drawer somewhere, they’re not going to help you grow your business. You may as well not have bothered collecting them at all. Keeping in regular contact with your “tribe” lets them know you care and want to give them valuable information that will help their business. It helps new contacts get to know who you are – what your values are and how you can solve their problems – and lets them feel a part of your community. It keeps you top of mind so that when they are in need of your product or service, you are the person they will think of.
How do you follow up?
The first thing you want to do is organize your contacts in a customer relationship management (CRM) software system. These systems allow you to save all the information you need about your contacts, including calls made and documents associated with the contact. CRM systems also allow you to create reminders of phone calls or other tasks you promised to do so they don’t fall through the cracks. There are many CRM services available, from free ones like Zoho CRM and Insightly, all the way up to the high end SalesForce.
Now that you have your list organized in your CRM, you’ll want to connect with your group consistently with valuable content that they can use and will establish you as an expert in your field. Email marketing services, which are designed to create professional looking emails and newsletters, are a great way to communicate with your list. These also come in the complete range of features and pricing, from free services such as MailChimp to reasonably priced ones such as ConstantContact and iContact, to Infusionsoft, which is an all-in-one CRM, email marketing and ecommerce platform.
For both the CRM and the email marketing service, you should compare all the features and pricing and determine which one is best for your business needs and budget. Most also have tiered pricing so it can grow as your business grows!
In all the content you provide your contacts, keep in mind the 80/20 rule: at least 80% of your content should be valuable information that solves problems your contacts have, and no more than 20% should be promotion of your products or services. Too much promotion and they’ll stop listening!
If you’d like help determining which systems are best for you, contact me and we can schedule a no-cost half-hour phone call to talk about your needs and how we can get you organized and get your list growing!
As always, I’d love your comments in the box below!
