Create Additional Revenue From Existing Customers
Table of Contents:
I. Introduction
II. The Importance of the 8-Step Process and Long-Term Follow-Up
III. Implementing Automation for Existing Products
IV. The Automated System and Schedule
V. Results and Benefits of the Automated System
VI. Maximizing Revenue Potential from Your List
VII. The Power of Selling to Existing Customers
VIII. Conclusion and Actionable Steps
I know you have heard me talk about my 8-step process as well as the long-term follow-up. I’ve said over and over that these two processes will bring you more sales than you can ever imagine!
The 8-step process forces people to take action—they have to do it now; they can’t rest on it. It’s a countdown that instills the need to take action before it’s too late. If your product is good, they will thank you for the little push you gave them with the 8-step process. (If for some reason, you don’t recall the 8-step process, take a peek at page 10 of the October 2022 edition of Traces.) If they’re not ready yet, you just keep yourself in front of them over the course of the next year.
So, we have two distinct sides, the short-term side which is the eight-step follow-up, and the long-term side which is the follow-up for the rest of the year. Both are equally important, and both should be implemented in your marketing efforts.
Automation is the secret to the success of this system; it’s what makes this work and doable. You set it up once and then forget about it.
Here’s another way we put automation to work in my company. It’s very similar to my eight-step process. We used this system for our existing products. We had enough existing products that we could put a different product on the system every month all year long.
For this method, we used a seven-day timeframe because it’s easier to set up when you’re doing it one year in advance.
We wrote all the emails in advance and started loading them into the autoresponder in December and finished up in January. Here’s how it worked.
We set up the autoresponder so the email for the first product went out on the first Tuesday of January. Here’s the schedule we used.
- Email #1: Tuesday morning – “Hey did You See This Product” (or something similar)
- Email #2: Wednesday – “Did you see yesterday’s email”
- Email #3: Friday – “Big Benefit and/or testimonial”
- Email #4: Sunday – “Big Benefit and/or testimonial”
- Email #5: Monday – “Don’t Miss Out On This” or “You May Not See This Again” (or something like that) NOTE: We never said last chance or this is going away or anything like that.
The next month, on the first Tuesday, we’d do it again with a different product. We did this, with a different product each month...just one week of promotion at the beginning of the month. Did it have to start on the first Tuesday of the month? No, but it was a LOT easier to set up when we used a pattern like that.
Remember, ALL these were written in advance and loaded into the autoresponder at the beginning of the year and were not touched or looked at again for another 12 months. Who were these emails sent to? To everyone on my list!
Now here’s where it gets interesting... we saw a bump in sales every month after we sent out the sequence. Sometimes it was only a few dollars but day after day we saw a sale or two. In our best month, we saw something like an extra $10,000 in sales attributed to this simple system.
Think about it...this was up to $10,000 in extra sales from our existing list!
And best of all we didn’t even have to think about it because it was totally automated. This was above and beyond all of our other mailings. These emails promoted existing products that people may have forgotten we had or new people on our list never even knew we had.
Let’s say, for example, that you started your business in 2018. You operate for a few years adding new products which you do a good job of promoting. Time flies by and it’s now 2023. You do a launch and promote a new product using the eight-step process and you add a bunch of new customers. Congratulations, you did good! You’ll now include these people on your mailings as you promote new products. BUT...
What about all the great products you’ve added over the past five years. Many of them are still relevant and needed by your new customers, but they don’t know about them. You may think they know all about you and about your existing line of fine products, but, as I’ve said before, they don’t! I hate to be the one to dish out a dose of reality...but you’re just not that important to them.
What this system does is introduce your existing products to your new customers. It also re-introduces your existing products to your existing customers who may have forgotten about them. Remember, you’re not so important that they remember you and all of your products.
What it all boils down to is you’re trying to maximize the revenue you make from your list. You spend a lot of time and money building that list. You can’t afford to just make money off it once; you need to keep making money off it.
You can build a huge list, that’s actually quite easy, but if you’re not maximizing the potential of the list, you are losing out. You are leaving money on the table. In fact, over the long run you could be missing out on up to 90% of the profit potential of that list just because you’re not following up with them on a consistent basis and with a systematic process.
The system is the secret. You just don’t have the time to do this on a manual basis. If you tried, you’d soon start missing mailings and get things mixed up. By automating it, you can spend your time creating new products, marketing those products, and running your business.
Give it a try. Just set some time aside (or better yet, have someone else do it for you) and write up a 5-day sequence for each of your products and get it set up in your autoresponder.
Selling to someone who is already familiar with you and trusts your products/services is way more more cost-effective than only targeting new customers. It is also much faster! Repeat customers know and trust you and will spend more money than a first-time customer. A well-known and respected website, Business.com, recently stated that an existing customer will spend 67% more than a new customer, so let’s keep those existing customers happy and coming back for more!
Keep me informed on how this works out for you! I want to hear your story!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 8-step process?
The 8-step process is a countdown system that forces people to take action on your product or service. It is designed to instill a sense of urgency and get people to act now instead of putting it off.
What is the importance of the long-term follow-up?
The long-term follow-up is essential for staying in front of your customers over the course of the year. It helps to keep your brand and products top-of-mind and can lead to additional sales down the road.
How does automation help with this system?
Automation is the key to making this system work and doable. It allows you to set up your emails in advance and forget about them, freeing up your time to focus on other aspects of your business. This can lead to significant time savings and increased revenue potential.
What are the benefits of implementing this system?
Implementing this system can lead to additional sales from your existing customer base. It helps to introduce your existing products to new customers and re-introduce them to existing customers who may have forgotten about them. This can maximize the revenue potential of your list and help you build a loyal customer base.
What is the power of selling to existing customers?
Selling to existing customers is much more cost-effective and faster than targeting new customers. They already know and trust your products/services, so they are more likely to spend more money than a first-time customer. An existing customer will spend 67% more than a new customer on average, according to Business.com.
How can I implement this system in my business?
To implement this system, set aside time to write a 5-day sequence for each of your products and load them into your autoresponder. Use the schedule provided in the article as a template and adjust it to your needs. You can also have someone else do it for you if you don't have the time. Once the emails are set up, they will be sent out automatically to your list over the course of the year, introducing your existing products to new and existing customers and generating additional sales. Be sure to track your results and adjust your approach as needed to maximize the revenue potential of your list.