My Pro-Log

When I realized that I had accidentally discovered a way to get my prospective clients to come to me I was amazed! My first thought was, “This must be a fluke or a mistake!” I was so sure that it was a mistake that I designed a test campaign to prove it. I was proved wrong!

Here is the story of how I accidentally discovered how to get my prospects to come to me:

The Greatest Mistake Ever
The greatest mistake I ever made happened when I owned an auto/home insurance agency. After I had been in business for a year I decided to start a weekly email newsletter that would go to all my current clients. This letter would be packed with information that could be used to save my clients money, lower energy bills, decrease taxes, and find fun family activities. It was a huge hit, but that was not the greatest mistake ever…

The mistake was made when I accidentally put 40 name on the list that were not my clients. In fact not only were they not my clients, but they were a mixture of families that had made it clear that I was not to contact them…ever!

The Consequences
Over the next 2 months I suffered great consequences from that mistake. I got 3 phone calls, 11 emails, and 1 complaint to the district office from people who demanded to be removed from the list. My district manager hounded me for the mistake, other agents scolded me, and I was enjoying every minute of it!

Most likely you’ve already done the math and realized that of the 40 names there are 26 left that did not respond. Well, you are right and wrong. After 2 months there were 26 people that did not demand to be taken off the list. Of those 26 there were 23 of them who requested quotes, 16 of which became my clients immediately and 3 of which switched later on in the year.

The Lessons Learned
When I realized what had happened I was both amazed and skeptical, so I decided to launch a test campaign to see if the success was repeatable. I discovered that not only was it repeatable, but it was extremely profitable when done in larger numbers. For every 100 names that were on the list I got around a 15% prospects to client closing ratio. It has become the greatest mistake I’ve ever made because it taught me several important lessons:

It taught me that I was more likely gain the trust and respect of a stranger when I am willing to take time to give them something of value without asking for anything in return…

It taught me that people love to buy, but hate to be sold.

It taught me that people will respond when given the information to make the decision on their own.

Today, even though I’ve changed the product I’m selling and it’s taken a while to regain the momentum, I am still using the tool that was accidentally discovered several years ago. If you are interested in learning more about how to start your own marketing campaign similar to what I discovered I’d recommend two sources for your information:

• Jeffery Gitomer’s book, “Little Black Book of Connections”
• John Jantsch’s book, “Duct Tape Marketing”

Both of these great authors have weekly ezines that provide great information about selling and marketing, but their books have some great practical tips for small business marketing. They also talk briefly about some of the liabilities that you must take into consideration, so do not send out a marketing email campaign without making sure you are following the rules.