You’ve heard it over and over, “The Money is in the List”, followed by some sort of pitch for a list-building product or system.
That’s what Internet Marketers have been pitching for years…
And, in a general sense, they are absolutely correct. If you don’t have a list of prospects or customers, you will not be able to generate as much revenue as you can without one.
All Lists Are Not Created Equal.
But, having a list and having a Good List are not the same thing.
Some companies make their living by providing lists. They collect email addresses and contact information using their specialized methods, and then offer them to you for a price. It is a good business model, one that has been around for decades.
Someone wants to promote to a certain market, and these lists can help.
But, regardless of how well-targeted they are, each of those contacts on the list are cold-calls for you.
None of them have ever heard of you, let alone be interested in anything you have to say.
These aren’t Prospects, they’re Suspects.
I suspect you’ll not get much Respect from them.
Your approach to this list is like tossing mud against the wall and seeing how much will stick.
What a great way to treat your potential customers.
The Real List
Your Real List is one that contains people who know you – who have elected to hear from you – at least once. They are receptive to an approach if not an offer.
They are Prospects, not Suspects.
You get these Prospects by enticing them to Opt IN to your newsletter, or email tips or to get your free Report. You have built in them enough interest or trust that they WANT to hear more from you.
Instead of finding them and cold-calling until they submit, they have found you through their interest in your niche. They sought your topic out of the Internet, and here they are. NOW you get to impress them with your knowledge and command of the topic – your Authority.
The Money Is In the Relationships
It is better to have the name of someone who knows you than is is to have just a name.
It is better to get them to know you through meaningful contacts than to bulk-blast them with junk.
As you collect names of those interested in your topic, you begin to develop in them a special relationship. You are helpful. you are interesting, you are unique. You continue to tell the truth.
You can’t force them to become your friend, but you can help them trust you and your information.
Trust Is the Crucial Key.
Everybody wants to make a sale.
Not everybody wants to make an effort.
It takes dedication and long hours devoted to building trusting business relationships. Trust is hard to develop and easy to lose.
Your battle is not with your competitors, but with yourself. You need to be truthful and trusting at every turn.
Claim to have a guarantee? Better honor it faster than you promise.
Claim to show the true path? Better have all the trail signs in place and complete.
Claim to be interested in their success? Better prove it by offering success tools.
Step away from any one of your promises for even a second, and BAM! your trust dissolves.
And you won’t get a second chance to rebuild it.
Make New Friends, but Keep the Old.
This comes from a song we used to sing around the campfires. One is Silver, and the Other is Gold.
And you can’t tell the difference.
As you establish relationships, make it your goal to be friendly and helpful, and to retain as many Prospects on your list as possible.
Keep them by offering them truth and value.
Establish routines that allow you to contact them with useful information. Keep your interactions low-key, and don’t flood their inbox with selling.
And seek out new Prospects.
Always be prospecting, and converting them into fans.
Conclusion
It isn’t the LIST, it’s who is IN the list. If they seek you out, don’t let them down.
Treat them like you want to be treated.
John L