| The Dean Jackson NewInformation! Marketing Letter November 2000 From: Winter Haven, Florida Friday, November 31st (There is too!) Dear Friend and subscriber, I've been paying attention lately. And, when I pay attention, I notice things. What I've noticed is that most people (myself included) don't TRY very hard. We're mostly looking for the EASIEST way to do something. The way of least resistance -- and the good news is that includes your prospects. So, even when you try just a little...it appears to be a lot. Right now, you have a bunch of people coming to your website and asking you to help them using the strategies we talked about in August and September... If you're just joining us this month, you can get the last three letters at: www.deanjackson.com/projects2.htm What I want to talk about this month, is what to do with all those prospects you're generating. Here's what I know about it. Most frustration and confusion comes from not knowing EXACTLY what you're going to do with a prospect when they respond. You've got all these e-mail replies, all these requests for information and you don't know what to do next! So you print them out in piles on your desk. Then you put them in folders. Then you wonder -- "What am I going to do now?" Then, when nobody is proactively driving themselves to your office to write up a contract on the house they just drove by, you conclude that "none of those leads are any good." The reality is that you probably don't know the first thing about ANY of them. There are two big obstacles I've noticed. The first obstacle is that most of the time...lead conversion is in second place in the big picture of your business and your life. It takes second place to the people you're showing houses to today. It takes second place to the 14 URGENT phone calls you have to return when you get back to the office. And, at the end of your long day, when you're tired...it takes second place to "Who wants to be a millionaire" When you're not as busy...lead conversion becomes a higher priority, and that's when you notice all those leads in piles on your desk, or in your inbox. If you're going to have a high volume business, you're going to have a high volume of leads coming in, and how you handle those leads will determine how high volume your business can be. There are only three possibilities when someone comes to you as a prospect. They are either going to buy NOW, they're going to buy LATER, or they're NEVER going to buy. And NEVER is Ok -- you just want to know for sure. Once you realize those are the only possibilities...the name of the game is to find out as soon as you possibly can which category they fall in. This takes a little organization on your part, so I'm going to make it EASY for you to find out. You'll need a couple of things to set this up. One is a simple way to record the leads that come in. (Try this -- www.moneymakingwebsites.com/tracking.exe ) The second is a model or standard to measure your prospects against. The reason a model is so important is because it eliminates the THINKING aspect from the process. Believe me, it's the THINKING that's killing your lead conversion. Thinking adds discretion into a system. It adds variation, and it creates a delay while you figure out what you're going to do THIS time. When you have a SYSTEM for finding the best leads, you can let the system do the work for you, and let the cream rise to the top. It starts with identifying what you're looking for in a GREAT prospect. What are the qualities you're looking for in someone you want to work with. If you can identify the characteristics, and you know what you're looking for, it's easy to separate the great from the not-so-great. Now, so you don't even have to think about it...I'm going to give you some suggested characteristics that might make sense for you. What you're looking for is someone that meets five basic criteria, and if they meet these 5 qualifications, you'll want to do whatever you can to help them. Here's how to tell a "5-Star Prospect". 1. They're willing to engage in a DIALOGUE 2. They're FRIENDLY and cooperative when we talk to them. 3. They KNOW what they want. 4. They're MOVING in the next 6 - 12 Months 5. They'd LIKE for us to help them. If someone meets those five qulifications, they are truly a great prospect. Now, the big step is setting up a SYSTEM to find out the answer to those questions as quickly as possible. So let's look at them individually... 1. Willing to Engage in a DIALOGUE If you're going to work with someone, they have to be willing to communicate. You'll notice that some prospects will leave their phone number for you to call them, they'll call you, or they'll respond to your e-mails. Someone who doesn't do one of those three things, is NOT willing to engage in a dialogue. Dialogue doesn't necessarily mean talking on the phone. You can have a great dialogue with someone by e-mail. And, in a lot of ways, that's a great way to communicate with your prospects. The real test is, are they responsive? If you try to reach someone by phone, and they don't return your calls, or you don't have their phone number...it's going to be hard for you to have a successful working relationship with them. If you make a phone call and they answer, or you send an e-mail and they reply, they've successfully passed the first test....but that's not the end of it. They still have to pass 4 more tests. 2. They're FRIENDLY and cooperative when we talk to them. Life is too short to deal with people you don't like. People who are short with you, evasive, shady or otherwise untoward, are not worth the trouble. You can tell a lot about someone by the way they talk to you on the phone, or the way they reply to your emails. Some people are going to be very friendly and cooperative, while others are going to be like pulling teeth, or giving you the bare minimum you ask for because they're using you for information. Most of the time, you can tell if you're connecting with someone. You know what I mean. If you're not connecting with them...why go on? 3. They KNOW what they want. GREAT prospects know what they want -- and they have realistic expectations. They have an answer to the question "what are you looking for?" How can you possibly help someone who doesn't know what they want? And, how can you help someone who knows what they want, but doesn't have a firm grip on reality. You know, the prospects who want "A nice house on the outskirts of town, maybe some acreage with trees and a pond for about $50,000 - $52,500 if they have owner financing -- but we're not in a hurry" Pass. Why get caught up in that? There are too many really GREAT prospects to get caught up with the dreamers. Aren't you starting to get a feeling of RELIEF right now? You don't HAVE to work with everyone. You don't HAVE to go out of your way to help everyone you come in contact with. Just holding your prospects up to those first three filters will eliminate a lot of them right out of the gate. And, just as important as knowing who you ARE going to work with...is knowing who you AREN'T going to work with. So give yourself permission right now to NOT work with anyone who doesn't want to play by your rules. It's the best thing for both of you. 4. They're MOVING in the next 6-12 months. If a prospect meets the first 3 requirements...but they're not moving until their 13 year old has left for college...there's really no point in going all out. BUT, if someone is going to move in the next 12 months, you can probably cut that time by at least a third, and maybe even more. I do know this; If you have a way to keep in touch with people who are not going to buy right now...but are great prospects, you've got the ability to become rich. Most of the prospects who call you today...ARE going to buy a house in the next 6-months. The question is, are YOU going to be the one to help them? Once a prospect has passed the first 3 tests, and they tell you they're going to be moving in the next 12 months, it's a good investment of your time and money to help them until they're ready. Which brings us to the fifth rule... 5. They'd LIKE us to help them. Notice how this is the last of the five rules. Most of the time, people start out a conversation with a prospect by talking about all the service they can provide...without even knowing if someone is a Great prospect. I want to know the answer to the first four questions FIRST. Once you know the answer to the first four criteria, you'll know what kind of service to OFFER them. If they're going to buy NOW, you might want to offer them a free pre-approval and invite them to your home buyer class. If they're going to buy in six months or a year...you might want to offer them information on the new homes that come on the market until they're ready to start looking. How do you know if they'd LIKE you to help them? When you explain your service to them, and offer to help them...they say "Thank you. That would be great!" Next month, what we're going to talk about is specifically how to follow up with people who are going to buy six months to a year from now. Your LATER prospects. The ones that can make you rich. Until then, here's what to do with that pile of leads on your desk, or your inbox, or your database. Start by putting them all in one pile. Go through the pile and sort out the ones you have contact information for, and start with those. If you have their e-mail address, send them a little note to engage them in a dialogue. If they respond, try and determine how they do on your test. If you have their phone number, call them. Just have a conversation with them and guide the conversation so you can find out whether they are 5-star prospects. That's pretty simple isn't it? I thought so. Until next month, happy marketing.... Dean Jackson Dean@DeanJackson.com PS - I just finished my newest E-Book. It's 33 Chapters of Stealth Marketing ideas and strategies to get more prospects, more referrals, and build a money making website. I'll have it on line for you to download for free sometime in the next week. I'll E-mail you and let you know when it's up...
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