Ask Yellow Dog Archives - Page 2 of 5

Ask Yellow Dog: Buy My Stuff!

01.27.2015 by Elizabeth // Leave a Comment

I received a great question last week from a sales rep for a small business the other day:

If a lead gives a verbal commitment to buy, e.g. “Yeah loved the product, I’ll definitely place an order later tonight”, then does not. What is the best way to give them a friendly reminder and how long should I wait to do so?

Your question is GREAT and super common- almost all my clients deal with this issue (we all do!). I would suggest setting a system in place and depending on how frequently this happens, have a template email ready to go that you either automate or do weekly. There’s a few options to follow up…

1. The next day. Sending a quick note that doesn’t talk about their order not placed (people do get busy) but a quick “Hey Joe, it was so nice to chat with you yesterday! If you have any questions about My Awesome Company or need any help getting your order placed please don’t hesitate to contact me.” simple, gets your name in their inbox and may be that something just popped up. This also gives them a chance to respond and say they had a change of plans or something came up and they’re on it.

2. End/beginning of the week. Set a weekly time to send out a “reminder” email to anyone who hasn’t placed their order yet- this would be if you have a lot of folks on a weekly basis who verbally commit but don’t follow through. I’d write something similar to the first email with a bit more info: “Happy Friday from My Awesome Company! I know when we spoke earlier this week you were planning to place an order on our site. I haven’t seen it come through yet and I just wanted to check in to see if you need help getting the order placed or have any questions/need anything from me.” Again, it reminds them you noticed they didn’t come through yet, but gives them the out and a chance to respond “your ordering system sucks, do it yourself” or “got busy” those kinds of things.

3. Individual a week out – If you aren’t coming across this problem in a large quantity then I’d say about a week after you had the call do the follow up. Again, something super simple and not nagging. I’d lean closer to the language in #2 than #1, but “great to talk with you last week, if you have questions…I noticed your order hasn’t been placed, if I can help please lt me know”

These are three templated follow up email types that I’ve done for my own business throughout time, and it at the least gets your name in their inbox again. If your company has a newsletter you might also want to get them signed up for that so they have something regularly coming into their inbox from you guys to remind them how awesome you are!

Ask Yellow Dog: Facebook Marketing Rut

11.25.2014 by Elizabeth // Leave a Comment

I recently received an email from a mom-prenuer asking for some marketing help…

I am finding it hard to get my name out there, and to get in front of people, and I’m kind of getting stuck in the “Facebook Marketing” rut as my only bit of marketing. It has been told to me that I do well in front of people – so I’d REALLY like to get out from behind my computer – but I don’t want to just accost people over the Avocados at Whole Foods!

Any other suggestions for getting in front of people that does not make me look like just another pushy direct sales girl who needs to be put on the “blocked” list on Facebook?

Here’s what I would suggest for you so you aren’t pushy and it feels like harassment on FB or at Whole Foods…

I’d send out an “announcement” email. Something like…

Hi Friends & Family,

As many of you know over the past couple of years I have left corporate America to work from home and be a mom to (daughter, whatever you want to say about her there). But, to fulfill my entrepreneurial needs, I wanted to share with you two very cool products that I have decided to represent.

Product One: 1-2 lines about why you sell it, cool stuff it does, etc.

Product two: same thing

I promise not to start selling to you any time I see you, but these are two great companies I am excited to be representing. I’d love to share more information with you if you’d like, or if you need help with holiday gifts, I’m here to help!

If you want to keep up on what I’m doing you can find me on Facebook (link to your page/s here)!

(signature)

That’d be my first step. I always say (a lot of things, but this one) I can’t help you if I don’t know what you need! Making sure your network knows what you’re up to is REALLY important, and this is the PERFECT time to tell folks what you’re up to!

Finally, it’s the Northwest. Showing up consistently is QUEEN in this town. If you’re at any event monthly people will start to anticipate it and KNOW you’re going to be there and that YOU are the “insert your product name here” gal, and it’s “probably time I realize I need it.” It’s not the easy answer, but it’s the one that will make the most impact, being consistent.

As far as accosting folks at Whole Foods, you obviously know better than this, but hey, make sure you are using your products and comfortable talking about it so when people ask, you can share with them (also keep brochures/etc in the diaper bag or your purse in case!)

The majority of my success has come from networking and consistent communication. Letting folks know who you are and what you do and that you aren’t going anywhere goes a LONG way.