Be There Before the Sale – A Real Life Scenario

Tweet“You better buy me dinner first. You don’t even know me!”

There has been much discussion on the web about moving the free line —in other words— giving away free content to your target market in an effort to move them further down the sales funnel.

I am a big believer.

The Sales Funnel

The sales funnel is an illustration of the process of converting a prospect into a paying customer.  Have a look at the funnel below.

The red arrows highlight the early stages of the sales process where a prospect becomes aware of a product or service, generates interest and weighs their alternatives. They are looking for information and they DON’T have their credit card out — YET.

New media such as blogging, social networks and online video makes you the source of that information.

Let’s look at a real life scenario in which providing free information BEFORE THE SALE won me business.

My company sets small businesses up with the tools and training needed to conduct a Marketing 2.0 strategy using blogging, social media and online video.

We will refer to the prospect-turned-customer as Becky in the scenario below.

Awareness

The business relationship with Becky began with me following her on Twitter and she following me back.  I found her through a website called Twellow which gives you the ability to segment Twitter users by geographic location.  Although I can do business anywhere in the world, I do most of my business in the Saint Louis area.

I saw that Becky owned her own consulting business and I felt that this Marketing 2.0 strategy would be an excellent benefit to her.

Becky (apparently) became aware of my services through my Twitter posts which ultimately led her to my blog.  My blog is filled with good information (information that some may charge for but I give away free) about marketing a small-to-mid-sized businesses for very cheap via the Internet.

Interest

I first learned of Becky’s interest when she signed up for my free e-newsletter on my blog.  This is a definite buying signal because the prospect is showing that they have more than just a casual interest in the topics you are discussing on your blog.

Evaluation

After several weeks had gone by and I continued to add great content to my blog and Twitter stream – I found out through Twitter that Becky would be attending a meet-up that I would be attending as well.  I saw this through a Twitter post that she had put out the week before.

I arrived at the meet up (as I always do) with my DVD’s which explain the benefits of blogging, video and social media.  I offered her a set of the DVD’s and she was very appreciative.  We had a discussion about her web presence and her business and I believe after we were finished Becky had a good deal of trust in me.

She called me the next day and started talking cost and process.  She didn’t commit over the phone — she was evaluating several things:

• Should I do this at all?
• What other providers are out there?
• Am I getting the best value for my marketing dollar?
• Can I trust this provider?

Trust is a huge problem with service based businesses.  Services are not like products — a service is nothing more than a promise that you will DO SOMETHING.  Being there before the sale will clear up this trust issue with your prospects.

Commitment

After a couple of days had gone by Becky contacted me through Twitter and asked to set a meeting.  We met at a local breakfast restaurant and talked through some final details.  When this meeting was over, Becky had committed to becoming a customer.

Referral

Since then I have worked hard to make good on my promise to improve the visibility of her business online by setting her business up as an expert online using blogging, social media and online video.

Because of her success she has become an advocate for my business.  I have seen her refer me more than once on Twitter and she speaks to other people off-line about hiring me as well.

I Was There Before The Sale

When you use Marketing 2.0 tactics you can begin the sales process well before a customer reaches the commitment stage and be poised for an easy sale.  You have given yourself a very warm sales process when you have helped them out several times with free information from your blog, DVD or online video, through your social media channels and/or email newsletter.

You have positioned yourself as an expert and they know the quality of your work because they have had a “trial period” of interacting with your business via the channels mentioned above.

Your prospects are looking for information about your products and services — become the source of that information.