Inactives are an interesting group of people. They’re the ones who usually don’t get promoted, and when they do, it’s usually to work for the other side. In fact, most corporate roles involve working more like a consultant than an in-house employee. If you can spot one of these people, then you’ve found yourself a gold mine.
There’s a simple method you can use to spot all of these out-of-the-way employees. It’s called product spotting. Simply take some time and look at the products that your company is selling.
You may be surprised by what you see. Many products are left alone and unnoticed by marketers for one reason or another. An inactive will often choose something they like or don’t like, but there will always be a market for it. If they are not using it, they’ll eventually go find a product they will promote and get it on the shelf.
Now, look at the natives who sell the products. Are they giving away an awful lot of information? If so, they’re doing a poor job of selling the product. They’re not being creative.
What you need to do is present the product in a way that it is easy for an inactive to understand. That doesn’t mean you have to give away everything right away. Just present the product in a way that the average consumer can understand. The less knowledge they have about a product, the easier it will be to convince them to buy. Once someone buys your product, give them a reason to stay with you. Give them options.
In addition, give the natives a chance to buy some products from you and get a free trial. Do this once a week. You can also set up an online forum for natives where they can chat with others and share ideas. You never know how many new prospects you can get this way. The more help you provide for an inactive, the more you are likely to retain them.
Another way to keep natives is to offer them opportunities for sales. If your inactivities don’t involve product sales, offer to pay for their advertising. For example, if you sell auto insurance, you could pay for car stickers or magnetic signs they put up. You can also run email promotions that ask recipients to fill out a survey. When they submit their answers, you give them a link in the “about us” section of your site that will take them to your sales page. If they decide to buy, you get a commission.
A final way to keep natives is to give them enough time to complete their purchase. Don’t make them have to rush. In most cases, you’ll make more sales if you give the inactives time to decide and then give them a few days to evaluate the decision. If the customer isn’t satisfied, you lose nothing.
Once the product has been sold, follow up with your customers for a follow-up visit to your site to discuss the purchase. Follow up to make sure the natives purchased your product. At closing, thank them for their business and suggest that they forward your name and email list to friends and family. This will bring you more natives!
