Pulling clients in is not only more fun than pushing hard to "get" clients, it's MUCH easier. Who wouldn't rather have clients call them instead of pounding the pavement? The concept is a no-brainer to grasp, but very few solo-entrepreneurs actually do anything about it. Most are wandering aimlessly, just waiting for clients to come to them, but with little strategy involved. That's when creating PULL marketing systems comes into play. There are 3 powerful "PULLING-them-in" marketing techniques I recommend in my programs and use myself, still today. In this article, I want to share one of them with you. I call it the 'Irresistible F.R.E.E. offer'. Irresistible F.R.E.E. Offers (IFOs) literally make people sit up and take notice and PULL them into your pipeline. There are many forms of IFOs. It could be an audio CD that you give away on your website and advertise on the web, a special report, an intro teleclass, a workbook, an e-course, a checklist or downloadable audio. The list of possible IFOs is endless, but this strategy works best when the topic refers to what your prospect would do-anything and pay-anything to achieve or acquire. (As a side note, I do not typically recommend offering a fr.ee consultation. It is not only too time consuming, but it attracts too many tire kickers who waste your time.) Even though you're not charging for the Irresistible Offer, it should absolutely be of high content and high value. Like me, you've probably attended a no-fee teleclass or received an ebook that left you severely under-whelmed. And like me, you've probably forgotten that person very quickly. The bottom line is, if your initial offer is not high-content, you've wasted the prospect's time and therefore, you've lost them for good. When these F.R.E.E. offers have great value, you build your credibility instantly, people talk about you to colleagues, refer others to you, you get interviewed by joint ventures and strategic alliances, and the media begins paying attention, which all creates increased exposure and visibility, without any extra effort on your part. And best of all, your first impression (one of high-content, high-value) keeps them thinking of you, over and over, until they're ready to buy. Now, before you start thinking, "Well, Fabienne, they WON'T buy from me if I give it ALL away at no-charge", that's not what we're doing here. I'm not suggesting you give away the whole farm. That wouldn't make good financial sense. Instead, I'm suggesting you give them the 'what', not the entire 'how' on these no-charge offers. That way, most prospects become intrigued with the high-content they received at no charge, and will look to you for the specific, pragmatic steps to implement them. That's key. The mistake I see solopreneurs making in a first offer is pitching their high-priced services from the get-go. I personally think this is a waste of marketing real-estate, because very few people will purchase your higher priced programs or services without knowing a little more about you. Remember the Know-Like-Trust Factor? People don't buy from someone they don't know, they don't like, and they don't trust. You can immediately start the K-L-T Factor using the Irresistible offer. Provided it's of high-content, high value, it starts people off slowly, establishes credibility, while positioning you as their problem solver. Priceless! Once prospects receive great benefit from your initial offer, they'll naturally move THEMSELVES up your Services Pyramid pipeline, without any work or hard selling on your part. That's the beauty of this concept. You simply invite prospects into your funnel and they will naturally move up the funnel on their own, without effort on your end. The best part of this is this process feels AUTHENTIC to you AND to them. Your content does the work, and they don't feel the sales pressure. Remember: people like to buy; but they don't like to be sold. All your F.R.E.E. irresistible offers are created to lead people to your ezine or other stay-in-touch marketing vehicles, where you continue to add high-content, high value over time. This builds the trust and the credibility, positioning you as their problem solver. The goal is to consistently fill the pipeline, getting it bigger and bigger over time, continually stocking the pond with ideal clients who self-select and move themselves up the ladder of the services you provide. THAT is what I call 'pulling' clients in and you're going to love how easy it is. Your Assignment: Begin thinking about what your prospects would do-anything and pay-anything to learn or experience from you. Then, create an Irresistible Offer around that, giving them high content but not the entire 'how' and put it in your marketing materials. Set up systems for getting that F.R.E.E. offer to your prospects with no effort on your part and watch the leads come in, day after day. You won't believe how easy it is to fill your pipeline effortlessly and authentically! Here's my formula for filling a pipeline effortlessly: Compelling and authentic marketing message + Effective marketing techniques + Irresistible F.R.E.E. offers = A FULL pipeline of prospects who call YOU If you're not sure how to create a compelling marketing message or set up effective marketing techniques in the first place, then it's time to take action and invest in a step-by-step marketing system that will feel easy and authentic to you. Copyright (c) 2007 Fabienne Fredrickson
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