June 21, 2006
Generate New Leads Through Predictive Models
Genalytics, a provider of data solutions that helps organizations better target its customers, recently unveiled ProspectDirect. Built upon Genalytics patented analytics technology, ProspectDirect reportedly helps mortgage brokers, marketers, direct marketing agencies, list consultants and marketing services providers determine prospects for a campaign.According to Genalytics, ProspectDirect allows marketers to obtain leads at a lower net cost per response, offer demographic customer profile reports and improve its direct marketing response rates by 10-25 percent.
“With ProspectDirect, our goal is to democratize sophisticated analytics,” said Ray Kingman, Genalytics CEO. “Every marketing campaign can now realize the 10-25 percent lift in results that comes from a predictive model applied to list selection without investing in sophisticated technology or expertise.”
The company claims that ProspectDirect can provide marketers access predictive models in the categories of finance, real estate, automotive and consumer products and services. Individualized models for specific products or service campaigns are also built and can be added to the platform in the form of a custom Prospect Universe for marketers who prefer a private labeled version of ProspectDirect.
According to Genalytics, the product automates the predictive modeling process by dissecting more than 500 demographic, geographic and affluence variables associated with known customers and then scoring other households in the targeted geography as to their similarities and propensity to respond to an offer.
ProspectDirect is priced competitively with traditional bulk lists, the company said. All selects and modeling are free. Users pay a single flat rate for names rented, which is typically competitive with the cost of compiled names. For more information, visit www.genalytics.com.
May 30, 2006
What exactly classifies as a referral?
What exactly classifies as a referral? If we were to create some parameters that define what a referral is, this is what it would look like: Synonymous with "recommendation" and "testimonial," a referral is a potential prospect that is directed or given to you by someone you know — or someone you don’t know — who feels that you are the best source for help or information regarding a specific subject, product, or service.
What makes a referral so incredibly attractive and desirable is that it is, for the most part, a warm lead. That is, when you approach a referral, there is less of a need to convince or sell them. A certain degree of interest, credibility, and comfort has already been established. Chances are, there’s already a need present. All you have to do then is turn that need into a want or a desire for your product using the questions in your needs analysis.
Typically, your clients are going to be the top source for referral business simply because they are the ones who actually utilize your product, making them the most effective testimonial you can find to endorse it.
The following dialogue illustrates how you can establish a referral agreement with your clients. This way, you will be able to identify the clients who are willing to become a referral source for you and the most appropriate time to ask them for referrals. This is a great example of how to set up your strategy to increase the amount of referral business you currently generate.
Here’s some specific verbiage you can use to enroll people in becoming part of your referral team:
You: "Ms. Client, may I take a moment to share with you how I build my business?"
Client: "Sure."
You: "Well, what I enjoy most about what I do and where my time is best served is working with my clients. I want to spend as much time as possible serving my clients and exceeding your expectations. In order for me to spend more time with my clients and less time marketing or prospecting for new business, I really need the help of my satisfied clients.
"Please understand, I’m certainly not asking for any referrals from you now. Personally, I feel that would be incredibly presumptuous to ask you to introduce me to other potential clients before you even have a chance to truly utilize and benefit from my services. After all, we just started working together!
"However, in a couple of months or even weeks, when you are clearly realizing the benefits of my services and have gotten even more value than you expected, would you be comfortable sharing the results you have experienced with others and introduce me to those people who might also benefit from my services?"
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Client: "Sure, I don’t see why not."
You: "That sounds great. Thanks in advance for this consideration. Just so I know what it will take to make you a raving fan, what can I do to make you comfortable enough to actually want to refer business to me?"
The most effective way to earn referrals is to overdeliver on the value your clients expect so that you actually exceed their expectations. Once you confirm this to be true, it now becomes a great time to ask for testimonials or a reference from a happy client.
If you find that you are having difficulty asking for referrals, then question how strong your belief is in your product, your commitment to serving your clients, and the value proposition you can deliver.
Setting up a referral agreement with your clients will remove any reluctance and make you feel much more comfortable when asking them for referrals. Since they now know this is something you will be asking of them, it’s OK to ask.
Keith Rosen is the author of Time Management for Sales Professionals. His recent best seller, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Cold Calling, which has been endorsed by Dr. Ken Blanchard, has been featured in Inc. magazine and made it to the Top 50 Best Seller List on Amazon.com.
Read more…
May 23, 2006
10 Steps To Unleash Your Lead PR Machine
PR is a powerful small business marketing tool. By PR, I mean getting positive press mentions about your firm in local, trade and national publications. The reason these mentions are so powerful is because they are seen to come from unbiased 3rd parties. So, they are more believable. People are conditioned to think your ad messages are just sales hype, but when they read about how great you are in the local business journal, it must be true.
A lot of people think that gaining positive PR is luck. Maybe that’s true to a certain extent, but more than luck, it’s the result of a systematic commitment to generating PR. Here’s my step by step system for generating positive press coverage.
Step 1 - Target your media sources, including a growing list of Internet based media and news resources. Start networking with these media targets today by requesting editorial calendars, sending industry information, commenting on stories they write, passing on surveys and data, inviting them to workshops. Build relationships before you ask for the order! Tip: Network with the advertising sales folks at the publications too, they will give you lots of good information about who does what and where in the course of trying to sell you an ad.
Step 2 - Create three or four central media themes for the year that support your core marketing message.
Step 3 - Create a list of ten to twelve minor, but interesting, marketing related themes for ongoing PR. You need to fill in with volume while you are working on the front page feature.
Step 4 - Create a PR calendar and assign a PR theme and goal for each month. Focus on one publication or one writer and you will be amazed at how much you can accomplish. Remember to target editorial calendars (Publications will often assign themes to a month. Match your pitch to their theme.)
Step 5 - Write a fully developed pitch for each of your major themes - A pitch is a story idea that you can “pitch” to a member of the media. This is not a press release, but more of a sales job. Wrap your story idea around a news angle or trend and package the pitch to interest the readers of a specific publication you are pitching. You can change and repackage your pitches as needed. These are reserved for your central media themes.
Step 6 - Formulate one page press releases with catchy headlines for each of your minor themes.
Step 7 - Once a month, target your core media list and distribute a press release or pitch for a major theme. Post all press releases on a national wire service such as PRWeb and send copies of your press releases to clients and prospects. Don’t forget op-eds and letters to the editor.
Step 8 - Follow-up with your core media list by telephone and offer some new piece of news or trend angle that you did not include in your pitch or press release.
Step 9 - Track media coverage in local and trade press, set-up Google Alerts for a number of key related terms and reprint for marketing purposes any media coverage received.
Step 10 - Send handwritten thank you notes (or t-shirts) to members of the media to thank them for an interview or mention.
John Jantsch is a marketing coach, author and creator of the Duct Tape Marketing System. (www.ducttapemarketing.com) E-mail: john@jantschcommunications.com
