Attract, Build Relationships and Trust. Using Authentic Marketing!

Transcription

1 Attract, Build Relationships and Trust Using Authentic Marketing! Designed for: Service Professionals and Small Business Coaches, Consultants, Therapists, Trainers, Authors, and other Service Professionals Copyright 2012 by Mike Rafati All rights reserved. No part of this report may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, faxing, ing, and posting online or by any other system, without written permission from the publisher. For more information contact Mike Rafati at (801) or 1

2 Contents Authentic Marketing... 3 Why Authentic Marketing?... 3 What is Authentic Marketing?... 4 What are the advantages of Authentic Marketing?... 4 Step 1: Marketing Software (the tools)... 6 Step 2: Nurturing Your Existing List, While Building a Quality List... 8 List quality vs. size... 8 Step 3: Attracting Quality Prospects with an Irresistible Giveaway Attracting the ideal clients Providing an Irresistible Giveaway... 9 Step 4: Building Relationships and Trust with Great Relevant Content Step 5: Measuring Results and Receiving Feedback Final Note

3 Authentic Marketing Why Authentic Marketing? marketing is a proven marketing strategy that has been used since the early 1990s. Traditionally, marketing was about buying lists or gathering as many addresses as possible and pounding that list with many unwanted s and offers, hoping people on the list would notice and buy the services or products. These tactics got so ridiculous that we have laws against spamming today! In addition, customers are more aware of marketing tactics and they refuse to work with spammers. Authentic Marketing Vs. Traditional Marketing Authentic Marketing is completely different from Traditional marketing. Authentic Marketing is permission based and it is all about providing value and sharing your gift with people who have given you permission and want to hear from you! It is all about providing value Customers are looking for value and they want to receive great information and relevant content from their favorite businesses and service professionals. Yet, they do not tolerate irrelevant content and unwanted anymore! 3

4 What is Authentic Marketing? Authentic marketing is about providing value and solutions to your ideal clients and sharing your gift with people that are interested in what you offer. Authentic Marketing is about: Permission based communication Informing your target market about your solutions and your passion to serve them Creating a strong connection with your list by providing relevant and valuable content Building long term relationships and developing trust with people that will benefit from working with you Interacting and communicating with your ideal clients (your tribe) Attracting new prospects by providing relevant information about their problems Giving solutions, Solving problems, and providing great value It is all about serving your market, communicating, providing great value, and making your clients feel special What are the advantages of Authentic Marketing? People work with service professionals they know, like, and trust. Hence, many service professionals use to create relationships and develop trust with their clients. Generally, it takes at least 5-7 contacts with a prospect to develop trust and for them to buy services and products. Therefore, marketing is one of the greatest ways to keep in touch and to develop relationships and trust with potential clients. 4

5 There are so many other great advantages for using Marketing, here is a short list: 1. It is one of the greatest and quickest ways to communicate with your clients 2. It is permission based, hence, people have given you permission to contact them, and they are interested to hear about what you have to offer 3. It is the best way to authentically build a responsive list by providing relevant content 4. It is a great way to create a referral system by allowing your clients to share your content with other potential prospects 5. It is inexpensive and you can see the results much faster than most other forms of marketing 6. It is a great way to allow your prospects to qualify themselves by signing up for what they are interested in 7. It is about the quality of the list and not the size of it! So now that you know what Authentic Marketing is all about, I will show you 5 easy steps to start or improve your Authentic Marketing. Step 1: Marketing Software and Service Providers Step 2: Nurturing your existing list, while building a quality list Step 3: Attracting Quality Prospects with an Irresistible Giveaway Step 4: Building Relationships and Trust with Great Relevant Content Step 5: Measuring Results and Receiving Feedback 5

6 Marketing Software (the tools) Newsletter and marketing software programs are pretty much the same. Most professionals are already sending newsletters and offers. However, they may use MS Outlook or free accounts like AOL or Yahoo to send their newsletters or offers. Move to Step 2 if you are already using an Marketing Software. Tip: It is best to use marketing software programs to send newsletters and s, instead of using MS Outlook or free AOL, Yahoo, or Gmail accounts. All marketing software programs provide the same basic criteria. They all must have good relationship with the ISP s (Internet Service Providers) such as Yahoo, AOL, and others. This is important for your to pass through the ISP s servers and reach your subscribers. Most ISPs will stop mass s and associate them with spamming. All Marketing Software programs also follow the common anti-spam measures, in accordance with CAM-SPAM (official anti-spam policy). In short, their job is to make sure that you are not sending spam, unwanted, or misleading to your list. There are many and Newsletter Marketing Software programs available on the market. Most provide what Service Professionals - coaches, consultants, trainers, therapists, and other professionals require for sending and newsletters. On the other hand, there are shopping carts that provide an marketing tool and CRM all in one package. That is a great solution as you expand your business and want to control all your client interactions from one tool. Most marketing providers offer a free 30-day trial or you can use a limited version of their services for free. Here are a few that provide the best entry-level opportunity for coaches, consultants, and service professionals: 6

7 1. Aweber (affiliate) Starting at $19 for subscribers/month, it is easy to use and they have a very clean user interface. They provide great reporting and tracking. Also, they have a great auto responder tool for scheduling and sending automated s. No surveys or image hosting. 2. Mailchimp (affiliate) Free for up to 2000 subscribers with a few limitations, or pay only $10 for subscribers/month. This is the greatest free tool out there. Easy and clean interface with great functionality and fantastic support, contact import tool, and they host unlimited images. 3. Constant Contact (affiliate) Starting at $15 for subscribers/month. They do not offer a free option, but they provide a free trial. They are one of the oldest marketing companies in business. They have a great system with lots of features and templates. They provide tools to import your existing contacts have great customer service and offer lots of training. They allow you to host some images for free and charge you for more. They are a little more expensive than others, and they also charge extra for many additional features. 4. 1shoppingcart (affiliate) This is a great solution if you need a shopping cart (to manage your payments) and an marketing tool. There are other paid marketing services like Vertical Response, icontact, and many others. Also, Infusionsoft is a great tool for those with a larger list. Infusionsoft is an E-Commerce, marketing, and CRM tool for managing client payments and relationships. 7

8 Nurturing Your Existing List, While Building a Quality List Most service professionals are either trying to build their list or already have a small list. However, most do not nurture their list properly. For most service professionals, their list can play a great role in their success. They can market their products and services, find referrals, and build a stronger relationship with their clients by connecting with their list. That makes their list one of the most important assets in their business. Hence, all service professionals must leverage their existing list and nurture it irrespective of its size. Many service professional neglect their existing list and focus only on building their list. Hence, they overlook the potential opportunity that their existing list provides. Nurturing your list is as important as building your list. List quality vs. size The quality of your list is always more important than its size. A quality list has very active and highly responsive subscribers that are potential buyers of your services and products. List size is not as important. The value of your list is based on its responsiveness; the more responsive lists have a higher value than the unresponsive lists. 8

9 Attracting Quality Prospects with an Irresistible Giveaway How do you create excitement and show your genuine interest in serving your target market? By providing value from the moment they get to know you and continuing it for as long as they you know them. It is very similar to developing any relationship. The relationship is over when you stop paying attention and start neglecting the other person. In the past, people would sign up only to receive your weekly or monthly newsletter. However, clients have access to so much information today and they are only willing to share their information in return for something very valuable. In other words, they want to receive a greater value for sharing their address. The key is to attract ideal clients and give them an authentic irresistible giveaway that they cannot refuse. There are two parts to this process: 1. Attracting the ideal clients How you attract potential clients into your list is very important. You want to target the right clients and people that are looking for what you are offering. Therefore, you must pay close attention to the source of your lead. How prospects find you determine the quality of your list. Imagine, people walking in front of your store. Most people would stop to take your Free Offer, even though they may never shop from you. Now, imagine that all the people that are passing your store are looking for what you are marketing. You know the people that sign up for your irresistible offer are your potential clients. 2. Providing an Irresistible Giveaway An Authentic Irresistible Offer is what you give to your prospects in return for their address. This is how they start getting to know you and this is the first step in starting your relationship with your potential clients. The greater the quality and the value of your offer, the greater the quality of your lead! 9

10 Your offer matters greatly here, since potential clients are self-qualifying themselves by signing up for your offer. People sign up for what they potentially think they need and want, unless you are providing a general giveaway. Hence, you must create a focused giveaway that is only targeted to your ideal clients. Here are the top 5 criteria for creating your Irresistible Giveaway: 1) Focus on solving one problem 2) Provide relevant value and solutions 3) Make the giveaway short, so your prospects can finish it quickly. A long ebook will go on the To Do List! It means they will not read it 4) Add a call to action at the end of your Irresistible Giveaway; the purpose is to build relationships and trust! Also, you want to direct your prospects back to your website 5) Provide your profile and contact information, you never know where your giveaway is going and who will read it Finally, potential ideal clients may sign up to get your free giveaway, but they may not stay if the quality of your giveaway or your future offers does not match their expectation. Here are a few examples of an Authentic Irresistible Offer: 1. Ebook 2. A Report 3. Audio recording or teleseminar 4. Video series 5. Training session 10

11 Building Relationships and Trust with Great Relevant Content How do you build relationships and trust using Authentic Marketing? You start by communicating and providing value. Here s how you start: 1. Understand your client s wants and needs 2. Provide value and solutions and share your gift 3. Show that you care and deliver what you promise 4. Prove your value by giving away great content and helping your prospects before they buy from you 5. Finally, ask for feedback and get them engaged and have a conversation The only way to assist your clients is by knowing what they need and want. Then you can provide value and show that you care by providing value and solutions. Of course, they have indicated their needs by opting in your list. Henceforth, you must deliver the type of content they expect and want. As a result, you are creating trust by building on your relationships, being consistent, and keeping your promises. Here is a list of best practices: 1. Subject line is the most important part of the . We receive so many every day and the subject line is what gets our attention 2. Fully express yourself and your values. This is the most important thing for service professionals, people signed up to hear from you not to receive some generic information. Give them what you got and authentically share your gift. Also, this is how you improve the quality of your list, your ideal clients stay and others will leave. 3. Always provide high value and relevant content. You must give, give, and give. Your good deeds will surely come back to you. 4. Simplify and add a call to action, don t expect them to guess! 5. Ask for feedback and engage them into a conversation 6. Provide incentive to visit your website 7. Ask them to share your with their friends 8. Always monitor your results. Both your clients and your business must benefit from your Authentic Marketing 11

12 Measuring Results and Receiving Feedback Giving is great but receiving is also as important! If you are not receiving what you want from your list then you may not be talking to your ideal clients. You may be talking to prospects and people who love to read your information, but they are not your ideal clients and they are not ready for your services and products. Most software companies provide analytics, which is a great way to see how many people have opened your or clicked on your links. This is one way to see how your clients are responding to your content. Also, the number of unsubscribes is another indication for irrelevant content or a low quality list. However, by leaving your list, your subscribers are helping you to improve the quality of your list. Your customer s needs and wants may change and it is your responsibility to keep in touch with your list and understand their new challenges and difficulties. Hence, it is great to interact and ask questions periodically. It is also a great strategy to use surveys for this purpose. This is how you establish yourself as the leader in your market, with your marketing and building a strong relationship with your list. Just generating interest is not good enough! You want to generate interest, satisfy your audience s needs, and have them sign up for your services and products! Authentic marketing will help your clients, but also contributes to your bottom-line. 12

13 Final Note Here is the secret; Authentic Marketing is an important part of your business. Start creating a list if you don t have one. If you have a list, then start nurturing it and build relationships and trust with the people on your list. Your clients want to hear from you. Reach out, provide value, and share your gift with them. For more information about marketing and how to get started please contact Mike Rafati at (801) or miker@incrediblefrog.com, or visit 13

14 Message from Mike Rafati Congratulations! You are either starting your business or already doing what you love and sharing your gift with others. I am passionate about assisting people who are ready to discover and follow their passions in life, and in business. I know it is difficult to let go of the old ways sometimes. It feels too risky or difficult to get out of the comfort zone and express your true desires. However, you are a powerful being, and with a little help and some coaching, you can move toward your desires. Most professionals get stuck in marketing their business. Marketing is about creating alignment between you, your business, and your ideal clients. Then, expressing and showing your values clearly and effectively to them. You must get out of your own way and move forward one step at a time. Then, you could live your dreams, instead of dreaming about them. No one has all the solutions, and no one can walk in your shoes. However, you already have what you need, and you only need to give yourself permission to move forward. I have designed this guide to help you market your business and attract clients. You can find my complete marketing, web, and coaching programs at Remember, you already have what you need, so don t hold back and start sharing your gift with others. Wishing you joy and abundance, Mike Rafati 14 Meet Mike: Mike Rafati helps passionate selfemployed professionals with authentic marketing and business strategies for getting clients, marketing more effectively, and creating a virtual business. Mike has over 20 years of sales, marketing and operation experience in the technology and service industry. He has owned several businesses and has worked with corporate executives and CXO levels in the area of technology, sales and marketing. Mike is an entrepreneur at heart and enjoys working with passionate professionals and heart-centered entrepreneurs. Mike has always felt that there is an authentic way to live life, and that is by being passionate and sharing our gift and serving others. Mike has attended ipec coach training program and he is a certified coach and ELI MP practitioner. He combines his passionate message with his business experience and coaching skills to help his clients market their business attract more clients and to create a happier and more fulfilled life.