Use multiple methods for prospecting in order to help with a business. Why? Because it’s inevitable that if you rely on only one source of new business, you’ll almost certainly hit a slump at some point and need help with a business.

Having four, five or even 10 sources of new prospects is much more secure and minimises the need for help with a business. When your profits are derived from consistent, smart, and creative marketing, you are not vulnerable to one source of leads drying up. Here’s the perfect example of how this can help with a business: For chiropractors, generating new patients on a consistent basis is easily one of the most difficult activities there is. About five years ago, a new style of advertising took the chiropractic profession by storm. With the average new patient worth about $1,200 in the first 12 months – and the ads generating dozens of new patients a month – doctors were doubling their income overnight.

Many doctors who had never generated more than 20 new patients a month were suddenly flooded with 20-50 new patients every time they ran an ad. That’s what we call a marketing grand-slam. But after a year and half, the ads ran out in their effectiveness. And this is the stage when help with a business is required.

Most doctors who had used the ads to help with a business were back to getting 5 to 10 new patients. A good friend of mine who specialises in providing help with a business said that, two years prior, doctors would have done almost anything to get seven new patients from a $900 ad. But now they were screaming at their newspaper reps, at their marketing people, and at their staff over returning to decent results after two years of huge money.

They franticly began searching for the next big source of patients. Why? They thought the new ads were never fail and were an infallible source of help with a business. They had moved to “bigger” offices, “bigger” houses, “bigger” cars – but what 99% of them didn’t do is begin doing “more” of anything:

• They didn’t add more and better referral systems to encourage these new patients to refer friends
• They didn’t offer more educational programmes so these new patients understood when and why they should book return appointments,
• They didn’t send anymore letters reactivating their inactive patients,
• And they didn’t add one more source of prospecting!

When the miracle advertisements stopped working, doctors suddenly needed help with a business instead of being set for life.

Of course, my marketing friend’s clients HAD systematically put “more” of everything in place. Their practices now have multiple sources for new patients, with hundreds of patients who stay, pay and refer.

You won’t need help with a business if you get 20 new clients from five different sources, rather than all 20 from just one source. You can’t just send one letter or run one ad and expect miracles. People don’t respond that way.

What sort of “lots of little things” could you be doing to generate prospects from multiple sources all the time?

Putting It All Together: Dog Breeder Example

My clients always find that it’s easier to see beyond their own limiting thoughts if they can see examples of what I’m teaching when I provide help with a business.

And here’s a quick example of a 10 minute impromptu-consult to help with a business I did about prospecting for a dog breeder (that’s what happens when you’re friendly and people find out what I do). This should help you see more clearly what I am talking about:

Most dog breeders’ prospecting relies heavily on getting prospects to their kennels by way of newspaper or magazine ads. The gentleman I spoke with also mentioned that many breeders offer some sort of a 30 day guarantee.

Never just abandon a method of help with a business if it’s profitable; he can improve his current results by making the guarantee longer, and by having his ad created by a professional copywriter so it outperforms the other ads it’s running next to. But his biggest wins are likely to come from finding a better way to locate, communicate and attract his ideal prospects-one that no one else uses.

In questioning the breeder, the most critical information he told me was that most buyers of quality pure breeds have already owned the same type of dog, currently own one now, or are buying a different breed because of family considerations.

There were a few other important characteristics that can be leveraged to target his prospects: someone who has attended a dog show or subscribes to certain periodicals is outstanding prospects. He also said that when a family buys their first dog, they’ll usually buy a pure breed if one of the parents previously owned a pure breed. They’ll also buy books and do research to find the right dog for their family, and one that they want too.

How much more profitable will his prospecting be when he:

• Improves the ad he is currently using
• When he changes more than just the length of the guarantee, but changes the pitch itself- to one that is more meaningful and is much easier to say “yes” to.

I suggested the breeder try something like this…

• “Why don’t you take the dog home with you now, if after 30 days, you love her, simply put a check in the mail and keep in touch…otherwise you can just bring her back and drop her off.”
• When he creates a prospecting list that identifies prospects and allows him to reach them before his competitors’ newspaper ads even get a chance to prospect for them:
• Buy a mailing list from AKC for current and previous pure breed owners in your marketplace-if you pay for a pure breed there is a high likelihood you will register.
• Buy a mailing list from dog shows, periodicals and newsletters attractive to his prospects.
• Write a special report on “how to pick the perfect dog for your family (that mom and dad will love too)” and offer it through a specific or implied endorsement: for example, child care centres, children clothing stores, the city council, the pound, schools and veterinary offices.
• Armed with a list and a special report. You could now begin a direct mail campaign that talks about how “picking the right dog starts with picking the right breeder,” “what the big differences in breeders are,” “how to examine a kennel to find potential problems,” etc.
• Ask the list if they’d like free tickets to upcoming dog shows. You’ve begun to hone your list with this question, regardless of whether they ever go to a show.
• If they do go, you have a chance to create a relationship with your prospects by having a hospitality room at the show, or providing a pre-show breakfast.
• Ask the people on your list that own dogs if they’d like to have dog show for locals they can participate in.
• He specialised in a certain breed, as many breeders do, this means he can form an alliance with a number of non-competitive breeders and put on a great local show, getting PR from the press coverage. (yes, this really was just a 10 minute talk)                  .
• And finally, he should look for the opportunity to be endorsed to another person’s customer list-someone who is already selling to his prospects. Even if you “rent an endorsement” I told him, the power of it needs to be tried in his arena. (I will tell you more about endorsements and how they can help with a business later in this chapter-they are the easiest-big win many businesses ever get-don’t miss it).