Welcome! The Five Steps to closing internet leads Let’s start by agreeing that there are only two basic ways of acquiring new customers: using traditional methods, or be provided with a steady stream of high quality, pre qualified consumers that have chosen the internet to investigate their next purchase. It breaks down to Old School vs. The Future. Let’s compare your choices. Traditional methods include cold calling, buying lists, direct marketing, mass media and trade shows. They are all expensive, time-consuming and increasingly ignored by people that are tired of being harassed from aggressive sellers, usually at inconvenient times. Compare the old school approach to the purchase of Internet leads which are inexpensive, pre-qualified, targeted to your market and delivered to you whenever and wherever you want. Seems like a relatively easy decision, doesn’t it? The next question is: Why isn't everyone using the internet to help market their business? Some businesses are having a difficult time effectively using internet leads; finding the results simply, are not there. The phenomenon of consumers moving their product or service purchasing decision online has forced businesses to restructure there marketing approach but business must still have professional, persistent follow up, and must communicate the FAB's (features, advantages, and benefits) of their product or service to consumers. The introduction of internet leads has created impatient businesses, who have forgotten the importance of closing a lead. They see how easy it is to have a constant flow of high-quality referrals appear in their e-mail box day in and day out, but somewhere between getting the lead and closing the piece of business something goes wrong. Here’s how to get the most out of your new on-line lead source Rule One: React Quickly The consumer who goes online and completes a comprehensive questionnaire in order to receive quotes and information has more than likely used the internet in a similar fashion, and is used to exchanging information rapidly. Most online commercial inquiries and purchases get immediate responses, and your new prospect expects a similar reaction from you. One of the wonders of Internet leads is that they migrate automatically to your PC, cell phone or PDA. You can make that critical first contact from wherever you are. Reaching your prospect quickly and demonstrating how committed you are to learning his or her needs goes a long way toward closing a sale. Be responsive and act quickly to get the most out of the Yadaya.com program. Rule Two: Think Long-Term It’s easy to fall into the trap of treating the online prospect as just a quick sale. After all, there is no personal contact with this individual; he or she is just a name that appeared in your email. That may be a huge mistake. Instead, work to earn the consumer’s trust. Treat every prospect as a long-term client and convey your genuine concern for their needs. Having a customer for life probably means that you’ll get repeat business and word-of mouth referrals. Consider what you have to gain by taking the long-view, and you’ll discover that it’s the only logical option. Rule Three: A diligent approach Of course, you can’t have a long-term client if you don’t close the first sale, so let’s discuss some tips for working the lead: 1. Read the shampoo bottle: apply, rinse, and repeat. That’s how to approach online leads: call, email, repeat. The successful vendor keeps plugging away, no matter what the source of the lead may be. The unsuccessful agent gives up when he or she fails to reach the applicant. 2. Repeat tip # 1. It cannot be over stressed that follow-through is the single most important thing a vendor can do. Just because online leads are easy to acquire, they shouldn’t be taken casually. If you give up and move to the next name on your list, you are creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure. Pretty soon, you convince yourself that online leads don’t work, and a wonderful source of business is lost. 3. Understand that you are only one of the many options available to the prospect. Today’s consumer literally has dozens and dozens of choices for every purchase he or she makes. When a person requests quotes from your online lead source, there will be other vendors that will have access to that lead as well. That consumer probably requested quotes from other sources at the same time. Consumers love options, and that increases the competition. If consumers don’t believe they have been given all of the options, they will keep searching. 4. To stand out from your competition, educate the prospect. Instead of presenting one option, help each person work through all available choices. When you go through that process, you turn the prospective client’s comparison shopping to your advantage. They have been forming ideas about what they want, and listening carefully will help you discover one or two significant issues that are particularly important to them. Find the solution that addresses those points, and use them as hooks to close the sale. Rule Four: It’s a Numbers Game It’s all about the numbers. What are your costs and what are your gains? ROI, return on investment, trumps everything when you analyze your Marketing alternatives. If you are going to be successful using Internet lead sources, you have to believe they are your best marketing option. Comparing the ROI of different marketing techniques is the smart thing to do. You can’t make an intelligent decision based on subjective impressions. The best idea is to keep careful records of marketing expenditures and the closing rates earned from different marketing sources. More and more businesses are performing this analysis, and most of them reach a clear and decisive answer: Internet leads have the best ROI of any marketing option available today. Going beyond ROI, consider the time and effort needed to acquire each lead. Internet leads require almost no effort and no time, yet they deliver exactly the type of clients you request, in exactly the area you choose. There’s every reason to be a believer in Internet leads. Rule Five: Avoid the Great Expectations Trap The Great Expectations trap has seduced too many vendors, and hopefully, this rule will stop it once and for all. To simplify the concept, follow this advice: don’t expect great results, just work at being a great salesperson. If you are focused on arbitrary and unrealistic goals, failure will be your unfortunate result. There are reasonable and achievable goals for Internet leads, and they are based on beating the ROI of other marketing techniques. That formula leads to success. Expecting to close every lead may result in disappointment. A solid bottom line is what every business wants, and the solid bottom line of this information is that there are no magic answers, no instant solutions that make selling your product or service effortless. Fortunately, there are internet leads, and they are inexpensive, easy to obtain and as ready for closing as any leads can possibly be. All you have to do is appreciate their value and approach them as a great opportunity that deserves your best effort and dedication. Bring your Great Expectations down to earth and you’ll see your bottom line grow.