I was recently prospected.  It happens all the time.  To be fair, I prospect all the time too so, though I had somewhere to be, I stuck around for this newbie prospector to lay his best lines on me.  I waited and waited; listened and listened.  He finished and, nope, he never got there.  He never got to the Prospect Tipping Point.  What is the Prospect Tipping Point?  The Prospect Tipping Point is that point where the prospector finally tells the prospected why they should give a hoot about what they’re being told.  In other words, the Prospect Tipping Point is the point at which the prospector answers the questions, “What’s in it for me?” and “Why should I care?” for the prospected.

Generally, our brain is wired to filter out stuff that is relevant from that which is not.  Imagine what it would be like without something like the reticular activating system (technical lingo for the filtering system) in our head.  We wouldn’t be able to make it through the day without information overload on a scale more massive than we could possibly imagine.  Every radio commercial, every TV ad, billboard, speech, brand, popup – everything – would make a difference!  Information overload!!!  Luckily, we have this filtering mechanism to keep us sane.  At the same time, we ignore just about everything that doesn’t meet our personalized filtering criteria.  For example, if you’re pitching a weight-loss product to an athlete, you better find language more like “performance enhancing” than “weight loss”.  Your language has to be relevant or your prospect will be asking, “What’s in it for me?” and “Why should I care?” and they’ll move on.

In navigating towards the Prospect Tipping Point during your conversation, be sure not to go on and on about what is important to YOU.  You must detail why it’s important to them.  You should be asking questions – conversing – to understand their position and situation in order to offer personalized content to get to their tipping point and past their filters.  Otherwise, all they will hear is “blah, blah, blah”, and you will have wasted your breath.

I want you to be successful.  After all, I am Your Success Guru!  Successfully navigate and get past the Prospect Tipping Point by understanding with whom you are talking and making your pitch relevant to them.

Best in business!
- Drew

People do business with people, not websites.  The more high tech we get, the more high touch we need to be.  Your website is up and running.  You blog on a regular basis.  Your blogs are well thought out and over deliver with value.  Your facebook account is up-to-date and interesting.  You tweet often and are mastering Google ad words and your pay-per-click campaign is a well oiled machine.  Great!  Good for you.  You are doing everything right.  You are a current, hip, cutting edge entrepreneur.  Well done.   If it is working, don’t stop.

But that is only half of the big picture.

Don’t forget about human touch.  Belly to belly.  Old-school.  Eye contact.  Hand shakes.  Meet someone for coffee or tea.  Join your Chamber of Commerce.  I did.  Today, in fact.  I have lived in Ridgefield, Connecticut for 8 days and I joined my local chamber.  I will be a giver, a server, and a consistent contributor.  While I teach the online community how to master the language and posture of running a home-based business, I will help my neighbors, fellow business owners, and entrepreneurs with their online presence.  You can’t have one without the other.  Not in todays time.  You need to stand out.  So when people go to your website – let ‘em know who they are dealing with.  Answer the phone every once in a while.  Give people your cell phone number.  (Well, maybe not everybody…)  Return calls.  Meet people for coffee.  And when you do – send them to your website.   You, Online & You, Offline.  People want to do business with you, not just your website.  Once they like you, and want to do business with you, then send them to your website.  For the folks that you do not see on a regular basis, you know – the ones out of town and in other countries – make sure you have a good website.  But if you like to do business within your community – join the chamber.

And take a picture with the executive director.

I’ll let you know about my adventures at the chamber. I  might even write a blog on how to run a chamber event.  Only 8 days in Ridgefield and I love it already.  Any thoughts?

My last blog entry raised an eyebrow or two for sure!  Even better and to bolster my point, all my feedback was offline comments and questions.  That’s exactly why we marketers need to bring our offline and online worlds together, blur the lines!  The number one question on how to bring our offline and online marketing worlds together is … HOW???  How do we do it?  What can we do offline that cannot be ignored, can produce dramatic results, is completely duplicatable, simple, and even fun that can bring together old school skill and the power of technology?  It’s all about High Tech AND High Touch.  Remember – as good as you are on the internet – you still need to keep it real.  It’s still about the people, connecting with and helping people.

Check with the best out there, they’ll tell you the same thing:  drop cards!  Drop cards are simple cards with an image of $1, $5, $20, or even $100 bills (I like the $100 personally) on one side and a quote and your web site address on the other.  It’s simple, inexpensive, and incredibly effective.

Now, how can these drop cards be used?  Don’t just leave piles of cards on retail counters around town.  Be strategic!  Here are some effective drop card techniques, as offered by the drop card KING and from whom I learned these techniques, Cedrick Harris.  Surely, the benefits will be obvious so I’ll spare the details.

Techniques for Duplication and Lead Traffic using Drop Cards

1. Leave a drop card in the gas pump credit card slot at your local gas station.  Better yet, leave one in every gas pump credit card slot at your local gas station!
2. Whenever you receive junk mail with US Postage Paid envelopes, mail it back with nothing but a drop card inside.
3. At the newspaper stand, leave a drop card inside each remaining paper, free real estate magazine, “pennysaver” periodical, etc.
4. Leave a drop card inside the SkyMall magazine on the airplane.
5. Leave a drop card in motivational books, such as “The Secret”, “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”, and “Think and Grow Rich” in the local bookstore or library.
6. Leave a drop card with a tip for hotel housekeepers, waiters, and waitresses.  (It goes without saying that you cannot be stingy when you do this!)

The possibilities are endless!  Think about how many cards can be easily distributed.  With only a 5% to 10% response ratio, you can still find yourself with more leads than you’ve ever imagined!

Need more information?  Just leave your contact information on the left and I’ll contact you personally with details!  Don’t hesitate!  The first step is yours!!!

I started networking using “old school” methodologies – the 3-foot rule – and so on.  I am insanely successful with this.  I am a master of offline marketing.  Then I realized the power of the Internet and its ability to allow me to connect to far more people through online marketing than I’d be able to see or phone in any given day.  The strength in generating leads through online marketing strategies and methodologies is massive and cannot be ignored.  But where is the magic?  The offline marketing principles cannot be ignored and if you are not taking advantage of the world of online marketing you might as well close shop right now!  The magic will come to you when you meld these two worlds into one.  Blur the lines!  Be everywhere!  Draw no distinction between your online marketing world and your offline marketing world.  Then you will see the magic!