On the day you wake up and decide “I don’t want to work for anyone else,” your mind races with all the possibilities and you are a steam train of determination.
But not so fast.
Being in business for yourself means that you are your company’s sales person (at least in the beginning). Check the glossary for the business definition of “pipeline” and images of natural gas do not surface. It’s the list of your potential future customers. Moreover, business owners must understand, believe, and act on this old principle: sales is a numbers game.
What to say?
Once you implement your database building systems, it’s time to communicate regularly with the contacts you have. Here are three quick hit email marketing campaigns you can do via an email blast that are low-cost and can have high impact to additional revenue and increasing your database:
1. Cross Sell or Up Sell Current Clients.
Have you inquired what their needs are beyond what you’re already providing? Is there an affiliate that you can refer them to and get paid for doing so? Anticipate the next step and have the next product/service in your sales funnel ready to remedy the pain, problem or need.
2. Re-engage Past Clients.
Your project may have (had) a definitive end, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t need you again. Is there a way you can service them again? Let them know of new offerings that would benefit them.
3. Inform with company news or industry trends.
Not everyone in your database is a customer, which makes them a prospect or a referral. With social media, blogs and newsletters, it’s easy to share relevant information and stay top-of-mind by keeping your contacts in the conversation.
There are many email marketing programs available to help you manage your contact list and provide metrics (ie. track bad email addresses, how many are opening your emails, which links they’re clicking, etc). When you track your campaign’s effectiveness and adjust subsequent marketing activities based on that data, you can make strategic business decisions and either exploit your successes or cut your losses. Either way, informed decision-making is always better than emotional.
Are your email campaigns to your current database more successful than email campaigns to unqualified leads/contacts?