Before I tell you how text messaging changed the game for my sales career in fitness, let me start by saying it’s also what got me in trouble everywhere I went…until I figured out the right formula.
You see, text messaging can be tricky for a couple of reasons:
- Most businesses don’t get a strong result from it because they don’t know how to use it properly. They approach texting using dated techniques that are often used in phone parties and boiler room calling. You should look at text messaging as a tool in your tool belt. If you use a wrench as a hammer don’t be surprised when it doesn’t work.
- Text messaging is great for using at scale, but not at the cost of losing a personal touch. Spamming a mass text message to your prospects over and over again just leads to irritated prospects and lost sales. People can quickly tell if there is an actual person reaching out to them versus a marketing team pushing a sales agenda.
Here’s how I knew text messaging was the secret weapon for follow-up, even though I received poor results when I first started:
- A recent study found that 77% of people deliberately avoid sales calls. On the upside, another study found that 98% of all text messages are read. If you had to spend your time communicating, which method of contact makes the most sense to you?
- As all of us know, there are only so many hours in the day. I asked myself, “Would I rather spend the time I have making 100 phone calls, or would I rather spend it sending 500 text messages?”
Speed of contact and consistent follow-up has made me a top producer in every company I’ve worked with. As I learned what worked and what didn’t, I continuously adjusted my strategy so I was working smarter instead of harder. Don’t double down on what already isn’t working, redirect your efforts to a more effective strategy.
So how can you make text messaging work for you? Here are the 3 rules of text messaging you should follow if you want to change more lives and make more money in the process:
- Always use the person’s first name when texting them, and let them know who you are and why you’re reaching out to them. People’s radars are on high around strangers so you have to make a positive and personal introduction if you want to elicit a response.
- Your first couple of texts should end with a question. Statements don’t require a response but a question does. Your goal is not to get a sale through a text message, it’s to get a response so you can schedule a phone call.
- The Rule of Three: reach out 3 times and spread each contact attempt out 3 days. For example, text on Monday, Thursday, and Sunday. You could have a pill that gives everyone 6-pack abs but if you text blast people to the point where they don’t want to talk to you anymore, then it doesn’t matter does it?
If you’re not leveraging text messaging in your sales then I guarantee you’re leaving tons of opportunity on the table!
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