“You wake up and see your gardener tending to your gardens. You play golf if you want, tennis if you prefer, or, if you feel like taking it easy today, meet some friends for coffee. You don’t have to rush to work. Your team is taking care of every detail, including mailing your distribution checks regularly, as you’ve long since delegated responsibility to a team you can trust — that actually runs your business better than you did.” Jay Abraham calls this method of goal imagery “forward pacing,” a neuro-linguistic programming term.
“No more long hours, late nights, and working weekends. Instead, by applying what you learn within this program, delegate all of the details of your business to a cracker-jack team that deposits distributions into your checking account while you relax with your spouse in the paradise of your choice.” I learned from Dave Dee that every proposition must promise a transformation.
During our consultation in his office, Joe Scriefer, President of Agora Financial, said, “What we send our newest member is as much or more important than what we send our prospects.” Once your new member buys your subscription, your welcome sequence has two jobs. First, stop your member from quitting and asking for a refund. And second, stop your member from quitting and canceling his subscription.
This is your shot to keep your member. Do you want to limit yourself to a few emails and perhaps an online video? Or do you want to send a package in the mail? Or perhaps combine that with a welcome phone call from your team?
While you’ve got to deliver whatever you promised in your sales materials, your new member welcome sequence must also be about reselling your customer on taking action. Without action, it won’t be long before they don’t need what you provide. Here are the three critical beliefs your new member must have before taking action, keeping your membership, and investing in your other products and services.
I want the dream
Before your customer is going to take action, he’s got to have a good reason for investing the time and energy. He’s busy and overwhelmed already, and you want him to take time from his schedule to implement your strategies? You’d better paint a clear picture of what his life will look like if he takes action.
Weight loss companies have to use before and after photos to convince you to buy their program. Then, after you buy it, you realize all the food you are going to have to give up and how little you get to eat in a day. Suddenly your habits are in conflict with your desires. This is when these companies must reinforce your weight loss dreams by showing you more photos and getting you to imagine the healthier, skinnier you. They’ve got to make the the positive image of their programs in your life so impactful that you are willing to break old habits, plan for new routines, and make different choices about what you eat when you’re at your favorite restaurant with your friends.
To get your customers to make positive choices about your program, you have to resell them on what they want. What will life look like after they implement your program? How will life be better? How will they feel when they implement what you provide?
I believe I can do it.
It’s one thing to believe that something is possible. Sure, I know that it’s possible for some people to run a marathon within 2 1/2 hours. But there’s no way I can do that. At least that’s what I believe. Maybe if I trained as much as the other athletes, I could do it. Nah.
Your customer may look at all the dreams and the proof that the dream is possible and believe that it’s possible to achieve — for other people. But unless he believes it’s possible for him, there’s no way he’ll take action. And if he doesn’t act, then he doesn’t need your subscription.
Convince your customer his past failures weren’t his fault — that there was something missing, and you’ll provide it. Bring out any testimonials you have and/or your own personal story of overcoming this doubt to achieve breakthrough results.
I set a goal
When I first walked into a Weight Watchers store in 2005, I was welcomed, paid my money, and received a welcome kit. The lady behind the counter asked me to step on a scale, where I discovered I’d swelled to 237 pounds.
Then she explained that Weight Watchers recommends all new clients set an initial goal of losing 10 percent of their body weight. For me, that was 23 pounds. Then she explained how we were going to achieve that goal.
My healthy body weight is closer to 175, so 23 pounds was still far away from where I needed to be. However, it was a step, a goal I could achieve and believe I could make happen.
Does your new member welcome kit and sequence do any of this? Does it paint a vivid dream, help your new member believe it’s possible for them and set an incremental goal? If it doesn’t, you are losing more members than you deserve,, and are possibly paying more in refunds than you should. These three steps will help you stop your members from quitting and keep more of the great new members you are getting.
About Robert Skrob
