Branding4Newbies: You Are Losing Clients Because of Stupidity
No one likes to hear this, but it’s true.
You are losing potential clients because of your stupidity.
You’re Doing Everything Right, Yes?
You advertise in print, you do Google Adwords, and you have a great web site, you even have a video on your site. Very Cool. Now, someone finds you on the web, emails you, and you respond but they never reach out to you again. Gee. That’s odd…right?
Wrong!
Something is amiss.
Check out your possible mistakes below:
Are You Truly Hungry for Clients?
Last week I quickly emailed some video production companies. I found them on the web, emailed them through their great online web site forms.
Only one responded.
Stupid Mistake #1.
Check Your Email
Check you email daily, even if you are a small business doing weekend work. Email or call on every inquiry you get. People are reaching out to you and need your services. First responders make better impressions.
It’s Your Signature Stupid - or Lack Thereof
Moving on…the ONE video production place that responded signed his name at the bottom, “Mike.” Uh…okay…thanks “Mike”, but I cannot remember the name of your company because your email does not have a signature. So I email “Mike” back and ask more details about his services, and he says; “All you need to know is on my web site.” Mike does NOT provide a link to his site, nor is there a signature. Mike is not a very good salesman. He had contact with me and he directed me BACK to his web site. DOH!
Stupid Mistake #2.
Make Contact, Keep Connected
Mike had me. He could have asked me for more details on the
project I was working on.
Mike could have asked me what my needs were.
Mike could have asked to meet me in person to get to know
me and my firm better.
Mike didn’t do that.
Mike pushed me AWAY from him by directing me back to his web site.
No Man’s Land Without a Firm Signature
Now I have NO IDEA which company Mike is with, NO IDEA what site he’s talking about (I’d emailed about 4 video production companies remember?) Believe it or not, I do not bookmark every web site I visit Mike. At this point, I wanted to scream at him via my computer screen. Instead, I was nice. I emailed Mike, pointing out that since I visited several sites, I did not have any of his info at all, nor the URL of his firm.
Mike responds and sends me a link.
Stupid Mistake #3.
Mike’s email still does not have a signature at the bottom and
sends me zero contact info.
So now…Mike is making ME work to find his contact information.
Now, I have to go to his site and HUNT AROUND for his contact info?
So, at this point, I said “Goodbye Mike” -
Simple Solutions - Add Your Signature to Your Email!
Ok. This is business 101, a simple solution, but an important one.
Some people are email people (like me!) But others like to talk by telephone.
Give them the information they need to contact you!
One of my clients mentioned that he’d reached out to a specific client via email.
I asked him if he’d made sure he left his contact info. He didn’t.
I immediately contacted his office manager (Small business- in this case, his office manger wife) and told
her how to go about adding a proper signature to their emails.
Example- Here is mine:
Cathlyn Driscoll - Partner
Branding4Newbies
PO Box 12, Glenwood, NJ 07418
http://branding4newbies.com
Branding * Marketing * Web Design * SEO * Public Relations
A division of Search Engine Friend, LLC.
http://searchenginefriend.com
H 973:875:0827
C 973:903:5019
F 973:875:1998
cdriscoll@branding4newbies.com
cathlyndriscoll@yahoo.com
LinkedIn: Cathlyn Driscoll
Twitter: CathlynDriscoll
Facebook: Cathlyn Driscoll
What To Include in Your Email Signature
- Name
- Title
- Firm Name and WHAT WE DO
- Firm Address
- URL
- Phone: Land Line, Cell, Fax
- Professional and Personal email addresses
- Additional info about my firm - “A division of”
- Social Networking - LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter
What ever floats a clients boat…they’ve not got it!
Any potential client has the ability now to reach out to me in whatever medium they like.
They may even start following me on Twitter! That means OTHER potential clients may find me via Twitter…right?
Stop losing clients due to stupidity and omission.
Times are tough - dot all your i’s and cross your T’s people!
[ end rant ]
Filed under: Ranting on Message