I got a lot of questions and comments regarding my Marketing Memo earlier this month – 3 Simple Ways to Stay In Touch.
People loved the ideas. But some of you asked whether or not you should stay in touch with EVERY prospect EXACTLY the same way. After all, aren’t some prospects more important than others and, therefore, worth some extra attention?
Absolutely.
In fact, it’s a good idea to categorize prospects based on:
a) How much real interest they’ve shown in your services, and
b) How much you would like to have them as a client.
And then plan, accordingly, how you’ll stay in touch with them.
My friend, Dave Paradi, shared how he does it in the comments section of my blog. In case you missed that, here – with some slight editing for length – is what he said:
I segment my prospects into three categories based how good a prospect they are and create regular follow-ups differently for each.
The largest group are those who subscribe to my e-newsletter, about 8,200. They just get my newsletter every two weeks. The newsletter is mostly valuable content with one or two ads for products or services. I hope that when they have a need for my services, they will think of me and make an inquiry.
The next group are all those who have expressed interest in keeping in touch or who have made an inquiry but are not really a hot prospect right now. There are about 600 people in this group between those I have in my CRM and my LinkedIn contacts. I send them a value packed e-mail every two to three months to update them on my latest ideas and upcoming opportunities to see me speak.
The smallest group are those who are past clients and active prospects, which is a subset of the previous group. Past clients can hire me again, and active prospects have a need and are looking at my services. These people get personal attention. I regularly call or e-mail them with a specific item of interest. They will also all be getting my new book in the mail to continue to spark interest in my services. There are less than 100 in this group.
By segmenting my prospects, I can focus my efforts on those who are most likely to result in business while still keeping the rest in the loop and reminded of the value I can provide.
His last sentence says it all. It’s about focusing your efforts on the best prospects, so they don’t slip through the cracks.
If you do that, you’ll make better use of your time and your stay in touch activities will get better results.
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I really appreciated Dave sharing his insights on my blog. So, even though he didn’t ask for it, let me give him a quick plug: Dave Paradi is one of the top trainers and authors on the topic of persuasive PowerPoint presentations. Check out his books and programs at: ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com. (Love that domain name!)
