Offline Business Builder Series: "Tired of Cold Calling? Try Offline Farming Instead..."

Hey Offliners,

This morning I was reading my morning dose of Dan Kennedy content and I came across one of his powerpoint slides from years ago that made me almost slap myself.

Dan was going over one of the most powerful and basic marketing strategies that I should've known to already have set up in my business.

See, in my past life I was a loan officer and mortgage broker. I routinely spent $1,000 or more for training materials, workshops and leads.

And in the real estate business, we always did a marketing strategy called farming. If you don't come from the real estate background, let me explain.

Farming is when you select a neighborhood, town or geographical area that you want to become top dog in and then you begin a consistent and long-term marketing process for that area.

In the real estate business that meant that we collected every address of a homeowner and renter and then systematically sent out a newsletter, postcard, gift pack or something with our name and picture on it for at least 12 - 24 months to become top of mind in that area.

In the real estate business, farming a neighborhood, town or geographical area was common place and common sense.

However, since I've made the jump to offline consulting, I really haven't spent one minute thinking of a way to "farm" my target area.

Sure, I've done a ton of lead generation strategies which some could argue have the same effect as farming, but in reality I don't view that the same as farming.

Now, unlike when I was in the mortgage business, I don't necessarily want to farm a broad geographic area for the sake of getting known.

In the offline marketing arena, I want to farm specific types of business owners in my target market. So, I have several choices.

1. I can buy a list of people who subscribe to business success magazines like Entrepreneur, Success, etc. with the thought that they might tend to be business owners. (Price unknown, but most likely a little pricey based on my past experience.)

2. I can create a list of a certain type of business owner using contact information available at my secretary of state website. (Cost is free)

3. Create a list from local chamber of commerce websites. (Cost is Free)

Once I have my farming list, I can then begin to consider the cost of mailing to my farming list, the types of businesses I want to include in my farm and what type of content I want to send my farm.

4. Create a list of advertisers that buy ad space in my local newspapers and magazines.

From my perspective, it's fairly affordable and more than reasonable for me to invest $300 - $500 each month to farm my target market with a postcard, letter or simple four page newsletter that is persuasive.

Heck, even if I was dead broke, I could still do a monthly email to send out to my list.

Now, I know that this strategy isn't the razzle and dazzle that some expect, but imagine consistently having even two or three business owners calling or emailing you each month to inquire about how you can help their business.

And it's all because you are consistently providing them with compelling, persuasive content which piques their interest and generates more leads for their business.

If you are already at the point, where you have a few dollars rolling in, then consider this strategy to add another pillar of leads flowing into your business.

Hope this helps,

Chris

P.S. As much as cold calling leaves me feeling a little "less than" sometimes, it still gets a great return on the investment when you're back is against the wall and you need to produce quick results, so maybe just add this little strategy to what you're already doing.