Episode E2.009 Reaching out to your list

RESULTS RADIO..."Let's Grow Together"

Introduction
As of Monday morning we had Mozambique join the audience making it our 117th country, not bad for just our Second Season on the air. We currently have entrepreneurs and owners in 60% of the global business community tuning in daily - thank you and we are just getting started!
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We have three more weeks of shows left - 009 through 012 before Season 3 starts and everyone is excited about our hard launch on October 5th from the Kilo Market (Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and surrounding areas). 

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Show Objectives - The Why
As you are preparing to launch your business into the world, you will want to do several soft launches. One of the earlier launches will include a test run with friends, family and business associates who you have good rapport and a relationship with. Your goal is to test your product and process before your big hard launch. Your contact list is the best place to start. 

Key Issues - Owner Perspective:

1. Evaluate their lists to determine candidates for early adopters
   
2. Create marketing collateral for soft launch
   
3. Friends and family special offer in exchange for purchase and feedback.
   

What You Need to Know - The What
It might be tempting to follow all the textbook strategies for launching your product, including spending money on marketing campaigns, advertising and other cash drains. There is a time and a place for creating a larger marketing budget but this is not one of them. Your first launch of your product or service should be to people you already know. The reason for this is twofold. First, they will tend to give you more honest feedback on what they like/didn’t like and what worked/didn’t work. Second, because they genuinely want you to succeed, they will also be more likely to write reviews and testimonials. These reviews and testimonials will go a long way when selling your product to people you don’t know. 

​What You Need to Do​​ - The How

1. Gather all your contacts onto a spreadsheet. Don’t just at this point - just add them.
   
2. Create three columns: Direct ask, Network ask, Not a fit and put your contacts into one of the columns
   
3. Ask friends. And their friends. And their friends.
   
4. Expand your existing network. People in your network are likely to have networks themselves.
   
5. Design a special “Friends and Family” offer or “Product Testers Wanted” campaign
   
6. Create marketing collateral for your soft launch. Paper products like business cards and brochures might not work as well during the pandemic. Get creative. Could you create a short video or digital business card? Would a branded t-shirt, coffee mug or keychain be cost effective?
   
7. Flex your sales muscles. Friends and family can be some of the hardest sales you will ever close. 
   

Resources

• https://blog.salesflare.com/startup-first-100-customers
  

Shows

• Previous: EPISODE E2.008 CLOSING DEALS
  
• Next: Episode E2.010 Email Campaigns
  

Written by Donna Kunde

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