The Tribune

MARKETING REVOLUTION

By D’Arcy Rahming

While driving last night I was listening to another ‘I Love Marketing’ podcast. On this episode, renowned marketer, Dean Jackson, brought up a very interesting fact that you need to know about. Dean referenced a study that showed 52 per cent of people who inquire about a product or service will purchase that same product or service within the following 18 months. This is a great statistic that can make all the difference in your business.

I know that this number is true based on my own Kickboxing programme. Many people contact me, and if I do not follow up they either join gyms or do personal workouts. This may not happen right away, but it does happen within 18 months. When I talked to these folks later I found that many have joined alternative programmes. It’s true for other businesses, too.

For example, my son’s business produces the hand drawn videos that people use to gain leads or for their sales letters. Statistically speaking, 52 per cent of those people will buy a hand drawn video in the next 18 months. If his average client is worth $1,000, the question for him is how much is he willing to spend to follow up with all the leads he has generated, but has not yet purchased?

Another question is: How often would you follow up with them? What would you do for your follow-up? To steal an idea from Gary Halbert (also repeated by Dean Jackson), if you had a gun to your head and you absolutely had to close 50 per cent of those leads over the next 18 months, what steps would you take to ensure 50 per cent bought from you?

Michael, a member of my Mastermind group, is a leader in the security installation field. He has received hundreds, probably even thousands, of leads from people who have requested his free consumer guide or educational videos. When people inquire about your service, you know they are going to buy from someone.

Look at the numbers in your industry. What systems can you put in place to force the follow-up to happen? The point of this article is to stress that there is no such thing as a “bad” lead or an “old” lead. They are just leads that will buy from someone... That someone tends to be the last one who follows up with them.

NB: D’Arcy Rahming holds a Masters of Management from the prestigious Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. A lecturer at the College of the Bahamas, Mr Rahming has clients in general insurance, the retail, health and medical fields, sports federations and dinancial services. To receive his marketing newsletter FREE go to http://DArcyRahming.com or contact him directly at darcyrahmingsr@gmail.com