subject: 3 Ways to Increase the Number & Quality of Prospects You Attract [print this page] 3 Ways to Increase the Number & Quality of Prospects You Attract
If you run a small business, no doubt, you'd want more prospects so that you later turn some or all of those prospects into paying clients.Sometimes, the search for prospects can seem like we're in a desert searching for any signs of life. Other times, the prospects we find just aren't the right fit. In fact, they weren't really a prospect at all. And sometimes we discover this only after spending way too much time chasing after them.Here are 3 ways to increase not only the number of prospects you get but the quality as well:Define your "high quality prospect"This may seem obvious, but more often than not, I find that we have trouble finding ideal prospects because we haven't quite identified what "ideal" really is. We continue to play the numbers game and just go for any and everyone hoping that at some point, some percentage of the larger crowd will become a great prospect or customer.So step one is to define your ideal prospect or client. What's the demographic of that person? Perhaps take a look at your history of clients and assess who was just perfect for you. Then profile them. Make notes on who they are. That profiling process will help you get much clearer on who you are looking for.Seek first to understand (not to sell)After you get clear on who would be an ideal prospect for you, be sure to take the time to research and discover what resonates most with them. Then, you can work that criteria into your all aspects of your marketing (website, business card, flyers, mailers, etc). The result? Your ideal prospects begin to resonate more with what you offer.I believe it was Steven Covey's "7 Habits of Highly Effective" people that suggested that we always seek first to understand then to be understood. And I think the same applies to our prospects. Do you know what they really want? What are they craving from someone who provides a service like yours. If not, you'd want to do some level of market research to discover this. It is perhaps the most important key to attracting more ideal prospects.Offer a great tasteOne key to attracting more ideal prospects is to come up with something valuable you can give to a prospect for absolutely free or very low cost. The risk is low to taste the free offer so a higher volume of interested prospects show up. Make it a really great taste of what you offer. Remember, people buy when they're ready to buy and not necessarily when you're ready to sell. And if they're not ready, a free taste of what you do would be a great starting point for them to get to know you better.Offer something you know would be very helpful and of high value to your ideal prospects. Display your knowledge and/or expertise through teaching perhaps.If you sell skincare products, it may be valuable to have a little eBook or special report on, say "6 ways to instantly reduce wrinkles."If you sell real-estate, perhaps offer something on "3 Secrets to choosing the best real estate agent and how to know when you haven't."If you sell insurance, perhaps an offer on "5 Secrets Your Insurance Agent Won't Want You To Find Out."Basically our offer should really resonate with the key problems your ideal client may be facing.When that free or low-cost offer is made, the folks who are interested will naturally raise their hands and self-identify as a true (and higher quality) prospect. If they're not interested in an appealing free offer, chances are they're not an ideal prospect for you. This helps to create a pool of people of targeted, higher quality prospects with whom you can then follow up to see if your services would be helpful to them.
