If you want to put more money in your pocket this year, DESPITE the recession then there’s all sorts of ways you can do it easily. Today I reveal another way you can laugh at the recession and grow your business while all your competitors are panicking (the worst thing to do).
This strategy is quite simple. And its incredibuly powerful too, because you’ve got an opportunity to do something that a) WORKS like crazy and b) your competitors (for whatever reason) DONT want to do.
Not only that, but with so many of your competitors going bust at the moment, there are probably MORE potential clients coming flooding into your marketplace right now just looking for someone to work with.
I’m talking about giving away information FOR FREE!
I bet you’ve seen ads and websites where someone offers you a Free Report or Audio CD. That’s exactly what I’m telling you to do. Here are the main reasons it works so well.
1. You get to showcase your knowledge. Just because you’ve got a mountain of knowledge in your industry, doesnt mean your customers know this. But putting some of this knowledge down on paper shows people that you ‘know your stuff’, and they’ll be far more confident in you. After all, who’s going to get the new client? Someone who puts down 50 words in a yellow pages ad, or someone who write pages and pages of thorough, usable information in a report.
2. The law of reciprocity. If you havent heard of this, it basically says that if you do something for someone they’re far more likely to do something for you. So if you give them free advice, they’re more likely to give you their business, or at least an opportunity to try for it.
3. People LOVE anything for free. In fact, one of the most powerful advertising words is simply ‘FREE’. So simply putting this word prominently in your advertising will get people to respond to your ad straight away.
4. You get people’s contact details which give you a database of people who are interested. And this is great because you dont just have a list of people who are ready for you now, you also get the details of people who are thinking about you, but are not ready to make a decision. And if you keep in contact with people, you’re in the #1 spot when they ARE ready to make a decision.
In fact, more than anything, a free report is actually a sales letter. Its job is to sell, so it should be written with all the basics of a sales letter in there. In fact, you’re telling people the most important things that they need, and (funnily enough) you can do all of them.
OK. Here are some practical pointers for you to put this into action.
First, you can have either a Free Report or a Free Audio CD. I wont go into the audio CD right here, but its another alternative. (If you want to know more, let me know and I’ll let you know more about it.)
- You must give your free report a title. Think of it as a headline, which it is. Have a look for my other posts on headlines, and follow the rules in there.
- Keep it lively and conversational. If its hard to read, people just wont bother. But dont waffle on. Keep it to the point, and dont get bogged down in details. The details are for the PAYING customers.
- The best format is the “7 Secrets” format. It might be the “7 Secrets to taking years off your appearance” or “7 ways to rip the tax office off legally”. What about the “7 things to watch out for when choosing a financial planner”.
- Dont forget the next step. What do you want people to do once they’ve read your report? At the end of your report you need (in a very big font) some sort of offer. It could be a free audit of their needs, or a reduced price service or something along these lines. I’m writing a free report right for a prominent financial planner which offers a free 1 hour consultation. Others have included free consultations, audits and bonuses.
- Push your report hard. Make it a prominent part of your ads, whether its a newspaper ad, yellow pages ad or an online PPC campaign. Put it on your business card and your website. When people talk to you, tell them to go to your website and get a copy.
- And my last and most important point here is to TAKE ACTION! If you’re comfortable writing your own sales letters, then set aside an hour a day until its done. If not, get someone to do it for you. But don’t put it in the two hard basket or this powerful opportunity to get new clients will pass you by, straight into the hands of your competitors. Especially right now when your competitors are closing their doors and their old customers and clients are looking for someone else to do business with. Seriously, I can’t stress this enough.
Next month I’m going to talk about something I mentioned way back in October last year, and that is newsletters. Unlike free reports which are there to get NEW customers, newsletters help you retain your clients and charge higher prices. In fact, since its way more expensive to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one, you should be doing everything in your power to keep the ones you’ve got. This in depth article on newsletters will be a real eye opener.
There you go! Two weeks, two articles and two great ways to get an unfair advantage over your competition!
All the best,
Hugh Thyer
www.salescomefirst.com
