Cultivating New Business From Past Prospects Using Drip Marketing Campaigns

Transcription

1 Cultivating New Business From Past Prospects Using Drip Marketing Campaigns Every qualified lead should be placed into a drip marketing campaign, defined as an automatic program that contacts (or instructs you to contact) the prospect over a period of time with various promotional or call to action messages. 210 Barton Spring Road Suite 275 Austin, TX

2 No matter how well you execute your follow-up, you are not going to convert every prospect into a client. But don t discard the lead. You should import the lead into your contact relationship manager (CRM) to build your database and sphere of influence. The Powerline system has multiple auto-import features to assist you with this task (by logging into the Arch web portal you will see a list of CRMs that we will auto-import into or you can manually import the data into any spreadsheet CRM). Every qualified lead should be placed into a drip marketing campaign, defined as an automatic program that contacts (or instructs you to contact) the prospect over a period of time with various promotional or call to action messages. There are various methods and strategies taught by coaches as to the appropriate way to run a drip marketing campaign. We will assist you with ideas and tools needed to help you automate your followup marketing campaign to create new leads from your subset of old leads. To help you avoid common mistakes, we will explore the keys to an effective drip marketing campaign, identify the pitfalls, and focus on solutions to assist you in managing your prospective and client relationships. Five Keys to Drip Marketing Immediacy The first follow-up piece should arrive within 48 hours -- whether that piece is a voice broadcast call sent 48 hours after the initial call, a personal phone call, an assistant call, or a letter. Value The marketing pieces should contain a value. Whenever possible that value should be specific to the prospect or address the needs of that prospect. For example, if the lead was created from a home seller piece, your follow-up offer could include a free home evaluation or CMA. Call to Action The second piece should arrive within ten days to two weeks of the initial call. While the offer can be the same as your initial follow-up, it should be positioned differently and with more urgency. The free home evaluation offered in the first letter should now have a date-stamp for expiration. Consistency The third piece should arrive two weeks after the second. You can not expect every sales technique to work the first time, so it is imperative that you perform this task consistently, repeatedly, and over time to measure the results. After three follow-up pieces, send your prospective client a quarterly newsletter or other contact service. Vary Your Mediums You should vary the mediums in which you contact your prospects. Utilize the mail, electronic mail, personal phone calls, voice broadcast, newsletters, etc. If a prospect sees you in the mail, receives an occasional telephone call, gets invited to a client appreciation party, and receives an occasional , they will appreciate your efforts and respect your professionalism, and the persistency of marketing will pay dividends.

3 Common Pitfalls Disregarding Cold Leads Many lenders do not place enough significance on leads that are in the early stages of the home buying/selling process. If a lead is not going to purchase or sell in the next few months, many lenders simply disregard them. This leads to a very high percentage of home buyers working with the first lender that contacts them. They also often work with the professional who is available when they make the decision to purchase, which is why drip marketing campaigns are so effective. By placing a prospect in a drip campaign, you maintain contact with them and keep your name in their mind. When the prospect is finally ready to buy, you will be the lender they choose to work with. Misappropriating Funds Marketing dollars should be treated like sales people; either they produce or they get fired. If you don t track your marketing s efficacy, you won t know if it s working and may be investing into the wrong mediums. The mediums that yield the highest returns should receive the appropriate allocation. Mismanaging Databases Many lenders mismanage their databases and hardly utilize their contact management software at all, much less to its potential. Any worthwhile CRM will enable you to query and select variable information so that you can manage multiple campaigns, such as one for your new prospects and one for your clients. Aborting Campaigns Quitting a drip marketing campaign before you reap the rewards undermines your long-range goals. A successful drip marketing campaign hinges on three key points: message, frequency, and targeting. Suspending a campaign without giving it time to run its full course undermines your ability to establish brand identification and interest from prospects. Example Campaign 1 st Follow-Up Action: Telephone Call In the initial telephone call you should build rapport as quickly as possible. This is achieved by uncovering areas of commonality and asking the right questions to elicit more information. In some cases you will develop the prospect into a client on the first follow-up call. If not, use this as an information-gathering step, where you verify the prospect s information and consider asking permission to continue to correspond (via your drip marketing campaign). 2 nd Follow-Up Action: Mail Piece This piece is offering a value of a free home sale analysis. Make it unique by separating yourself from the more common great rate postcard or desert recipe that other lenders offer. Tell the prospect how to respond and lower resistance by including the no obligation tag.

4 3 rd Follow-Up Action: or Newsletter Here you are demonstrating your desire to work with this prospect and continuing to build legitimacy. If possible, send a newsletter that has a value specific to that prospect s needs and desires. Home Buyers: How Much Home Can You Afford? Find Out by Pre-qualifying Today. Buying a home is one of the most important investment decisions you will ever face. It s imperative you make a smart choice. Your key to making an educated decision is knowing exactly how much home you can afford. Pre-qualifying for a loan should always be your first step even before you select a real estate agent. Pre-qualification not only allows you to get the most home for your purchasing dollar, but it gives you more buying power as well. Qualified buyers are able to act instantly when they find their ideal home. So if you are in the market to buy a home, don t miss out on your golden opportunity to receive our FREE report The Nine Most Common Mistakes to Avoid When Obtaining a Home Mortgage. To request this report please call our 24 hour recorded information line at ext 2005

5 4 th Follow-Up Action: Mail Piece This piece has a last chance offer. Finding the Right Loan Is Just as Important as Finding the Right Home If you re a prospective home buyer, finding the ideal home is probably your top priority. The truth is, however, finding the right financing for that home can actually affect your family just as much. It makes sense, right? You shop for the best home; you should shop for the best financing. From fixed rates to adjustable rates or even a combination of the two, choosing the right loan can have a dramatic impact on your financial status over the next 30 years. The reality is that every home owner s situation is unique. As a result, you need a home loan that will not only meet your family s immediate needs, but one that will work towards your long-term goals as well. It is way to easy to get stuck in a 30 year loan that is wrong for you and that is why I am offering my FREE report titled Secrets Lenders Don t Want You To Know. 11 Things You Must Know Before You Sign Anything. To request this report please call our 24 hour recorded information line at ext 2005 Please hurry, this offer Expires on (Date) Now you ve reached out and touched this prospect four times in 28 days. You have made an offer to perform a free, no obligation home sale analysis, created value with the offer because you are willing to go beyond a typical CMA, and inserted a shortage on that offer by giving them a date to respond by or the offer is rescinded. This is sequential marketing, a multi-step process that will generate you a much greater response than randomly mailing a Time to Refinance? card with no call to action or perishable offer. Solutions from Arch Powerline Mail Fulfillment You can automatically send out a customized direct mail piece to every lead generated by the Powerline service. Your message can be delivered via a custom letter sent in a stamped window envelope or a creative self-mailer.