Build Ties that Bind Your Prospects
I specifically say prospects here vs. customers – they are not customers until you close business. We should never call someone a customer until we’ve closed a deal with them. When we have “prospects”, I think there’s a greater sense of urgency to execute. Customers = Revenue -- Prospects = Close, but no Cigar!
So, with that said, you can do many creative things with your prospects to delight and enlighten them (and move closer to turning them in to customers).
I’m a big fan of providing insight and knowledge to your prospects – particularly if you’re selling a new technology or alternative approach to something, offering insights through white papers, technical briefs, etc. can be very compelling to your prospect. Remember, they need to feel confident that you are a good bet, so the more you can equip them with “thought leadership” materials, the more comfortable they will become.
It costs very little these days to create a web seminar (webinar) to provide knowledge on a specific topic. Pick a topic that’s hot in your market space and create a 30-40 minute presentation that’s educational – not a sales pitch. Perhaps you can team up with one of your early access partners to do this and reach in to their prospect list also.
I’ve also seen great success with techniques like focus groups to provide input to the product roadmap. If you don’t have resources to commit to a full blown customer advisory board, then why not run a couple of formal focus groups to show your prospects that you’re committed to listening to their requirements. Another great way to build relationships.
If my experience in startups is relevant, I’d say that I’ve always found when I was short on money it came down to creating high value materials. Look around in your organization – I’m sure there’s a system architect, hardware designer, etc. that has some really interesting and valuable perspectives that your prospects would love to hear about. And don’t underestimate the power of listening to your customers and creating forums to allow them to contribute to your business. They will respect you for this. These are The Ties that Bind.
Finally, nothing is FREE -- time is money -- and you'll need someone to invest time to do these activities - execute well and the time will be worth it.
Hope this is helpful.
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