Relationships are crucial to all of us as human beings. No one, however, approaches every relationship in the same manner. There are truly as many ways to relate as there are different relationships. This month's newsletter is about actually relating with customers and clients. It's about deepening connections with those most critical constituents. Symbiotic relationships are mutually beneficial by definition and such interactions ultimately provide a substantial part of your business success. True customer intimacy is an ideal and nearly impossible to achieve with 'every' customer and prospect. In working toward that goal, you build a warm friendship that will grow through the years and help you safely traverse the rough times that are sure to come from time to time. Regards, Jim Cecil ==================================== NURTURE NEWS The insights, tools, tips and resources to help you Nurture 'your guys' even better. August 23, 2001 Issue #1 Jim Cecil, Editor, jim@nurturemarketing.com ==================================== By subscription only! Welcome to your next issue of "NURTURE NEWS" You are receiving this newsletter because you requested a subscription. Unsubscribe instructions are at the end of this newsletter. ==================================== IN THIS ISSUE ==================================== => Thought for the Day => Sponsorship Notice => Feature Article => Industry News => Nurture Question of the Month => Review of Products or Services => Book of the Month => Letter of the Month => Feedback => Guest Columnist => Privacy Statement => Copyright/Contact Info => Subscribe/Unsubscribe information ==================================== THOUGHT FOR THE DAY ==================================== "Customers, when given a choice of where they spend their money, invariably go back to that place where they have consistently and intentionally been made to feel special." ÷ Marshall Field ==================================== SPONSORSHIP NOTICE ==================================== The Sant Corporation - Tom Sant Proposal Master Automating Persuasive Business Proposals No business asset is more valuable than the ability to present your ideas clearly, effectively, and persuasively. "A persuasive proposal must be useful to both you and to your potential client," says the author. "How useful it is depends on how carefully it's been designed, developed, and written. When you write a persuasive proposal, you may win more than just a specific contract. You may win goodwill, respect, and credibility that will carry over into future business relations." For a free, online demo, visit www.santcorp.com. ==================================== FEATURE ARTICLE Growing Customers with Drip-Marketing, or Everything I Needed to Know about Business, I Learned in My Garden Jim Cecil ==================================== I am sure of this. When trust must go before commitment, that relationship is always a multiple contact affair. There have been many useful metaphors chosen to illustrate the intentional and careful cultivation of customer relationships. I have found growing customers to be a lot like tending my garden. The right amount of thoughtful planning and preparation, intelligent nurturing and diligent cultivating - and, yes, intentional even ruthless pruning nearly always pay huge dividends at harvest time. Here are a few nurturing tips to help make your own customer garden positively blossom. Go ahead, play in the dirt and remember 'as ye sow, so shall ye reap'. www.nurturemarketing.com/articles/garden.html ***************************************** "Is everybody talking to your customer.................. but you?" ***************************************** ==================================== INDUSTRY NEWS Rich Bohn, President, The Denali Group ==================================== Mergers, downsizing and abrupt technological shifts make software selection a dangerously sport. Selecting the tools to connect your team with their most important contacts can mean the difference between productivity and chaos. Meet Rich Bohn. Few people in the CRM space have a bigger voice or more respected opinions than our featured expert for this issue. From successful sales and marketing executive to information publisher might seem an unlikely career move, but it seems to be working so far! There are millions of sales people who haven't discovered how sales automation can improve their lives. This is a tremendous waste of effort. Rich loves to show people ways they can sell more by using sales automation. He just might also tell you which tools to buy as well. Bookmark this site. http://www.sellmorenow.com. ==================================== NURTURE QUESTION OF THE MONTH ==================================== Q: I recently moved to an unfamiliar city, am starting from scratch in the investment/financial planning field. Where does one begin? A: You pose a serious challenge. Knowing neither your ideal market, your education nor your selling skills level, I find it hard to give more specific advice. Naturally, introductions and referrals are always the best way to network yourself into a good client. You failed to mention if you know anyone who might refer you on and get you started. That said, here are a couple of thoughts. ** Scenario 1 ** In medieval times, someone in your predicament (lacking market identity and marketing resources would apprentice themselves to a more successful guildsperson until sufficient mastery was attained allowing for paying off the debt and buying ones independence. Many financial institutions, ranging from banks to insurance companies and mutual funds developers, offer 'rookie' financial advisor trainee opportunities. If you are willing to learn the business, to learn to sell and to survive on a meager income during training and learning curve, you might just succeed and migrate to independent status naturally. ** Scenario 2 ** Naturally, I cannot suggest that you can actually charge someone for financial advice without some form of training in both financial matters, products, the law as well as skills in interpersonal communications. Perhaps beginning with the FPA or the Canadian Association of Financial Planning or some other related association, you might find a basic place to start. I must confess that you will need a great deal of stamina and perseverance to succeed in this rigorous and challenging profession. When planners are starting from scratch, the most important thing to do is to define your most desirable "A"-level client. With whom, exactly, do you most want to work? Professional hockey players? CEO's of closely-held businesses? Tech people in the software industry? Single Mom's? Doctors? Black MBAs? Where does your passion lie? Which group can you serve best and will sustain your enduring interest and research and that keeps you relevant and interesting to know? However, just because you define and focus on a target market(s) doesn't mean you should turn away business from someone outside your chosen parameters. It simply means if you're going to spend money on marketing to target clients, wouldn't you rather invest those resources into the people with whom you most want to do business? Conversely, often the biggest mistake beginning planners make is to target everyone - all affluent people for example. There simply isn't enough money in print and time in the day to allow you to make an impact on everyone that meets that profile and, if the truth be known, there probably really are people with whom you would rather not do business. Another recommendation would be for you get to know other professionals who "run in your same circles." Who else already has your target market's ear? As they say in the famous television commercial....."don't try this at home, get professional help." Your career is obviously worth an investment in yourself first. Make it wisely. ==================================== REVIEW: Nurture Roots - Subscriber Special - Save $100 ** Customer Retention from the Ground UP ** ==================================== Nurture Roots - A 12 month marketing strategy consisting of Letters and Notes to Cultivate Relationships Imagine having a complete set of intelligent, useful and Often fun ways to stay in touch with clients, customers and Referral sources. Imagine a turnkey, customizable, year-long retention marketing strategy with a detailed action plan that helps you stay top-of-mind with your clients. Well, now you can, and customer retention and personalized nurturing just because easy. Everybody knows it costs five to six times as much to attract a new customer as it does to sell a current customer a second and third time. Research confirms that most customer defection is caused by nothing more than a perception of indifferent behavior on our part. Now all it takes is a motivated assistant, contact software you probably already own, and our Nurture Roots package. Nurture Roots - Your story of customer care and concern told in personal letters on disk, ready for your signature. Now the words to say 'Thank You', 'How are you?' 'Here's an idea for you,' are already written and ready for you to sign and send. Now you can leverage your contact management software by utilizing this powerful "action plan" to truly automate the stay-in-touch process with current clients. Regularly $995 - Subscriber special - $895 Visit www.nurturemarketing.com/nurture_roots ***************************************** NURTURE - How to make customers want to call YOU when THEY are ready to BUY! ***************************************** ==================================== "You don't have to change that much for it to make a great deal of difference. A few simple disciplines can have a major impact on how your life works out in the next 90 days, let alone in the next 12 months or the next 3 years." Jim Rohn ==================================== ==================================== BOOK OF THE MONTH REVIEW Streetwise Relationship Marketing on the Internet By Roger Parker ==================================== I just finished Roger Parker's book "Streetwise Relationship Marketing on the Internet" and highly recommend it to you. Too often, "business" books are written just for those employed by large organizations. Parker's book, while providing a wealth of information for marketing professionals, is also an invaluable tool for small business owners and even independent contractors. If you are in business and you have a web site, this book is a must read. As an alternative to impractical, complicated personalization schemes, in Streetwise Relationship Marketing on the Internet, he proposes a simple, easily-implemented 5-stage Customer Development Cycle. The five stages include: 1. Awareness 2. Comparison 3. Transaction 4. Reinforcement 5. Advocacy The goal is to provide different information to customers at each of the five stages. The Streetwise Guide to Relationship Marketing on the Internet also describes the need to create an on-going synergy between e-mail and web site. Parker says E-mail is used to "drive" customers from level to level of the Customer Development Cycle. Numerous case studies are included to bring the 5-stage Customer Development Cycle to life. His goal was also to provide readers with a framework for identifying and delivering the information customers and prospects need at each level of the Customer Development Cycle. In addition, his web site, www.NewEntrepreneur.com contains downloadable .PDF and Word .DOC files for the worksheets included in book. The purpose of these worksheets is to make it as easy as possible to put the book's lessons to work. This one is a very handy resource. More details at www.newentrepreneur.com. ==================================== LETTER OF THE MONTH ==================================== We love getting letters you receive. Whether good or Bad examples, we love 'em all. If you find one Particularly appealing or galling, send me a copy to share. ==================================== FEEDBACK mailto:feedback@nurturemarketing.com ==================================== ** NURTURE STORIES ** Tell us ways you use Nurture to attract or cultivate customers, prospects and your own team. We love real-world results and if we use your story, you'll receive a gift of appreciation. ==================================== GUEST COLUMNIST ==================================== Have you written or published articles, books or other descriptions of Nurturing customer behaviors? You are invited to share your insights and wisdom in this monthly update. A quick email will get the ball rolling. mailto:columns@nurturemarketing.com ==================================== SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION ==================================== ** Need a Speaker? ** Jim is available for speaking engagements. For a sample video, call us at 800-474-7951. ** Need a consultant or coach? ** If you are challenged with finding or keeping the right kind of customers or if you want help telling your story in letters, give us a call at 800-474-7951 and ask about our consulting and coaching services. ==================================== PRIVACY STATEMENT ==================================== NO SPAMMING OR LIST SHARING! - You can rest assured that your subscription email address will be kept in the strictest confidence. We do not divulge, nor make available to any third party, our subscription list. Your privacy is paramount to us! Therefore, it receives the respect it deserves! ==================================== COPYRIGHT/CONTACT INFORMATION ==================================== All contents Copyright (c) 2001 James P. Cecil Co., Inc. except where indicated otherwise. All rights reserved worldwide. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. The contents of this E-zine may be copied, reproduced, or freely distributed for all nonprofit purposes without the consent of the author as long as the author's name and contact information are included. Example: Reproduced with permission from the Jim Cecil Nurture News E-zine. For more information, contact: James P. Cecil Company, Inc. 1402 - 140th Place NE, Suite 200 Bellevue, WA 98007 800-474-7951 Fax: 425-747-2198 jim@nurturemarketing.com Visit our Web Site to hear more about Drip Irrigation Marketing FREE: "21 Best Ideas for Making Prospects Call You First" http://www.nurturemarketing.com ==================================== LIST MAINTENANCE ==================================== To subscribe to our E-zine, send an email to info@nurturemarketing.com with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line. mailto:info@nurturemarketing.com?subject=SUBSCRIBE To be removed from our mailing list, send an email to info@nurturemarketing.com with REMOVE in the subject line. mailto:info@nurturemarketing.com?subject=REMOVE Online issues can be found at http://www.nurturemarketing.com/ezine_archives ************************************************* "Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment." Jim Rohn ************************************************* THANK YOU FOR READING. MAKE IT A GREAT MONTH!