helping healthcare organizations grow

Welcome to The Healthcare Marketing Connection! Last week we talked about some ways that you can get your prospects to find you on the internet. This week we're looking at what you should do with these prospects after they find you. You may not want to start selling everything under the sun to them right away.

To your success!

Kelly

Moving Prospects into Your Sales Funnel

One of the oldest and most successful ways to attract new clients is to give away something for free.

Whether you are a chiropractor, a large hospital or a copywriter, giving away information (for no charge) about something your prospective clients find interesting is a great way to begin the lead generation process.

Think about offering a free report, consultation, trial offer, seminar, or a free half hour of your services. This allows prospects to get to know you without risk. There are no strings attached, no sales involved, no hint of further contact - just a chance to learn about something they're interested in.

Imagine your sales funnel. You start with a sea of heads. They all look the same; nothing really distinguishes one from the other. However, you've written a free report, or offered to do an inexpensive seminar and suddenly, a few heads start to pop up above the others to find out more.

They're poking their heads above the crowd so you can see them. Will all of the heads that pop up buy from you? No, not all of them, but this group, the group that's poked their head above the rest, have shown some interest in what you have to offer and are worth spending your marketing energy on.

What should you do once you've identified these interested people? You should spend your marketing energy earning their trust and attention. You might even offer them something else for free. And something else after that if you need to. Move them to the next level in your marketing funnel.

Some experts say that before a prospect becomes a client they may need anywhere from seven to nine free things before they actually purchase from you. This is what I like to call the "courting time." Prospects are gathering information about you and right now, much of it is intangible. They may be trying to decide if they agree with what you are saying. They may be trying to decide if they trust you or if they like your personality. Do they agree with what you stand for? Do they like you enough to have you treat them? Do they want to get to know you better?

The best way for you, as the doctor or hospital, to earn the prospects trust is to be yourself. Speak in your own words, say what you really believe, do what you do best. The right clients will come to you. But, you have to get in front of them first. And one of the best ways to attract the right client is to offer them something for free. And then offer them something again. Let them get to know you without taking a risk. You are not trying to sell them something, you are just letting them know a little bit about yourself.

(c) 2008, A Marketing Connection

Want to use this article in your ezine or web site? No problem! Just let me know at info@AMarketingConnection.com. I'll send you a short bio to include at the end of the article.

If you are on a tight budget, feeling the effects of the tightening economy, and struggling to afford hiring a professional to create your marketing materials for you, the best thing to do is create them yourself. Just because you can't afford to hire someone, or pay big bucks to an advertising agency, doesn't mean you shouldn't be marketing your business - if anything in a tight economy you should market your business more than ever before.

However, I also understand that your specialty is not marketing - it's healing. Writing your own press releases or updating your website may be daunting if not down right terrifying for you.

As many of you know, late last year I launched a new business, The Copywriting Institute, to further train and coach copywriters and entrepreneurs in need of developing their own materials. This may be you!

We now have six copywriting courses that teach beginners the foundation of writing their own marketing materials. Each course includes educational materials and a case study where you write your own marketing copy and I give you personalized feedback. If it's not up-to-snuff you get it back and keep working on it until it's good enough for your client.

Because these courses are designed for people new to writing, many of the classes can help YOU, a healthcare marketer, write promotional copy for your own business.

The classes include "Learn to Write Effective":

Press Releases
Website
Brochures
Advertorials
Short educational articles
Free Reports

Right now we are having a Buy One Get One Free Sale on all of our courses - I didn't want you, my healthcare marketing connection subscribers, to miss out on this phenomenal deal.

*expires Monday April 28th at midnight*

There are a few other specials going on including a $25 discount for referring a friend and a free copy of our best-selling "Build Your Copywriting Business from the Ground-up" course with the purchase of "Learn the Ropes Copywriting". 

You'll have to check out the website for complete details at www.TheCopywritingInstitute.com/springbogo.html

This week Kelly recommends The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Jack Canfield - The Success Principles is a roadmap for anyone - from marketing professionals to small business owners, and from teachers to students and parents - striving to achieve their professional and personal dreams or goals. Touching on every aspect of our lives, Jack Canfield offers 64 practical and inspiring principles to get any aspiring person from where they are to where they want to be.

If you have any other great resources you'd like me to share with everyone, let me know and I'll check it out. Kelly@AMarketingConnection.com

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Disclaimer: A Marketing Connection, Inc. does not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any of the recommendations or advertisements, or the quality of any products, information, or other materials displayed, purchased, or obtained by you as a result of an offer in connection with any ad in The Healthcare Marketing Connection. We recommend, as always, that you do your own due diligence before purchasing any product.

To learn more about healthcare copywriting and marketing, visit my Web site at www.AMarketingConnection.com/article_archives.shtml. There are tons of fr ee articles on a variety of helpful topics.