The Top 10 ways to Prospect for Customers without Harming Your Brand

Originally Submitted on 6/26/99.

In today's world, traditional strategies have become costly, ineffective and potentially damaging to your brand when used improperly. Take the Internet for example. A direct mail strategy taken to its maximum limit causes spam to be sent out to many "unsuspecting" individuals. Oh sure, some respond just like in conventional direct mail, yet what damage have you done to your brand and that potential customer? There has to be a better way and this Top10 list is about 10 better ways to prospect for customers without harming your brand in the information age using a combination of traditional and cutting-edge technologies. Please send your feedback or join our discussion forum at http://www.onelist.com/subscribe/atbusiness

1. Start FIRST with who you know!

It costs less to sell to a current customer than to acquire a new one--start with people who are already your customers. Then ask them for referrals and setup a sound referral prospecting strategy with information about who referred them and why. You MAY not get a customer but you might get a relationship!

2. Build Relationships with people who are NOT your customers!

As in point 1, your prospecting will lead you to many people who will NOT become your customer. HOWEVER, they may be able to refer you to someone who will. Everyone knows everyone by no more than six people or so the research shows--kind a tough to believe, but forget about the stat and remember the meaning. You don't know WHO people know, so by establishing a relationship with someone who already has a relationship with them (or they wouldn't have referred you) is a good way to build a no-cost ambassador of your products. Leave them some business cards, include them on new product information, perhaps they would want to receive a copy of your newsletter to pass on to their customers! This increases the ability to relationship prospect, something no one wants to hear because it is not instantly useful, yet over time--you plan to be in business over time, yes?--these second order relationships become powerful prospecting tools. You never know when someone will need to know who you are and your non-customer can provide the link.

3. Create a Customer Pipeline.

This is so simple, almost no one really thinks about it. Now you have customers, non-customers and people who are part of your business family who are customers--these are your 1to1 customers. People you consider a part of your business because they are so integrated into the business you wouldn't think of launching a new product or service without their approval. All three of these categories is considered a "pipeline." Each of them has different strategies that are more effective and certainly more efficient if used correctly. Your job is to create a customer prospecting pipeline where the pipelines are always full of leads, prospective leads and people becoming better customers.

4. Segment your Pipeline!

Sometimes, we send everybody everything. Expensive and inefficient. Your pipelines will require that you segment them and target each segment with appropriate strategies. This protects and enhances your brand. People begin to understand that people in your business are treated differently--always better! NOBODY complains about learning that they are to be treated differently--better! You can do this with segmentation as you begin to learn more and more about more and more. Customers can receive customized information, responses and services. The Airline Programs do a magnificent job of this, yet the issues keep their 25,000 mile fliers moving to elite status and so on--their pipelines stay segmented and full!

5. Balance your prospecting pipeline.

This can be a problem and probably some of you are wondering what does this have to do with prospecting, it sounds more like an analytical strategy! It is and if you understand immediately about which one of your pipelines is more profitable you will prospect more there. Spending more money in the right place is better than just broadcasting. Your brand can get harmed at times if you send the stuff for your 1to1 customers to your non-customers. They often don't understand the issues and are turned off by your familiarity with them. If you know which one of your pipelines, non-customers, customers or 1to1 family generates the most profit, you know who to prospect to more and that is the key to prospecting success! Prospecting is simple if you pitch the right people with the right products, so learn who it is your prospecting FIRST!

6. Give something valuable away for free!

I have an acquaintence named Robert Allen, yes the famous real estate guy--NOTHING DOWN. He often sends out a letter to people that offers to send them one of his free books for just reading his letter. First off, you get something for nothing, so there goes the risk and up goes your relationship. I mean, how could someone send you something for free if they didn't know what they were doing and their stuff didn't work? That's the point of the next point!

7. Reduce or Remove Risk!

People love Wal-Mart not because of Sam Walton but because Wal-Mart removes your risk. If you don't like it or aren't satisfied, just return it for an exchange or your money back--what a deal. What has Wal-Mart and Robert Allen done? They have reduced or removed your risk. Their is a benefit for you in not having to assume any risk, so if you are prospecting to people interested in wealth-accumulation with your latest whatever...sending them a free copy of a book that would be interesting to them will probably get them to at least wonder and usually that is pre-qualification enough. This can be an expensive prospecting strategy if you haven't first taken the time to target people correctly!

8. Target NEEDS!

We've talked about segmenting and balancing and reducing risk, now we need to target our prospects needs. We can do this in two ways, one way is to learn what their needs are and the second way is to discover their needs before they do. Sony Corp. does this all the time. Who needed a walkman until they saw one? So learn what your customers do and don't do. Learn why customers aren't your customers--remember that relationship you are building with non-customers? Ask them what it would take for them to become a customers and often the answer will surprise you as they help you uncover needs that weren't obvious or observable.

9. Don't Prospect!

What? Yes, don't prospect. Spend some of your time just doing things that are important to your community. Speak to clubs, kids and church groups--don't prospect. Use the attraction principles and say what you believe, what you do, why you do it and just write or give people information that will help them. Speak as The Dale Carneige course teaches from "experience." Being available or showing up at the right time is always an excellent way to attract interest and after that, attraction forces will lead you to the promised land. Pay your civic rent and volunteer a few hours a week! Show people you care about more than qualified leads!

10. Enable Touchpoints!

This is a strategy that many people don't use effectively. Examine all of your customer touchpoints (wherever a customer can interface or run up against your business), your phone, your fax, your mailbox, your voice mail, email, your paging, your administrative assistant, your parents, your family, your business associates, your car, your home, your business cards, your letterhead, your briefcase, your vendor relationships, your customer relationships and OPTIMIZE them to provide the right information to potential customers. Are they getting the "chance" to see your business at its best? Do you always have your best foot forward? EVERYWHERE, a customer bumps into your business, is the touchpoint enabled, do they know what keywords are important to you, can they recite your "teachable moment" about your product, service or business? Leads come from preparation just as much as from perspiration. WORK SMART--WORK HARD, you will attract all you need. A famous quote from someone famous who I can't recall states "we should become people of value rather than people of success!" This philosophy works!

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