By Mark Imperial

Ever since Dan Kennedy taught me to focus on “Being Somebody,” I’ve found that being the most consistent click on the dial increases response and conversion for my clients.  I’ll share an example of how a client became the go-to-source in their area using Information Marketing to promote their local business.  Being seen as an Influencer, they rose above the clutter of commonality and beat the pants off of their competition.

3 reasons why you can easily leapfrog your competition

• While everyone else’s ads scream “Here we are, come buy me,” yours says “I want to help and here is complimentary, authoritative information that you can use to achieve your goals.”  You’ll get those prospects who are ready to buy, PLUS folks who have been ‘thinking about it’ or would consider it if they could learn more. Your competition currently leaves those prospects behind.
• Most competitors do lazy advertising, copying less-effective industry norms and underestimating the difficulty of the task.  Your consultancy will arrive differently.
• Offering information allows you to build a list you can harvest.  Your competition typically gets fewer buyer names, and they have no follow-up list to harvest.

The Little Boxing Club That Could

As a hobby, I moonlight as a kickboxing instructor for fun, so I was happy to help a gym build their business. This isn’t a typical boxing club; instead it’s known as a “white collar fitness” boxing club that’s more geared toward soccer moms than fighters. No sparring allowed, only punching and kicking bags and mitts. Here’s the summary of their campaign…

BEFORE: Their ads were unclear as to who they were targeting. They would spend $10K per month on local magazine display advertising, averaging 33 new prospects a month.  Only 49% would convert, yielding 16 new members at an acquisition cost of $625 per member (member value $708/year).

NEW TEST:

1) Changed their ads from “name and phone number billboard” to a free introductory training class offer.  The free training was the information element.

2) Implemented a door hanger campaign to 10,000 homes for a $3K investment.  Be cautious of door hanger companies; this is still a wild card in many areas and MUST be tested.

3) Added trackable toll-free numbers to all of their magazine ads and door hangers so we could see where the calls were coming from. You can get toll-free numbers for $2/mo. at Kall8.com

RESULT OF 30 DAY DOOR HANGER TEST:  Door hangers drove 159 inbound calls (walk-ins weren’t counted by client), 135 trials ($22 CPL), 69 new members ($43 CPS)

LESSONS LEARNED AND MISSED OPPORTUNITIES:  Implementation ultimately comes down to the compliance of the client, and even the most well-meaning client will leave money behind.  Don’t make these mistakes! 

Here are the areas they didn’t address: 

1) Fix conversion process before driving more traffic (a past comparable client has a steady 86% conversion rate) 

2) Shot follow-up video marketing geared to boost excitement for the free-trial, but franchise didn’t have a useful CRM, so they weren’t used.

3) No new-trial experience choreographed

4) No simple referral attempt “Our most successful members have an accountability buddy – is there someone you would love to get fit with?”

5) No upsell stuff to make them stick. When folks first begin is when they’re in heat and buy rabidly. Offering them tools that help them increases stick through the principle of commitment and consistency. 

6)  No Advocacy Program. Getting influencers to blog about them, and arming them with the information needed to tell their story would help immensely.

7) No member-engagement to create community.  Best members stay because of fraternity; no effort was made to nurture the top of the pyramid.

8) No management of member expectations. Conversions would increase if they listened to common objections and simply addressed them in the script of the free-lesson.

9) No offer of “fast-results” report or videos, only the live class.

10) Should further test new magazine ads and add a Val-Pak test.

Creating compelling, informational training and offering them is an effective way to boost response and sales for any consultant as well as any local business. Different information tools make great lead-generators, conversion-boosters, customer-keepers, and referral-boosters. Consultants can create a “Free Trial” doorway as either a FREE live preview event or online event.  Be Creative, Be an Influencer, and Be A Somebody to grow your bottom line.