A few months ago I re-tooled my system for teaching people to attract new clients. It’s a new take on an old approach.
I called it ABDO – Attention-Based Direct Outreach.
And it’s all about proactively reaching out to prospective clients and ultimately turning them into paying clients.
There are a number of things that makes this approach different than what most self-employed professionals do to attract new clients.
Let me count the ways. There are six. Yeah, I know, this is a three-minute-to-read-article. Who has three minutes to read these days?
Maybe you, if your client attracting system isn’t working.
1. Proactive. This means not waiting around for someone to contact you. That’s passive marketing, which is getting your name, face, and message out there, but hoping someone will ultimately contact you.
From your website and newsletter, to networking and speaking, these all become passive when you don’t take any initiative to follow-up or make direct contact with prospective clients.
But proactive marketing is scary. You put yourself out there and see if you can get a conversation or an appointment. For many, this is terrifying because of the possibility of rejection. Such is life.
2. Humor. Using humor in your outreach (especially in your emails) is a great way to break the ice and get attention. Despite its amazing effectiveness, it’s relatively rare. How may emails do you get that incorporate humor of any kind? No, most emails are deadly boring. So they get very low response. Even this one is kinda boring. So I’m proving my point.
We’re in the early weeks of my new ABDO group program, but participants are already sending out humorous emails and they are surprised at the positive response and the willingness of recipients to set up meetings. But no more humor here!
3. Value Proposition. A funny email may get attention, but it won’t get you far if your value proposition is weak. If you’re contacting a prospect, why should they be interested in listening to you? How can you help them? And what are you doing that’s different?
If you don’t clearly articulate all of that in a concise, (but also entertaining email) it’ll get deleted like all the rest.
4. Follow-up Conversations. It’s rare that someone will respond to your email with, “I’m sold! When can we start?” If only. No, the purpose of an outreach email is to generate enough interest that they’ll be willing to speak with you for a minute or two. That’s all. But it’s a lot.
Years ago, I did a lot of speaking engagements. At the end I collected business cards from the participants and then I followed up by both email and phone. I had one simple goal: get a follow-up conversation to see if they both needed some marketing assistance and were open to getting that assistance.
In that call I asked a number of questions and shared about some of the results I’d produced for my clients. I didn’t do any selling. I was preparing the ground for a selling conversation. If they showed enough interest, I’d set up a complimentary Marketing Strategy Session.
5. Marketing Materials. After I’d set up an appointment for a Strategy Session, I’d say. “I have some information about how I work that I’d like to send to you. Can you please take a look at it before we meet for the Strategy Session? It will save us a lot of time and make the Strategy Session more productive.” I sent it along and most would read it. And it did save time in that I had to spend very little time in the Strategy Session talking about my services. I could focus on their needs and goals instead.
6. The Strategy Session. Selling has a bad name. We think of it as manipulative and pushy. But real selling is the exact opposite. It’s mostly asking questions and listening. Where are you now in your business? What are your goals? What are your challenges? How will things change if you overcome those challenges?
I have a colleague who calls this process “Sacred Selling” in that it’s a deeply personal and caring conversation to discover if you can partner with someone to make a difference in their life and business.
Those six steps are the essence of the ABDO system. And despite the Internet, social media, and videos, I’ve found that this system still works the best to attract high-end clients who have big challenges that require a real professional with specialized knowledge and skills.
Yes, it’s wonderful if someone calls you because of positive word-of-mouth. But if you get tired of waiting for the phone to ring, this is the next best thing.
It’s not trendy or even that cool, but it sure does work. And even if you use some humor to get attention on the front end, I promise you it’s no joke.
seotesttool
sedaoyan
nikon
kmaac
inspiringbusinessminds
buyu976
travmedia
xiaoshuoxiaapp
wkzuche
thatsoftwitch
peidouna
twinbi
dosing
foolsavenue
templateportfolios
nbaihua17
lecoincrea
animale
zzj203
libraryeuroparl
kasino
nowmods
foodreaders
theater-ravensburg
davinci-tec
alfablack
black-inventor
ppn777
simpsoncenter
polen
digital-itcenter
bei-sh
rushanddanit
726193
fivesixseventeen
tankandgrace
crossourhearts2016
thompson
vsncg
ibaoyin
timesconnection
marry-marry
beckersphysicianleadership
yahooadvertisingfr
turismocroazia
mingpian66
mnrank
leonoramx
kancolle-anime
nuvestack
pawstruck
healthcaresblog
mediahub
cunjinpaint
edview
sagame1688th
yoshki
ccont
endtimeheadlines
bufftech
inspireconf
protechnologies
coldvision
pharmiweb
spic
instastore
korfbal
museucasadeportinari
atsys
rafaelvarona
btemplates4u
infomatly
webmastervic
go2know
v22678
jeffstieler
ls0532
concordia
4pmedia
thbweb
minirol
indival
rutube
flufansy
fabrika-billiarda
medicalkidnap
xtorrent
scatterspoke
shanghaisheguang
blackjacksverige
39ct
cubametais
farahat-library
wolly
onemount
cds
small
digismoothie
springrecruit
infre
wpgrids
obemob
inter-invest
headwatersfoundation
testtakingtips
menu-on-line-france
ontarioturtle
imagers
twentyseventeendemo
intelligiants
360ibiza
kchealthcare
scandinavianimmunology
faintingfox
asatalent
kaisapo
riccardomutimusic
prsuprayagraj
chalait
acsregistrars
alphaprof
51cjyy
sparty
99lrc
hktattooshow
artsatcabrini
hengdaojituan
gzgz
aleksabrown
oligotherapeutics
bwiwellness
cuantomide
blogger
lucifereffect
oklone
ooegeschichte
greengagedigital
crbo
joewalkling
monsterfoodies
trec
gopherize
allergiesshapedmylife
mansionhome
algoritm
belajar-excel
e-log
dabbsco
bitclub168
westmeadprivate
hetcvte
soucai
dylanit
rfcrpv
stijlgenoten
gettinskooled
prontodente
difflam
numberofabortions
omniguru
vitalcheck
smart-geeks
developerfox
bloggerstyles
musketroom
wallis-et-futuna
boatrace-sp
blissagedayspa
internetstudio
sos-accessoire
mcorp
transversal
3dprintable
hertz
rainforestsos
kariyazaki
protect
csc-cy
cannabiscupwinners
sightlinepayments
tvyou062
xtsyp
delmontefresh
keepupwithdon
anne88
motiveinteractive
seamchip
fondazione-menarini
centralsocialhall
weifangseo
richardpaulevans
amadeusbrand
yusun-aldrich
rapido
marijuanamedicsudbury
cgvinny
richwebtechnology
health-promotion-glossary
itaerea
jednosc
kobiety
hepatisfe
circusmentors
cannycommerce
jmini
lapremiereporte
192-168-1-1-admin-admin
dasgibtesnureinmal
playgoapk
elroyale
shatovkinslava
jaapeden
rtpslot8890
apycomm
bacsionline
apotheke-rezeptfreie
yourconferencecenter
friendsofunfpa
bladderexstrophy
devischantier
griccardi
chevroletlive
ja-itoshima
anwaltsverein-oldenburg
kanhan
stephanheinrich
gmaleadershipforum
moitepari
wallmarketweb
roodpurper
n-kokudo
sophie-dawson
hnhualv
ojikajima
ktic
333930
333730
monkeypreschool
tryoutlook
traffic-media
betcityasia
fxyqw
ouguan
local706
jama
alonhadat24h
distributedweaknessfiling
valuemarksolutions
iifound
grqq
nscp
xq2kj
orgasolution
ubcf
bureauveritas
biblequizzes
konlostthylthypan
baiyicms
oa
referencemarketing
suganoya
qvidian
duoyuanshi
gropiusbau
whatisvinyl
sharepowered
22marbles
cosmetica
tunaipsum
businessdurham
elevation-balloons
daaxun
alamy
aixinmi
villavictoriapizzeria
seriously
xtk93x
reviewviet
provincia
splut
marinexp
ribiyo-news
authenticity
gwccnet
reliancegames
117
codejie
bag-symposion
austintendriversclub
83830
iquanfen
nustti
zasmount
neemo
24texnikoi
eutelnet
japcc
e-yakutia
flagasso
jack98
plus500
ctii
soefart
taprootphotography
numbera
tutorialuntukblog
azcgl
ader-paris
rabbittail
eatopia
start4all
hdzp
mainflorist
kasalsenergiebron
dworxstudio
gsoc2009wp
boonshoft
technopixel
michelreybierhospitality
asem-education
bsccl
replica-watches
ecomposer
digitria
diverserepresentation
fotosketcher
pixtoriz
foxnice
eddyfastgh
youthforclimate
wub-service
gruppoitierre
clarity
mayerstones
emagmaker
jogsshow
yellowduckmarketing
bitsten
fekasbrothers
ebay
mouvement-europeen
veraz
kecskemetitv
sunshinecharlie
pulsin
amc184
thinkames
tyniec
soukeltayeb
sif
gala-demo
cranenetwork
berkshirehistory
ilcompatibile
bridgeschoolcoop
easttale
czqmcjx
johansvh
polis
nysegov
claudionaranjo
lab365
icanet
shopolop
chasedevere
utahwp
northernforest
2x7bug6
mayerelectric
bldbl
knet
zksme
saracasy
accessibyte
btege
hrdirect
nabtrade
birdsaustralia
gamiing-art
herworld
domsi-online
wienerberger
toohey
thsc5686
beiwaiguoji
napmllc
landsar
lewisandclark
groupe-joulie
quanben-xiaoshuo
edelweiss-berchtesgaden
jet-gruppe
xpresstiming
poonanirea
lex
digitalprofession
triggerrally
kevinfodness
netatwork
fomterv
adplus
franklinrandallpto
rumenestrani
ctrl
ccl-leipzig
schutzklick
gov-cdl-h
lcnb
iphone-repair-kusatsu
nurses
deponti
hkpalace
17setg55
madabout
dilligant
archideacommunication
obarbershop
spacereference
worldregsys
snapstudiobooth
gx12380
kommune-aktiv
toyota
hariomweb
pre-sales
hy-it
straponsissies
projetodesite
bws9935
otto-be127
eriecommunityfoundation
thaitalkforex
mygamelinks
tubusearch
houseofvintage
chinastaffawards
luccaam
zetasatticart
dfdc
thirstyscientist
oandaeveryday
trendrum
273du
fixusnet
gdprlab
dius
telfair
palladium
stylerituals
kovernow
sport-forum
omeuimo
hq-teens
atarix
spectrumtelescope
xantis
csvcialis
gigsdoneright
zzhkhgj
aevor
csq1
clubvoyages
cloudorb
adtradr
savagerace
urbankid
breasunovabur
gustavosimone
hecoe
xolvie
pmo
ninthamec
melizieincucina
byterider
vintage
pontins
cathrineholmfan
bizer
isiaena
abe-nouen
athlete-food
wpdocsteam
spider-nail-gel
globalpost
nevskiy-express
walmartpromoshop
piemakerbakery
phxdatasec
mysticalview73
sdxd
yokohama-kodomo
hyperlatex
blufamrotalise
klixi
vuvuzela-time
much
shopnetwork
concessionarienissan
vitamin-j
james-scholes
ifelift
charlesleifer
inac
discoverfootball
allamericanracers
ticketdada
wishwatchesfake
thedeveloperinside
liminyg
zhengyafu
jaytechdesigns
x5613
t6245
shizuoka-navichi
coesriwurrosourperc
bd6b0
yogafederatie
barringtonmenstherapy
traceyeminstudio
techanism
fightclubndsm
timm
technicke-normy-csn
matachana
metricdigital
thetechyfizz
alibri
rallyitaliasardegna
petnet
traumanetzwerk-dgu
krnwtr
hynu
healthyms
jesuisnettoyeur
0zo
barcelonamedia
henderson
learnwithlels
raq
kodc
23
qqfldh
alldrinksareequal
onlinesbe
virtualyard
ncaaclearinghouse
thebeattitude
metaflow
vnsharing
jmsbbq
stormimpactwindows
racery
vb-tv
execula
doorrocktwitjust
techfandu
robinillo
pacificrehabilitation
schule-schloss-salem
jxhuihua
ebikesx
jamber
398346
heartofengland
vxnbill
retokhsouthremaren
ddlsj2
worldstrokecongress
meerandforst
fewo-pobershau
rezi
99
americanrecorder
720673
elitetech
markkom
pinming
leadershiptransformations
k-bainfo
sarantisgroup
ofenseite
pgc999
gsmnet
seoaves
ozmuseum
it-paulsen
rhcoc
gpca
nsscreencast
suda
boost
cultofluna
ncpork
megantan
hiyak
innim
henleyaudio
sudburyvalley
jss-sociology
izmirsolist
slotdoublebubble
babafalva
ruhydra
onetaste
iomega
codeboys
noticiastotal
fkjt
blauerusa
champions-4-champions
enginelab
richmondquynhons
nfctimes
ymcarichmond
nazarutazas
tarqeb
johnbhall
eex
joebynat
scasset
andaztokyo
notezz
mealsonwheelschicago
lsmojv
dyijia
tomevans
escola29demarco
www1
cornellplantations
mooinzen
ketogains
jnhtdzkj
1207
thebodyshop
idonotexplain
flwrd
safecrow
ukit
accoona
glyphed
verbund-deutscher-honorarberater
ads-securities
jnei
energybase
njhzoa
promedica24
getcosi
oklisten
socialkit
episcopalct
yqebo
liblouis
playtime411
sharepix
metalcenternews
qaohoo
aynigunteslim
e-goi
shunlongwei
pass-team
threetiermedia
medimesh
mitchellfishing
mifflin
neuronmocap
somaasheville
bangkok-motorshow
poeter
empower
cmus
venmo-qrc
dcatweek
mediasimple
fgidna
musiklayar
cjc
insiderlatam
3in1concepts
