Questions

My business produces one off unique bespoke garments for brides, burlesque artists and historical costumers with healthy disposable income. I have received 120 potential leads from a regional bridal magazine including email, post addresses and telephone numbers. I'm not a confident sales person and don't want to mess up this golden opportunity. My personal experience of sales calls is not positive because I tend to seek out products when I want them. So what's the best way to get passed people with my attitude and convince them to check out my business?

Make no sales pitch. Introduce yourself to prospective customers. Explain that you'd like to work with people like them in the future, and ask them if they have time to check out images of your designs and provide any feedback – perhaps through a short online survey.

As a small token of appreciation, you can give out a $5 gift card for Starbucks (or something similar) to those who spend a few minutes of their day looking at your website. Based on 120 leads, that expense would be no more than $600 – and probably less, since not everyone would respond to the survey invitation.

The survey itself isn't the goal. The goal is to convince people to spend time familiarizing themselves with your services. And the gift card functions as a good-will "ambassador" and a reminder.

This approach is far less confrontational than typical cold calling. People are more likely to respond favorably, even if they don't participate in the survey. Without being asked to purchase anything from you, they may spontaneously ask about hiring you or recommend you to acquaintances. After all, they'd be checking out your designs in a zero-pressure situation ... much as we might voluntarily wander into a store. Once inside, we often buy if we like what we see.

P.S. If you're not 100% confident in your ability to seduce customers with written copy, I can assist with that. Presumably, you've already selected a brand name and procured the domain for your website. Sometimes the domain is merely a place holder. If you're dissatisfied at all with what you picked, then I'd suggest upgrading prior to reaching out to customers. Put your best foot forward!


Answered 8 years ago

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