Jon Cooper: Let’s try the most useless opening line EVER!

Don't blow a good campaign with a lousy follow-up!

A friend of mine has a small business selling blinds to homes and workplaces. He said a few weeks ago that he’d had a new colour brochure done and was going to post it out to around 200 of his past customers.

I told him he would multiply his hit-rate maybe 10-fold if he followed up with chaser phone calls, and he set about his campaign.

I met him again over the weekend and asked him how things were going.

“Waste of time!” he blurted. “Something wrong with the post!” he continued. “Hardly anybody got their brochures!”

He’d sent them out as planned, and then starting calling around, using the opening line – “It’s Craig here from Acme Blinds” (names changed to protect the dumb) “Just wondered if you got the brochure we sent out last week”

Hmmm…Craig, you just used the most useless opening line in the history of useless opening lines! Here’s why, mate -

1- The only people who need to know whether a piece of post has arrived or not are customer service researchers at the Royal Mail.

2 – If the customer answers no (he hasn’t received it) he’s either lying to stall any further conversation (most likely), or you have his address wrong. Either way, it leaves you with next-to-no chance of recovering to a selling situation.

3 – If the customer answers yes, where does that leave you? You’ve then got to hit him with another question to move the call forward; usually “so…was it of interest then?” He’s probably already rehearsed the answer to that one, and it doesn’t help.

4 – Asking a “yes-or-no” question as an opening line is, always has been and always will be a pretty lame idea.

“Craig” could have supercharged his chances of success with this kind of pitch –

“…as you’ve been a customer of ours before, I wanted to let you know about a great deal we’ve got on at the moment: [Insert short, sharp, sexy info-hook] I can pop over Tuesday morning or Thursday afternoon to work out some prices for you…which would be better?”

And about that brochure – they definitely received it; it had either warmed them up nicely or they’d already thrown it away!

Have a question you'd like Jon Cooper to address? You can submit it by either adding a comment to this post online or by e-mailing it to jon@jupiterdawn.com

Jon Cooper – Leverage your assets for success!

Every successful person knows that they need to make the most of what they have.

Leverage means extracting the true value from all your talents, abilities and relationships to create something of lasting, and growing worth.

Here are some examples of how leverage can help you achieve your goals –

1. Leverage your natural talents. Most people end up doing something it takes them years to learn. Why not identify what you do well naturally, and build a career or business round that instead? If you can draw, play an instrument, or can instinctively counsel and mentor others, look to use that God-given ability before setting out on other, less rewarding endeavours.

2. Leverage human resource by effective delegation. Do you really need to do every aspect of your work personally, or can someone else sweat the small stuff while you focus on the bigger picture?

3. Leverage personal relationships to effect introductions to customers and others needed in your business. Your accountant or lawyer will usually have clients who need your products or services, so ask them for some names and referrals next time you meet.

4. Financial leverage, or gearing, can provide funds for you to invest in the future of your business. Don’t be afraid to borrow against property and other assets if you have a product or service you truly believe in.

5. Enhance your value by leveraging your appeal and your reach. A teacher earns £30,000pa because she only teaches 25 children at a time, whereas a sports star can earn millions by attracting fans from around the world. Think what element of your skills and services would excite the most people, and focus on developing and promoting that aspect of your business.

6. Leverage your marketing power by mastering the internet. You can post your products and services online for next to nothing, but the results can be seen by millions. To ensure global success, engage with the “new media” and make sure you understand how the search engines work.

7. Use your existing customers to spread good news for you. Identify your addicts and leverage their loyalty by communicating regularly with them through email or telephone. As author Robert Allen says, ‘Addicts make the best customers. Addicts buy quickly and more often. Addicts talk to other addicts.’

The key to understanding the importance of leverage is admitting that you can’t do everything yourself. No man, or woman, is an island, although you might get to own one if you apply a little leverage!

Have a question you'd like Jon Cooper to address? You can submit it by either adding a comment to this post online or by e-mailing it to jon@jupiterdawn.com