That quote, from one of my mentors, Yanik Silver, speaks volumes. There is so much opportunity to promote more business and further your relationship with a new client on your thank-you page.

That client has just indicated that they trust you by opting in to your offer. Signing up to your list is a sign that they want to hear more from you.   Don’t let them leave wanting; offer them even more before they click off your thank-you page.

When developing your thank you page, think about what you can do to increase your client’s involvement. Marketing research has shown that the more people are involved, the more likely they are to buy – again.

That’s one reason companies hand out scratch-off cards with prizes or discounts hidden beneath the ink. It’s called an involvement device. When someone physically has to do something, it increases their involvement, which increases response and increases conversion.

The content on your thank you page needs to be relevant to your target market. Think about what you want them to do next, where you want them redirected to, and if there’s an opportunity to make them another offer.

There are several key ways you can accomplish this.

•    Make another offer. While letting the client know you’re glad they signed up, also let them know about another offering. Make a special offer. Offer a special prize or a special bonus that new clients will receive, but only if they sign up there and then.   Remember to use language that encourages action.  For example, “This is the only time you will see this offer. It’s for new subscribers only and you won’t have access to it again.”

•    Ask for more information. Once a new prospect joins your list, ask them to describe their biggest problem. You can then direct them to other offers you may have to help with the problem, or develop that new offering if you don’t have one.

•     Create a “tell a friend” campaign. Invite people to tell three friends about your offering in exchange for a special bonus. “Congratulations. Your place on the call is reserved. But just before we continue I would like to offer you this free gift……..”

Everyone who opts in helps you spread the word to other people. This will make a massive difference to your opt-ins and really help to increase your list. You can automate this process using Viral Friend Generator software.

When saying “thank you”, the key is to include only one of these options on your page. Either attempt an additional sale by making another offer, ask new clients for more information, or create a tell-a-friend page.

Any one of these options added to your thank-you page will start increasing your sales immediately.

Bernadette Doyle specializes in helping entrepreneurs attract a steady stream of ideal clients. If you want to get clients calling you instead of you calling them, sign up for her free weekly e-zine at http://www.clientmagnets.com

It’s not your “About Me” page. It’s not your “Testimonials” page.

It is the page where people give you their contact information and purchase your products or programs. That is the goal of your business.

To achieve that goal, you need to get people to opt-in. Nothing else can happen until they do this.  That is why the design of the page where they opt-in – your squeeze page – is so important.

Getting your prospects to hand over their contact info isn’t always easy, but if you focus on your squeeze page set-up, you will successfully obtain client information, build your list and make sales.  Use my tips below to maximize the effectiveness of your squeeze page.  These strategies work!

•    Make your homepage a squeeze page

To get maximum results, make your squeeze page your homepage. This will lead to a significant increase in your opt-ins and in your list.

•    Model successful squeeze pages

To get ideas for your new home page, model other successful squeeze pages. Look at other people’s pages with new eyes. Emulate the elements that make them successful while using your own unique copy that speaks to your own target audience.

•    The important information should appear within the browser window

The pages that are most attractive give the most important information at the top, without having to scroll down. Everything your visitors need to see should appear within the browser window in front of them. Don’t make them have to “lift a finger” to find the best of what you have to offer.

•    Use headlines and bullets to present your message

Announce your best information in the area that most people notice first – the headline. Develop a headline that will grab your visitors’ interest and get them to stay online to hear the rest of your message. Use a prehead and a subhead to deliver your best copy.

Successful pages don’t include one long paragraph of copy after another. A successful squeeze page presents its best content as great mini headlines in a bulleted format.

•    Make big, bold promises

Use numbers within your bullet headlines. State that you’re going to solve problems. Make big promises in your bullets. You’ve done the research, campaigns and surveys to determine what your target audience wants, now highlight that information in your bullets.

•    Make a personal connection

Your target audience want to know who you are.   Don’t keep your personality a secret. Make your squeeze page personal. People buy people. Although we’re all speaking virtually, on Twitter and on teleseminars, people want the personal human connection.

They want to know you. They want to see the person behind the site. At the very least, include a photograph of yourself. Add audio and video to increase the personalization.

•    Use a thank you page

Don’t lose that personal touch once your visitor has opted in on your squeeze page. Your thank-you page is a great place to further your relationship and offer your new client even more. You could make another sale just by asking for it on your thank-you page.

•    Remove Navigation Bar and Banner

There are a couple of web page staples that should not appear on a successful squeeze page. These items do nothing to help you get people to opt-in. So, strip out the navigation bar and ditch your banner. They should not be on your squeeze page.

•    Test, measure and improve your conversation rates

Make sure you test and measure your conversion rate on your squeeze page. Find out how many visitors are actually buying into your offer. Regularly measuring your conversion rates will tell you what’s working and what isn’t on your page.

When you apply at least one of these tips, and you will see an improvement in your conversion.

Make a checklist and work through it. Improve your squeeze page one component at a time and you’ll be in a much stronger position – I promise!

Bernadette Doyle specializes in helping entrepreneurs attract a steady stream of ideal clients. If you want to get clients calling you instead of you calling them, sign up for her free weekly e-zine at http://www.clientmagnets.com

How to create EFFECTIVE videos that work like

TRAFFIC MAGNETS

to attract targeted traffic to YOUR site.

My Next “MARKETING* MASTERMIND Call…”

Tuesday, 25th May, 2010

8:00pm UK Time (3pm EASTERN, 12 noon PACIFIC)

TOPIC:  *Video Marketing Secrets*

This call is FREE for my hundreds of Marketing Mastermind and Stepping UP! members. They also get the CD and transcript of this call at no extra charge, plus a ton of other member benefits – such as access to our online members forum.

Not a member?  Then join the Marketing Mastermind Group today so you can take advantage of this call and all the other member goodies each and every month.

I look forward to “meeting” you on our call.
Best Wishes

Bernadette Doyle
www.clientmagnets.com

PS – Even if you can’t make the call, all Mastermind members receive a FREE CD of the call as well as a digital version of the audio and transcript! Take advantage now: http://bit.ly/SellingSuccess

There are three foundational things that you need in place before you try to get your business name in front of potential clients.

•    A List Manager.

Because I didn’t have a list manager when I first started, I had to manually send out the free report I had offered to a hundred people. You don’t want to do that. A list manager is your database – the place where you store all the names you’re going to collect – and it enables you to handle the “subscribes” and “unsubscribes” automatically. You don’t have to spend any time on it, or hire an assistant to do it.

Some examples of list managers are 1ShoppingCart.com, Total Business Cart, Constant Contact and  AWeber.

•    An Ethical Bribe

What are you offering that is interesting and enticing to the clients you want? You need to present something so tempting that people will be eager to hand over their name, their email address, possibly even their mailing address.

Consider using a free report, a teleseminar, or an audio. These can all work very well in helping to build your list. If you don’t think you have enough expertise, consider interviewing an expert, and use that as your giveaway.

Spend some time thinking about what that enticement is going to be. Make sure your offer is congruent with the people you want to attract. What will have those clients flocking to you?

For example, high-end marketing clients probably won’t be interested in a program titled “Marketing on a Shoestring.” Psychologically, you’re going to attract the cheapskates with that title, when what you really want are the money people. So make sure your pitch fits the people you’re pitching to.

•    A Squeeze Page

It used to be enough to have a box on your website that says, “Sign up here for our free newsletter.” These days, you will find that less than 10% of people who visit the page actually sign up.

A squeeze page is a standalone page that has one goal – to get people to join your list.

For example, use a squeeze page to promote a teleseminar. That page will contain the teleseminar topic, the details about the teleseminar, and a box where people can sign up. There is no navigation bar leading to another section of the website. There is no other information.

Here’s an example of one of my squeeze pages:
www.clientmagnets.com/steppingup

I’ve found that about 70% of visitors say yes, compared to the 10% who click on that box somewhere in the corner of your website. This is where you will capture the person’s details.

Once you have these fundamentals in place, you can begin to focus on the promotional things you need to drive traffic to your site.

Bernadette Doyle specializes in helping entrepreneurs attract a steady stream of ideal clients. If you want to get clients calling you instead of you calling them, sign up for her free weekly e-zine at http://www.clientmagnets.com

One way to create those opportunities is to put structures in place that allow you to receive money 24/7.  Set systems in place that allow you to make money while you sleep.  For example, by offering products and programs on a web site, you are increasing your ability to receive.  You are giving your prospects and clients the means to give you money.

If you don’t have simple and continuous methods for people to give you money, your capacity to receive is only as big as a pinhole!   You need to turn your receiving pinhole into a wide open chasm and watch your income soar …

Here are a few things to consider:

•    Do you have an ecommerce website yet?

•    Are you in a position where someone can come to your website and find out about you?

•    Can a potential client book a session with you and pay for it on your website?

•    Can potential clients buy something on your website, right then and there?

•    Do you have a way for clients to automatically pay you for your product or service?

By implementing these elements in your business you will increase your capacity to receive, and in turn increase your income.

I’ve often talked about mindset and how it is so important to work on yourself from the inside – to analyze why you are limiting yourself and your capacity to receive.

Well, today I’m asking you to also work it on the outside? How about putting that external structure in place to be the metaphor for you becoming a better receiver?”

Think about how much you have been allowing yourself to receive, but don’t stop at the thinking. You need to act on it. Take the next step to implement the necessary structures in your business. Don’t just analyze.  Thinking and talking about receiving and how you can improve, won’t be as effective as doing something externally. You may hit obstacles along the way but with persistence, the right support, coaching and advice you will succeed!

Yes, work on the inside but also work on the outside.

Continue to step up through those obstacles until the elements for you to receive are in place. Get the advice and expertise you need to make it happen!

But what if they don’t?

There will be people who say no, who aren’t interested in the partnership. There may also be some who don’t respond at all – maybe they didn’t receive the email.

Don’t be discouraged. They aren’t necessarily lost causes.

If someone says no, or doesn’t respond, try to maintain the personal connection you established in the email. Phone them and say what you put in your email.

During the call, outline your idea. If they express interest, get into the details of how the promotion works. And then just ask them, “Are you onboard?”

Don’t assume the answer is negative if you don’t get a response. You’ve got to follow up. This is your business. This is you thinking big and wanting to partner with big players. So you’ve got to act big to do that, and you’ve got to take what you’re doing really seriously.

There are also times when a little creativity might help. For example, you may work in an industry where there aren’t many potential partners, and those you would like to approach are really “big fish” who might be too busy to work with you. Sending an email probably won’t make much of an impression on them. So be creative about how you get their attention.

You could mail them something catchy. I’ve seen people mail things like fake money or fake checks with a note saying, “This is play money but I’m hoping to send you real money soon. All the details are inside.” Wrap it up in a box so it stands out from the other mail and gets noticed.

I don’t recommend sending an actual product without permission. Some people get totally bombarded with products that they haven’t asked for and that take up space in the office. You don’t want to do something that will be a nuisance to them.

Also, some people may want to view your product before they endorse it. But do ask permission. Don’t just send it to them unannounced.

Unfortunately, you are going to get some no’s. Not everyone you contact will say yes. But don’t get discouraged. Just keep going and don’t give up.

Expect that some people will say no.  Aim for more partners than you think you’ll need. Update and add to your jv list constantly in order to be sure you’ll have enough joint venture partners on board.

Once you get the ball rolling the excitement will really begin. The promotion and partnership will build momentum.  And it will become a self-fulfilling energy that will keep you inspired to continue with future partnerships.

Bernadette Doyle is a small business marketing expert. Get more tips and advice at http://www.clientmagnets.com

1. Follow the leaders – When you build a Twitter following, your goal is to find followers who are receptive to your message.  Follow one of the leaders in your particular industry and you can open the way to access their thousands, even tens of thousands of followers.  Here are somes ways to get your name in front of those followers:

• Tweet success stories – If you have a success story to share involving this person – tweet them.  Let them know about it.  They’re certainly not going to keep it to themselves, they’ll usually re-tweet it to their followers.

• Re-tweet their message – You’ll receive a thank you from them, another step in getting your name out there.

• Remember, you need to give before you get.  It’s a two way street – or perhaps a two way tweet in this case.  Put together a list of five to ten people that you’d like to build a relationship with and start building on that relationship.

2.  Follow the followers – If you follow someone on Twitter, there’s a 50% chance that they are going to follow you back.  With Twitter, you are able to follow 10% more of the people who are following you (if you have 1,000 followers, you are able to follow 1,100 people).  Use software to follow the followers of

3.  Automate and systemise – If you decide to go through and manually add followers, you’re likely to have some very tired fingers.  There is software that can automate the process for you.  I use Tweet Adder, a software program that costs $55 and has been a huge help (www.tweetadder.com).  Not only does it automate the process, but it allows you to find the right type of followers for your product or service.  You can use keywords and locations to target potential followers.

While Twitter isn’t the only list building tool available to you, it’s very effective in leading followers to your web site and squeeze page.  Twitter has the ability to multiply your following quickly.  It’s a fast tool and easily automated.

Be sure to start Twittering and use this tool to your advantage.

Bernadette Doyle is a small business marketing expert. Get more tips and advice at http://www.clientmagnets.com

Make sure you’re not relying on a skimpy one page document with a price and overview as a sales proposal, you should be offering much more than that.  The proposal needs to be a selling document that takes someone through the whole process and establishes you as the logical choice to assist them with a particular problem or issue.

To help them reach this conclusion, which seems so logical to you, you need to:

Predict questions the clients may have and address them within the proposal.

Hopefully you’ve had the opportunity to build relationships with people within the organization before submitting your proposal, even if you were only there to observe people at work, meet people informally or conduct interviews.  That’s a prime opportunity to start winning friends and for delving into the internal politics of the organization.  But another benefit of this contact is that it is going to give you an idea of concerns and issues within the organization and you will have the opportunity to address within the proposal.  That’s a good way to avoid delays and stalls while your proposal makes its rounds.

So, if you put yourself in your client’s shoes, and put together a good offense in your proposal, it will certainly avoid you having the difficult task of defending your proposal as it’s making its way through the hierarchy.

Avoid complacency.

Even if you have a wonderful contact within an organization and they seem ready to hire you, there’s more than one person in the larger companies that make the decision.  Make sure your proposal doesn’t rest on the laurels of your cozy contact relationship.   Use your proposal to sell yourself to every single person within the organization.

Avoid scaring your client.

Now I know that sounds odd, but what frightens clients is the very product that you are offering, and that’s change.  Who wouldn’t want the change your service is offering, improved customer relations or increased sales?

I’ve done a fair amount of research in the psychological outlook of managers at both the senior and middle level, and one thing that really stands out is how fearful they are of change.  So how do you get past this Catch 22?  Avoid using words that signal a big change on the horizon, words such as transformation or dramatic results.  Use more moderate terminology to show how your product will fit seamlessly within their organization.

There are plenty of specifics that will help you produce a winning proposal.  I’ve not only outlined them in my Attracting Corporate Clients system, but I’ve gone through and pulled winning proposals from my files.  I’ve put together not only specific tips, such as binding methods so your information doesn’t become separated or methods of submission.  But these general tips outlined here will put you one step closer to avoiding the skimpy sales proposal syndrome that doesn’t sell your services properly.

When visitors go to your website, it should provide them with all the information they need to know, and leave them with no doubts about ordering products or services from you.

Does your webpage do that? If it doesn’t, you’re missing one of the best conversion opportunities there is. One-to-many selling. Your strategy should be to get people to visit your site, and let the site make the sales for you. Use your webpages as sales pages.

This has been my own strategy and specialty, because sadly, I don’t have time to speak to every single person who expresses interest in what I am offering.

And frankly, not everybody needs to speak with me. Some people wouldn’t even want to speak to me; they just want the information they need in order to be able to make up their own mind.

So if you’ve made the decision to drive traffic to your website because you don’t have the time for conversations with too many people, focus on the quality of your webpage. Make sure that page is in the absolute, best possible shape to close the deal for you.

Think of it this way. If you were to expend time and energy recruiting and training a salesperson, you would make absolutely sure they were fully informed.

They would know all of the information about your business to give to prospective clients. They would be able to give all of the reasons why the prospect should buy this particular offer at this particular time. They would be able to overcome every objection.

That is what your webpage should do.

It should answer every possible question. It should inform visitors of the value of your service and convince them to make the purchase. And that may take a lot of information, a lot of words and facts and details. Don’t worry if it seems like a lot of copy. Since you aren’t having a back and forth exchange with the potential client, you have to anticipate any questions they might have, and address them all. Your webpage should be as long as it needs to be to get the job done.

You don’t want them leaving your webpage without making the purchase because they didn’t have some piece of information that they wanted. If a piece is missing or incomplete, you risk the chance that some people simply won’t buy.

So are you cutting corners in your sales process? Do you just seem to always run out of time or are you too lazy to get your webpage sorted out? Have you put proper emphasis on effective copywriting or considered hiring a copywriter to do it for you? If not, you are shortchanging yourself and your prospective clients.

And that will be so wrong. If you’re selling something that can make a difference to people, it’s your duty to make sure that as many people as possible benefit from it.

Their lives are going to be enhanced by what you’re offering. It’s going to move them forward, in their business and in their life. You need to make sure you’re doing a complete and thorough sales job on your webpage to help make that happen for people.

That page should function as your own personal salesman or woman, working for you 24 hours a day, seven days a week.