Proactive Experience Marketing3 min read

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Recently, when I took a close look at the marketing that has worked best for me over the past 35 years, two things popped out.

First, my approach was always Proactive. That is, I reached out in some way to my prospective clients.

Second, was that I did my best to give my prospective clients an Experience of what it might be like to work with me.

Hence: Proactive Experience Marketing

Years ago, I did a lot of business networking through various organizations in San Francisco, but this was slow going.

So I started to get myself booked for talks (which is one kind of experience). And some expressed interest in my services as a result.

But it took me a while to learn how to proactively follow up with participants and convert them into clients.

Proactive marketing without the experience might get you in front of a lot of people, but it can be hard to convert them into clients.

Experience marketing without proactive follow-up makes people think of you favorably, but they rarely call you afterward. That’s your job.

Ultimately, I learned how to combine the experience with the proactive parts of marketing and my business really took off.

These days, when I want to fill a program, I send an email inviting people on my email list to a webinar. Then after the webinar, I invite those who are interested to meet with me. And I fill my programs every time.

Proactive + Experience + Follow-up = New Clients

But what if you don’t have a big list? Can you still do Proactive Experience Marketing?

Definitely! Here’s a simple approach that works:

First of all, you need to develop a good PowerPoint presentation. That’s the simplest and fastest way to give an experience of you and your service or program.

Next, make a list of everyone in your network, including past clients, members of organizations you belong to, and other business associates.

Then start reaching out to these people with simple emails that mention the Ultimate Outcome of your business:

“These days I’m helping my clients dramatically increase team productivity.”

This is not a “sales letter” but a request to talk and catch up. Keep it very short and let them know you have some ideas to share.

When you connect by phone or Zoom, catch up, learn what they are up to right now (for instance, their plans for the reopening of the economy), and then, if appropriate, mention your Ultimate Outcome again:

“Right now my focus is on helping my clients dramatically increase their team productivity. Is that something that’s important to you at this stage?”

They may or may not show some interest. But if they do, don’t go into explaining how you do what you do. No, that’s what your presentation is for.

So, you might say, “Well, I put together a few slides that explain how I’m able to get those results. Would you be interested in seeing them?”

Something very important to remember: If a prospective client is sincerely interested in the Ultimate Outcome you deliver, they will always want more information.

If they are not interested in your Ultimate Outcome, they will never want more information!

So you’d better articulate your Ultimate Outcome simply and clearly.

If they are open to taking a look at your slides (which is a more casual, less threatening offer than, “spending half an hour listening to a presentation”), then set up another time to meet.

So, that’s the proactive part. Reaching out to those in your network and determining their interest in your Ultimate Outcome. Notice I didn’t say “interest in your services.”

Nobody is interested in your services. They are interested in the outcomes your services deliver.

Then when you meet, share your slides via Zoom. Yes, one-on-one or with a management team. It doesn’t need to be a big group to deliver an experiential presentation.

Next week, I’ll share some of my secrets for giving that PowerPoint presentation and turning prospective clients into paying clients.

Cheers, Robert

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