How To Use a Contact List

Besides a survey, your contact list can be used to generate sales  directly. Some of the following ideas must be done one-on-one and  others can be done to large quantities of prospects at a time. They all  have varying levels of effectiveness. A general rule of thumb is: 

 The more personal the contact, the greater the chances of a sale.  That means that an in-person interview has a better success rate  than a mass mailing. 

 1. The in-person interview. As the name suggests, this is something  that is done in-person where you have the advantages of eye contact,  voice inflection and body language. Although, very time consuming, it  is extremely effective in generating sales. 

 Much has been written about the "presentation", but the main facet  should always be finding out what's in it for the client to do business  with you. What do they need and what have you got that satisfies  that need. This is the basis for ALL sales and I don't see that  changing any time in the near future. 

 2. Direct mail. Much has ALSO been written about direct mail. You  can expect a 1-3% return from direct mail. A lot depends on how  targeted the mailing list is, how effective the envelope is in getting  prospects to open it, how effective the letter is describing the product  or service and how competitive the offer is to what the receiver is  currently using. 

 3. Call-to-Action pieces. These CAN be distributed by mass mail but  are often delivered by hand to individual homes/businesses. These  include door hangers, coupons, and flyers. These pieces have an  offer that has a limited time to respond, has specific requirements for  qualification to take advantage of the offer and/or is otherwise limited  in its scope. 

 An effective way to do this is to team up with another business and  share client lists. Find a business that offers a complimentary product  to yours (you sell houses- they give mortgages; you sell tee shirts,  they have a health club) and do a joint offer to both lists involving  both businesses. 

 4. Use your contact list to generate referrals. Each one of the people  on your contact lists knows 250 people (according to Reader's  Digest). Your contact list is a GOLD MINE of referrals. I currently  offer a $50.00 credit to anyone sending me a referral that turns into a  client. That amount is offered on a $200.00 sale, so it's a 25% finders  fee. 

 It is not always necessary to financially reimburse persons who send  you a referral, though. It is ALWAYS necessary to send a THANK  YOU. That THANK YOU can be in the form of a finders fee, a  discount coupon, or just a simple THANK YOU note. This goes a  long way in developing good, strong relationships. Appreciation never  goes out of style. 
Nancy Roebke  Execdirector@Profnet.Org        http://www.profnet.org  --  Learn to Network!  Increase income, cut costs, and put an end to cold calling.  Subscribe to our FREE newsletter that teaches you the secrets  of successful networking. mailto:subscribe@just-business.com ! 

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