How One Small Tweak Helped Me Get 19 Highly Targeted Free Leads in Less Than 12 Hours From One Free Traffic Source

I LOVE social networking. Maybe because I’ve never felt comfortable trying to hard-sell people, but connecting with people – that I can do! And the more I study, the more I work my business...the more I see that marketing is really all about connecting. It’s about --                                                                         

1. Getting into the minds of your prospects to figure out exactly what they want.

2. Speaking directly to them and their needs, addressing their specific problem.  

3. Offering them a specific solution.

And that's all connecting...that's all communication!

I also love technology. I love the fact that with a simple click of the mouse I can reach thousands of people in my niche with one highly targeted message. And when you’re able to combine the two -- when you’re connecting with people on a personal level and at the same time leveraging your efforts through technology – then you’ve got something extremely powerful going on.

But you also face a challenge: how do you effectively combine the two? How do you market to masses of people and 'hit your numbers', and at the same time relate personally to each and every person? Your prospects aren’t dumb. They can tell the difference between a form letter (a la “Hello Fellow Networker…”) and a personal note that speaks directly to them.

They can tell when a message has been copied and pasted and recycled a thousand times. It’s like getting one of those envelopes in your mail box addressed to Mr. so-and-so...followed by, “or current resident”. Ever gotten one of those? Soooo personal, isn’t it? I bet you just can't wait to open that letter...

Okay, so let’s get down to it. Let me share with you what little tweak I recently made to one of my social media marketing strategies that instantly flooded my inbox with highly targeted free leads.

For some time I had been connecting with and welcoming new people on a popular social networking site (not Better Networker ;-)...  My friend requests didn’t speak about my opportunity at all, but instead simply related my own personal success story in a few words. The message was written from a problem-solution type of perspective and in such a way that it created curiosity in the reader. In a community where everyone else was pitching their opportunities non-stop, you could safely say that I stood out in a positive way. The signature link in my message then took the reader to my customized landing page – another way I rose above the noise. While most everyone else was using replicated landing pages that advertised their company and/or products, mine was personal, with original copy, pictures and video of me and my adventures. It positioned me as a leader, and – just like the message I used to make the initial contact -- it spoke directly to my prospect by identifying his/her problem, presenting the solution to their problem, and then giving them a specific call to action (that is, opting-in to receive more problem-solving information.) Using this particular approach, about 5% of my new connections became leads, which isn’t bad at all. But I wanted better. ;-) So I tested and tweaked it, tried a few different approaches -- and then, finally, came the big discovery. Here’s how I got 19 leads in 12 hours from about 50 connection requests: I customized each and every message I sent out by including a positive, genuine, personal comment about the person’s profile or pictures, or, if I noticed we had something in common, I would mention that. I made it about them. I made them feel good. It was just a brief comment in the opening remarks, and it really didn't take me a whole lot of extra time to do this, but it was enough to make the person realize I had actually bothered to visit their profile before contacting them. It proved to them that I sought to relate to them as a person, not just as a prospect. The helpful information that followed, my attention-grabbing signature link, and the inviting, customized landing page did the rest. Here’s my theory: I believe that in a world and an industry where, sadly enough, the majority of people are only thinking about how they can make a buck off of the next person, you will, if you take the extra time to show genuine personal interest, stand out in a powerful way. That's why, by simply showing that I was different -- in that I wasn't just out to recruit them -- my conversion rate went up by almost 800%.   After all, we are social beings, and all the technology in the world hasn’t changed that. Keep that in mind next time you are seeking to connect with someone online, and I think you will be amazed at how quickly you will see results in your business. Just a slight, genuine, personal touch really can make all the difference. -------------Want to learn more about how to target the right prospects, generate scores of free leads on auto pilot and build your online business lightening fast (regardless of what company you are with)? I can help! I provide free generic training for serious marketers based on the principles of Magnetic Sponsoring at MLMmasteryOnline.com.