Today I’d like to talk about a marketing and sales strategy built around the simple question, “What’s next?”
If you’re reading this right now, it already worked on you as a copy mechanism.
This is important to observe. People always want to know what’s next. It’s why predictions are a staple of so many marketing promotions and articles — especially around the changing of the years, the seasons, even the months or weeks.
We have a fascination with the great unknown that is the future.
And while the reality is that we know — on some base level — that nobody has a crystal ball and nobody can really predict what’s coming next, we’re insatiably curious about what a well-thought-out prediction for the future contains.
(These predictions are made all the more interesting if the person making the prediction touts a track record of past successful predictions — with reasonable proof they did indeed make those predictions as stated.)
Superficially, I’ve already given you TACTIC that you can use around “What’s next?”
But I’d like to go deeper…
Building “What’s Next?” into your entire sales and marketing strategy…
This plays off yesterday’s article about sales funnels.
Quite often, the only thing required to make a second sale to a happy client or customer is to put another offer in front of them. In effect, answer their question of, “What’s next?”
There is a certain percentage of your customers (depending on your relationship and the offer) that are ready, willing, and able to buy the next thing you offer. So you simply have to make it available.
A business built around “What’s next?” has a clear model in place for a customer’s developing relationship with the business.
The kids’ song goes, “First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage!” Maybe you should write a jingle. “First comes email opt-in, then comes entry-level product, then comes the monthly continuity.” Okay, doesn’t quite roll of the tongue yet — you can work on it.
Kidding aside, when you make your first sale, you need to be setting up the next. And the next sale you make should set up the one after that.
The businesses that have the highest customer lifetime value — that are more profitable than all their competitors — understand this process. And they’ve developed the offers and marketing systems within their business to support it.
Even if the customer isn’t aware of it yet, the sales and marketing folks in the business know the path the customer will take through the business, as the customer gets more value and the business more revenue.
This also applies to copywriting and consulting…
For the large percentage of my readers that are copywriters and marketing consultants, this is a secret to continually building highly-profitable relationships with your best clients.
As you’re working with your client on one project, you should be thinking about the next, and the next, and the next. In fact, you should be more than thinking about it. You should be dropping hints while you’re working on the promotion for product X that you’ve got a great idea that you think would work for product Y. And another for product Z after that.
By the time I’m about two projects deep into a relationship with a client, I’ve developed a list of another five, six, seven promotions I could write for them.
Most will probably never get written — especially in the investment world where the markets are always moving. However, my clients are always wondering, “What new idea is Roy going to bring to the table this week?” Or, in other words… “What’s next?”
This keeps them always interesting and intrigued, and wanting to work with me going forward.
It also has the benefit of significantly reducing my need to bring NEW clients in through the door. When past clients keep your schedule full, you don’t need to worry too much about chasing new work or marketing yourself.
A few more thoughts on “What’s Next?”
This is an area where a little bit of quirkiness is rewarded. A surprise or unexpected recommendation on “What’s next” will keep their attention far better than simply proceeding forward in an expected, boring fashion.
You don’t need to be totally off the wall, all the time. In fact, there’s some research from behavioral psychology that indicates that intermittent rewards — in this case, intermittent so-crazy-it-just-might-work ideas — are more effective and creating behavior habits than consistent rewards.
In really simple terms, if you’ve got wild ideas all the time, it’s no longer exciting. If you normally have good, well-reasoned ideas but occasionally throw a zinger their way, they’re going to keep coming back to the well.
Also, “What’s Next?” applies to content. I have a relatively consistent rotation of topics through the theme days here at Breakthrough Marketing Secrets. However I try to make the issues a bit surprising from day-to-day-to-day. This makes it more interesting than if I’m talking about the same old stuff all the time — even if it’s useful info.
So what is next for Breakthrough Marketing Secrets?
Well, as you probably know, in two weeks I’m hosting a private workshop on Advanced Direct Response Copywriting here in Lincoln, Nebraska. Registrations are closed, but it is being recorded, and those recordings are likely to be made available either at the very end of the year, or the beginning of next.
I also have some other tricks up my sleeve, including a short book on the business of copywriting, that will be coming out soon. And I’ve been working on curriculum for what will likely be a teleseminar or webinar on the biggest direct marketing breakthroughs you can apply in your business today.
I’m also considering if I’ll do another workshop/intensive in the spring. And if so, what the exact topic will be. I might pull back the curtains and show how I’ve been able to achieve some relatively HUGE numbers with Breakthrough Marketing Secrets, with a tiny list. To take apart the model for those of you interested in building your on information marketing businesses. Or, who knows? 😉
Whatever I do, you can expect that I’ll continue to be committed to my mission here of bringing you marketing and business breakthroughs you can use to generate more profits and more success immediately.
Yours for bigger breakthroughs,
Roy Furr
Editor, Breakthrough Marketing Secrets