Debbie Mayo-Smith: Don't wait - create your own activity if things are slow

I'd like to illustrate the power of a database with a recent action I took using mine. It will highlight the return you get on your investment of time and energy creating and maintaining a database.

I run a small business as a speaker. A huge problem for my profession is finding new business. In conferencing, no matter how multifaceted a speaker is, among most of our clients the attitude is very much been there, done that; they won't have the same speaker return for many years. This economic climate has also significantly reduced the number of conferences.

From the day I started my business, I've been religious about promoting the newsletter online and collecting attendees' details for the newsletter. Since 1999 I have maintained monthly activity with the database with a communication stream at least 99 per cent of which is about what's in it for them, rather than simply being a promotional vehicle for me. A good database is a process you must put in place, and be fanatical about keeping.

Come back with me a few weeks to 8.27am on Wednesday, May 6. I had just dropped the kids off at school and an idea came to me. June was going to be an exceptionally quiet month for business and July had me running back and forth to five Australian cities. I thought: "Why don't I run some database marketing workshops around New Zealand and Australia? I'll make them inexpensive so I can be genuinely helpful in this economic climate; require only a small minimum to proceed and ask for boardrooms to be made available instead of incurring the cost of paid venues."

By 9.35am I had segregated out my New Zealand and Australian newsletter subscribers and nutted out a simple two-paragraph plain text email to each group. I asked them to send me a reply email only if they were VERY interested in attending. The response was a flood of over 700 emails.

What has floored me is not only the outpouring of interest, but also the generosity of how many people bent over backwards to help search for and arrange venues. How many people sent the email on to colleagues and friends to promote the workshop. As of Monday evening, I had 175 registrations.

Let's look at the aspects of this marketing campaign in relation to this economic climate.

Database
This exercise was marketed solely through my newsletter database. With readers' help, it was spread though their sphere of influence. You can be sure the viral activity was enhanced because of the goodwill I've developed from years of value given away for free via the newsletter (through the tips and how-to videos and business ideas that others would charge for).

Targeted
You'll note the email wasn't sent to the whole database. Why burn the goodwill of your list by sending people in Britain, Spain, Brazil or Florida an email about an Australasian workshop? After the initial send, the communication continued primarily with those who had expressed interest rather than with the whole database.

Speed
From my initial idea in the car through to the final targeted execution and distribution of over 10,000 emails, only one hour had elapsed.

Cheap
It did not physically cost me anything to send although for others it might be a few cents an email. The cost was only the value of my time creating the email, then two hours writing and designing a PDF brochure, web pages and registration forms. The physical costs incurred initially were for a part-time assistant to respond to some emails, data entry for the faxed forms and posting invoices and receipts.

Not fancy
It was simply plain text paragraphs. In fact I am 100 per cent positive that the simplicity not only helped the email get through spam filters, it also was easy to digest and act on immediately.

Value add / referral generator
My husband said: "Debbie, by lowering the registration fee to under half what you normally charge you are ruining your brand."

But let me ask you: is it better to stand firm by your price and the old way of doing things, or is it better to adapt and be seen trying to be as helpful as possible to your clients and prospects in their time of need? Is it better to sit and wait for the phone to ring, or to take action?

The takeaway from this story is if business is slow, don't sit waiting for the figurative telephone to ring. Listen to your gut for what would be good for your clients in this economy. Using your database, create your own activity. Activity equals success.

Debbie Mayo-Smith is a best-selling author and international speaker.

website for Motivational Speaker Author Debbie Mayo-Smith