08.08.06 4:34 PM EST
The guy with the power in the marketplace isn’t
the one with the products or automated system.
It’s the guy who has control of the customer list.
You’ve heard the saying…
“The money’s in the list”.
It rings true for off-line businesses just as much as
it does for online businesses.
To be quite frank…
Nothing else matters.
The buildings, computers, inventory ( if there is any ),
vehicles, etc… can all be replaced if lost.
You can’t easily reproduce your in-house list.
Especially if you’re a business that’s been around for years.
For example…
Last December, my landscaper pal, John S., sold his nursery.
He took over from his Father who took over from his Father.
Needless to say, the reputation of the Nursery went back
for decades.
Old timers would come by just to chat.
The business attracted customers every day with nothing
more than a simple 1/4 page ad in the Yellow Pages. With
most of the business coming from word-of-mouth.
But before he could he sell…
John S. had to agree to a non-compete agreement with
the new owner stating that he wouldn’t create a competing
( nursery ) business inside of 2 years.
But he was able to maintain his landscaping business
from a new location.
One BIG challenge loomed over him though…
With the phone number of the Nursery staying the same,
how was he going to secure for himself a steady, predictable
flow of incoming calls without a lot of expensive advertising?
Fortunately…
John S. has a great girlfriend who helped keep up-to-date
records of all of his past and present clients over the last
3 years.
I suggested to John S. that he create a simple one piece
mailer to send to each of his clients. Each client list
would be broken up into 3 categories…
His A-List Customers totaled a little more than 50.
These were clients who used Johns services consistently,
year after year… regardless of price or economy status.
Mostly high end residential homes with a few businesses
mixed in.
B-List Customers were those who had used his services
at least once within the past 12 months. This group was
by far the largest.. well into the hundreds.
His C-List Customers were made up of those businesses
and residences with whom he had done work for in the
past but had little or no contact with them over the past
12 months or longer.
To be truthful…
John S. was completely against this idea.
For years, he relied on the phone “to just ring”.
When things got slow, he simply had his crew work in
the fields of the Nursery until business picked back up.
Surprisingly.. ( shockingly ) … it always did.
Until now.
He doesn’t have the Nursery anymore.
No field work to be done.
He needed to have consistent work available for his
guys or he’d risk losing them to other jobs.
So…
He took my idea.
In March and April ‘06, he mailed letters to each of the
clients in all 3 lists… informing them all of the sale of the
Nursery, his new location and number and more importantly,
that it was businesss as usual.
The response…
Was over-whelming!
Thank You letters came back.
The phone lines rang off the hook for 2 days following the
initial mailing.
Jobs of all sizes were booked weeks and even months in
advance.
Everything from $200 mulch jobs to $20,000 flag stone
patio installations.
So much work came flooding in that he called ME to help!
Which I did…
2 days a week for a couple of months.
Last time I spoke with John S., he was headed out to a
job at an attorneys house.
Estimated bill: A little over $13,000.
The attorney told John S. that he wouldn’t have gotten
the job if he hadn’t gotten the reminder in the mail about
his services.
And to think John S. was originally against mailing to his
customer list.
I think he felt a little uncomfortable “pitching” his services.
He had never had to do that before.
Clients came to him.
But as with anything in life, you have to make adjustments
in order to be able to stay ahead of the competition.
That’s where keeping and maintaining your own personal
customer list is absolutely vital.
Even if you’re an info marketer hawking $10 ebooks via
Clickbank. Or maybe you’re in an MLM deal that sells
shampoo and soaps.
Keep track of ALL of your customers.
Use an online autoresponder like Getresponse .
Follow up consistently via email for FREE.
Send them offers and updates about future specials.
( HEY… )
Here’s a Million Dollar Tip:
Send them stuff OFTEN.
But NOT Junk.
Quality stuff… stuff you’ve purchased and have
used yourself is always good.
The people on your mailing list have a capacity to
BUY that is far greater than your capacity to send
them quality offers.
( It’s true! )
So make sure you’re staying in front of them.
Or someone else will.
Take Care,
Tim
Cell: 330.881.3026
PS: If you’ve never used an autoresponder like Getresponse, don’t worry! It’s so user-friendly. For anyone purchasing a new account or upgrades to the $17.95 a month plan, I’ll give you a guided ( 15 ) minute tour of the back office.
Once you know a few key things, you’ll be all set.
