How to Create an Educational Course for Lead Generation

I have the privilege of marketing many home builders and real estate agents. They make big commissions, but the business requires a heavy time commitment for prospecting and a large advertising budget to attract buyers. For the lone home builder or real estate agent, how to you compete with very expensive keywords to get the attention of buyers, especially when you don't have a call to action or a reason to respond now?

Think about it - why would someone respond right now to your postcard, flyer, or radio advertisement? "Wow! I'm ready right now to buy a home! I should act NOW!" It doesn't work that way. In fact, many of the print advertisements I see involve open houses or event promotion. In my opinion you're paying to attract a lot of 'lookers' - and more often than not you don't have a follow up strategy in place other than a few phone calls and emails asking "Hey, are you ready to buy a house yet?"

That's alright - I'm here to solve your problem.

Why You Must Create A Video Course

Rather, I recommend you create a 7 or 9 day "How to Buy a Home" or "How to Build A Home" course. Make 7 different educational videos to teach the viewer what they need to know to make a smart decision. No selling, you're going to charge for this course - not financially, but people must give up their contact information to get it, which is your lead. Put the videos on a webpage only you know about, then send this special link to prospects when they call or email to request your course.

How to Get The Word Out To Get Leads

To get the word out, run a testimonial radio ad with an individual who has taken your course. Make sure your talent mentions your course is simple, informational, helpful; and saved them time, frustration, and money when making their decision. Have them recommend that everyone must go to your website to download your course or call for the free link. Say you normally charge $99 for the course, but for the next 48 hours you can get it free as a special promotion. Your course is called "lead-bait", just like a free brochure or DVD in a Bowflex Commercial. You want the right critter (your prospect) to take your bait (the free course) so you generate leads.

For example, here's the radio ad to run - you could do the same in a newspaper ad or on a postcard.

"Hello, I'm Stacy Adams a busy mother of three and a high school teacher right here in Omaha, NE. With my growing family, we needed to build a home to fit our needs but we've only heard horror stories of bad contractors. I want to let you know I took this (realtors/builders) course and now I'm the smartest person in the room. I saved a ton of money and frustration, and now I have the home of my dreams! I recommend you go to their website right now to download it - it's very helpful."

So who will respond to this ad? People who are looking to build or buy a house! Now you have yourself of list of prospects to hustle, and you've already positioned yourself as the trusted expert from the start.

Need ideas for what to put in your course?

Visit www.amazon.com and find a few books on your topic, then take a look at the FREE table of contents. You can film your videos with a $150 Flip camera, host them on YouTube for free, and put the links on a www.blogger.com page for free.

Your course also works great for lead follow up if you already have an interested prospect who did not respond because of the course (for example, someone who came to your open house or event). You can promote your course on your website, using Google AdWords, on your business cards, on postcards, fliers - the possibilities are endless. In short, your course is called your secondary offer - a reason for a prospect to respond RIGHT NOW so you can nurture them into your primary offer with is selling them a home or large ticket item.

Remember, before people make a large buying decision, they are looking for information - this is the information age. Be the trusted broker of that information and you'll generate all the leads you'll ever need.

New Client Marketing in 1 Hour a Day

1. Send Introduction Letter to 3 Cold Prospects (Haven' t Met)

Pull a list of people who have the problem you solve and send them a letter asking for an appointment. Newly incorporated businesses in the newspaper is a great place to start for most small professional services. Google their address and mail a letter - schedule a phone follow up the following week. Do this with 3 new people every morning.

2. Message 3 New People on Facebook/Email (Met)

Put together a list of everyone you know. Email, call, or Facebook 3 people a day to re-introduce yourself and build a relationship. No selling. Make a comment on what is important in their life. If they respond to your message or the conversation is comfortable and natural, tell them who your ideal prospect is and ask if they could introduce you to him or her. Then send that person the same letter you do to cold prospects, but make sure you drop their name in the beginning on the letter, or at least write it on the envelope. (ex. Referred to you by John Smith)

3. Follow Up Phone Calls On Past Letters Sent

Steps 1 and 2 are your heavy hitters, they will bring you the most business the quickest - but you MUST follow up. These letters are only giving you a reason to call and setting you up for selling success. You now must call every week for at least 6-8 weeks until you can get an appointment - or they totally turn you down, at which time you're allowed to stop your follow ups. Let the assistant know you're calling to follow up on the 'New Client Invitation' you sent. If you're persistent and polite - you'll get the prospect on the phone and you'll have the opportunity to set a sales appointment.

4. Write a 300-500 Keyword Optimized Blog Post

Blogging is the best way to get yourself up in the search engines and to position yourself as the trusted expert. You do not need a fancy website - go start a free blog at www.blogger.com and make a short new blog post daily. Use the keyword tool from Google to learn what people are searching for when it comes to your services. Focus on "How To" and "Q&A" based articles that include the search phrase people are most likely to type in  the title of your post. Each post must be at least 300 words, no more than 700. Make a tweet and a Facebook update once you publish, or email a link of the post to prospects you're following up with for lead nurturing.

5. Comment on 2-3 Popular Industry Blogs

Do a search on technorati.com and find a few popular blogs who have an audience/readership of your prospects. Once all the above tasks are complete, read what's been posted. Make a smart and insightful comment on each blog that helps answer questions raised by the article but the writer did not address. This way, when a prospect is reading the comments, you'll be the one providing the answer or insightful comment they are already asking to themselves. They may click your name and get re-directed  to your blog, where they will see your past blog posts and contact information.

6. Answer 2-3 Linked-In/Yahoo! Questions

There are countless public question and answer sites, but I recommend Linked-In as your best place to start. It's the most professional and most likely to have prospects with money - it's mostly a corporate ladder crowd. There's a HUGE Q&A section, so see what questions people are asking and leave a short and useful comment. Again, someone may see the comment, head back to your website, and contact you. Plus, you'll build a reputation as an expert. It's the same idea of answer people's questions intelligently at a local Chamber networking event, it's just this one is being held online with a massive audience.

7. Comment on a Story at www.helpareporter.com 

And finally, once all the above activities are complete, try to get yourself some free press. Reporters looking for story sources post thousands of requests on www.helpareporter.com. Find a story you could comment on and leave it. No sales pitch, or you'll get banned. Become the trusted source for a few reporters so you can have an 'in the press' section on your website and use re-prints in your prospect follow up marketing.

How to Introduce Yourself to a Cold Prospect

Let say you don't have a strong network of relationships to work for referrals, which is by far the best way to get the attention of your ideal prospect. So now what? You must go in cold!

That's right my friend - either purchasing a list, find names in the newspaper, or search out membership organizations for those who need your services. But what's the best way to reach out to a cold prospect when they know nothing about you?

First, the wrong way is to call out of the blue and ask for an appointment.

The right way, rather, is to send a letter introducing your services and call to follow up on the letter. In other words, you want to follow up on information you've sent and ask for an appointment. This will make you the invited guest, not the annoying pest.

Here's what your letter must contain:

1. Sales Letter - Benefits, Call to Action, Special Offer
2. Testimonials/Success Stories
3. How It Works
4. FREE Report

Pick a beautiful letter and handwrite the address. Use blue pen so they know it's your handwriting. Use a stamp. Make the letter as personal and authentic as possible - it must look nothing like direct mail.

Mail your letter and schedule a phone call follow up every single week until you get a yes or no for an appointment. When you call, here's what to say:

"Hello Mr. Smith, last week (or a few weeks ago) I sent you a letter about my services and how I can help you (benefit). How did you enjoy my letter?" 

If they didn't read it, tell them you'll call follow up again in a few days - or ask to set an appointment.

Remember, the entire goal of the letter and follow up calls is to get the prospect on the phone so you can qualify them and set up a time for a formal sales presentation about your services. Keep your sales presentation under 20 minutes.

So let's recap:

Prospect > Letter > Phone Calls > Appointment > Follow Up > Sale

Here is your action plan:

Marketing is a process, not an event. Get a list of 100 prospects and send out 3 personalized letters every morning before you check your email. This should take you 5 minutes. Schedule the respective follow up calls in Google Calendar as re-occurring events or just make a note of it on the list of names you'll have printed. If you want to get real fancy, send a sequence of letters which I wrote about in my Dan Kennedy 3 Step Letter System for maximum results.

4 Easy Steps to Build Your Protandim Down Line

I've been invited to be the sales coach for my LifeVantage Protandim team. I'll be responsible for helping my MLM down line build their Protandim business. Here's the strategy I recommend to introduce Protandim in a non-threatening way to your center of influence (friends, family, coworkers, etc). This strategy applies to everyone in sales, so I thought I'd share it with you today. 

1. Segment Your Center of Influence (Facebook, Outlook, AOL, Gmail, etc)

This is the MOST IMPORANT step for success, do not discount the POWER of your existing relationships. Take a look at your email database or the people you know on Facebook. You must organize these contacts into two groups (1) the people who trust you and will give you an appointment if you ask and (2) the people who just simply know "of" you. Divide these groups into your A's and B's using a spreadsheet or the contact organization feature in Facebook. This will take time, effort, and a lot of work.

2. Message Your A's With a "Let's Stay In Touch" Request

Send a personalized email, letter, or Facebook message to your A list contacts with an apology you haven't stayed in touch like you should have. Look at their Facebook page and make a comment on what's important in their life. The goal here is to build rapport and open the relationship back up - no sales yet, just start a conversation. You must reach out to 3 contacts daily. Ask about their (F)amily, (O)ccupation, (R)ecreation, and (D)reams - it's called the FORD rapport building technique.

Here's a sample message:

"Hey Jane - this is Frank Klesitz from high school. I've seen your Facebook updates and I'm so happy you just got married. Did you get that car you've always wanted? Congratulations on all of your success. Sorry I haven't been in touch like I should have been. I hope all is well and let's make it a point to stay in touch more often. Hope all is well."

3. Introduce Protandim to Those Who Reply To Your Messages

Of the personalized messages you send out, people will respond with happy feedback. This is your opportunity to introduce Protandim. Send them a link to the ABC PrimeTime video and tell them the great results you've seen using Protandim. Be gentle and soft - just be the broker of useful information. No sales pitch. Send them this video like someone sends you an email joke.

Here's a sample message:

"Hey thanks for reaching back out to me! That's so awesome how you're doing. And you're right we do need to stay in touch, it's been really good to hear from you. So, you're probably wondering what I'm up to - I've started to distribute Protandim, I'd like to send you a video about it. I'm taking it and I feel great , check it out. If you like what you see, I can help you get a deal to try it out. If not, no big deal. Here's a link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iJhUChEzFQ"

4. Schedule a 3-way call with your sponsor, the prospect, and you.

If they respond back with interest about Protandim, set up a three way call with your sponsor. Make sure you have your sponsor's available times in front of you and send a meeting request to all three people. You can use a free conference call service, or use the 3-way call feature on your phone - which ever is more convenient. Be sure to talk up your sponsor and their credentials on how they are a Protandim AUTHORITY. Send them another email to confirm the time. ALWAYS talk about the BENEFITS or Protandim, keep the MLM money making  pitch minimal. Only talk about this if THEY bring it up.

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DOWNLOAD 3 CALLS A DAY WORKSHEET

So that's it. Build your database, segment it, rebuild your relationships, introduce Protandim, and set up a three way call with a sponsor. That's your proven way to success. You can do it, anyone can - but you must stay motivated. It all starts with your 'BIG WHY" - what motivates you to sell Protandim to others? You must define this and put it in your home or office so you're reminded why you do what's uncomfortable.

See What Tony Robbins Says About Why You MUST Define Your "Why?"



If you're interested in distributing Protandim, please contact me at frank@getvyral.com or call 402.515.5438 and I'll get you started in the right direction. Click Here to Buy Protandim