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In episode 19, I welcome back Ben Krueger. Ben was my guest on episode 12, sharing his insight on how to use podcasting as the entry to your sales funnel. This is something he calls Cashflow Podcasting.

This time Ben is here to share one of the favourite sequences from his business, the perfect follow up sequence. This is the kind of sequence you can use for delivering your lead magnet and following up with those people that opt in to your list.

So listen in and take this sequence away to implement in your business

The Perfect Follow Up Sequence

• Email #1 – Deliver on your promise, introduce yourself and ask a question
• Wait 3 days
• Email #2 – Hey did you get your XYZ (repeat of message 1)?
• Wait 1 day
• Email #3 – Who you are, what you do and why it works. Add another question
• Wait 1 day
• Email #4 – Show people how they can get the most out of what you offer

If you would like to have a chat about how you could be using marketing automation to grow your business join us in the Automation Nation private Facebook group.

Links Mentioned In The Show

• iTunes Reviews
• Funnel Hacking Live Event
• Episode 12 – Cashflow Podcasting
• The Ninja Guide To Tagging

Listening options:

• Subscribe via iTunes
• On Stitcher Radio
• Go to the top of the page and use the on-site player.

PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION

Ben: That's the whole deal, baby. And the-

Barry: Beautiful.

Ben: I love it because it's so simple.

Announcer: Welcome to The Active Marketer Podcast, where we talk about how to design, automate, and scale your business to the next level using sales and marketing automation. You can find out all the tips, tactics, and techniques you need to get more customers and sell more stuff over at theactivemarketer.com. Now, here's your host Barry Moore.

Barry: Welcome to episode 19 or The Active Marketer Podcast. I'm your host Barry. Today, we're going to have a chat with Ben. We're getting Ben back. He did a popular episode on podcasting back in episode number 12. And just like some of our other guests, we've got him back to share one of his favourite sequences. So if you're struggling or think about what you can put into practise in your business with marketing automation, Ben's here to share his secret sauce and his best performing automation, or best performing follow up sequence, in his business just for you guys.

But before we get to that, we're going to do a bit of a shameless social proof segment. I've been missing out on this for a little while. And I don't mean to leave anybody out, so I want to read a couple of five-star reviews that have just come in. And this one is in the Australian iTunes store; it's from Ace Designs, and it says, “Great interviews. Five-stars. There's a good mix of story for inspiration and tactics that you can implement for your business. Keep up the great work, and I look forward to more episodes.” Well, thank you very much, Ace Designs. I appreciate you and anybody who has left a five-start review for us, for taking the time to get over to iTunes and leave us a review. If you'd like to do that, I'll read it out on a future show.

And for those of you who don't know, if you're into funnels, there is an event coming up in Las Vegas, at the end of May, called Funnel Hacking. I'll be there. If you happen to be in the neighbourhood around Vegas, or at the event, by all means come up to me and say good day, and we can chat a little bit about marketing automation and sales funnels.

But for now, let's get into this week's episode: a favourite sequence of our previous guest, Ben Krueger.

All right, we're going to welcome back to the show Ben. We had a great episode previously, I'll link to that in the show notes, where we talked about podcasting and what a great tool it is to build your authority, build your expertise in our field, and get people into the top end of your funnel so that you can engage with them and on-sell them to other products and services. So we thought we'd get Ben back, since he's the expert on podcasting, about how we can take those podcast listeners once they're in the funnel, how we can get them using our back-end automation tools and sequences, how we can engage with them and make sure that they're engaged customers, not just the silent majority, which we kind of talked about before.

Welcome back Ben Krueger, from Cash Flow Podcasting.

Ben: Yeah. Thanks, Barry. Excited to be here, excited to share, and always excited for round two. What I want to talk about today is if you have a podcast, that's fantastic, but I think this will also really apply for those individuals who don't. With the goal, like you said Barry, is a lot of folks have the problem of their email list is not very engaged. When they email to their list not a whole lot happens, they get really low response rates or really low opens. And what we want to make sure happens is when somebody signs up to our list, those folks that are kind of primed for our message, that really like what we have to share, they get involved with you and engage with you really quickly so that if they are a customer or client potential, we can help them get to that point and find out who is really hot for what we've got to share versus those folks that are just kind of kicking tyres.

Barry: Okay. And what sequences have you been using in your business and with your clients that are getting good results in that aspect?
Ben: It starts with a strong call to action, as we kind of mentioned in the last episode. So if you want to learn a little bit more about that, check out in the show notes, here, the section we were talking about in putting together a compelling call to action for folks to opt in for. But the basic sequence is when someone opts in for your call to action, or your opt in offer, the first email that is sent to them if, of course, the offer itself. So let's say it was a short video, or a PDF, or whatever, the first message is that short PDF itself and a little personal message from you, saying something along the lines of, “Hey, really excited to have you here and happy to share this. It's been getting really great results from some of the other folks that have opted in and have been using it. And I want to ask … ” Here's where you plug in a custom question for your audience that helps folks raise their hand.

Let's say you … We'll go back to an example that we were using before. If you have a podcast for business coaches, or you're a business coach and you're talking about growth strategies in your podcast episodes, and somebody opt in and they're looking for ways to grow their business. Let's say, specifically, they're looking for ways to take their business from six figures to seven figures, let's say.

Barry: Yeah.

Ben: When someone opts in, you give them their guide, have your little brief introduction of yourself, and then at the end of that, end with a, “Hey. And so, I'm curious, what are the best types of clients you like to work with?” Or something that's very specific that will help you understand more about who that prospect is, who their target market is, and whether or not they are a legitimate prospect for your products or services.

Barry: Right.

Ben: And so, you want to ask a very simple, but very personal question. We're not trying to take a survey here, we're asking one very simple question that gets folks to respond in a way that allows folks that are really engaged to raise their hand right off the bat. The first email essentially gives them what they asked for in the first place, introduces yourself real quick, and then asks them a very specific question that gets them, if they are interested, to hit reply and send you a quick reply.

So that is the goal of that first email, and it shouldn't be a big thing, it's just kind of like a, “Hey, so what's the best target client that you like to work with? Or what are the most profitable clients that you work with? Shoot me a quick reply and I hit reply and send me your answer.” It's very straightforward. But you'd be surprised at how many actual responses you can get.

Barry: Okay, cool. That first email, you're fulfilling the promise with the call to action and introducing yourself, again trying to build a little bit of KLT there.

Ben: Yeah.

Barry: And then, ending with an open ended question that really elicits a response. Cool. All right.

Ben: Exactly. Email number two is a very short email that is essentially, “Hey, did you get my previous email? Just wanted to make sure you checked out that guide that we shared with you. Here's that email again.” And then, I copy and paste the very first email right back in. Because a lot of people that opt into stuff don't even end up getting what they opted in for.

Barry: Yeah.

Ben: So this step kind of helps reassure if they're still interested and they had just, for some reason, ran out of time or were busy, or whatever. They can grab that and move on. And they'll also have a second opportunity to reply to your question.

Barry: Yeah. And you're firing that back with a different subject line?

Ben: Yeah.

Barry: Yeah.

Ben: Generally, what I'll do is I will use the same subject line, but in brackets in front of that subject line, I'll put something like a reminder, or round two; something that-

Barry: Just checking, or something like that?

Ben: Yeah. Quick reminder or something like that. Because people will generally recognise it and be like, “Oh yeah, I already got that.” But if they didn't have the time to check it out before, maybe now they do.

Barry: And I'll be honest, that's worked for me before. I've opted in to stuff and I've been in a hurry [inaudible 00:09:48] opt in on that, and then I've got to run somewhere for business. And I forget to open that email because I wasn't there in front of the computer, and then it get buried. And then, a couple of days later, you get one of those reminder responses, and you're like, “Oh, yeah. I did want that, that's right.”

Ben: Oh, yeah. That's why I raised my hand to get a whole bunch of emails from that person.

Barry: That's right.

Ben: I do the same thing. Guilty. And I think that's just kind of part of human nature, so let's play to that.

Barry: Yeah, exactly.

Ben: And you'll find that people are actually really thankful that you do that because, like you said, people get busy and they move on with their lives. And then when you remind them, “Hey, you opted in for this. Just wanted to make sure you got it.” They'll be like, “Oh, sweet. Thanks.” It's not a bother. I know some folks have a preconceived notion that that will be a real big hindrance, but it's not.

Barry: Yeah, no. I think you're right. I think that works well.

Ben: Yeah. So that's the first two. And generally, this is a hugely debated topic whether or not to send emails everyday or every three days, or whatever. What I've seen works is the first email goes out immediately, second email goes out three days later.

Barry: Okay.

Ben: And then, the third email … And these are weekdays, so not on a weekend. If you've got an auto-responder sequence of any sort, you can select that it doesn't go out on the weekends.

Barry: Yeah.

Ben: And then, for the third email, is generally where you take a moment to introduce yourself, especially if you fall into that category of service provider that we talked about in the last episode, where the lifetime value of a client is worth a decent amount to you. Because in order for people to get started with working with you, they need to know, like, and trust you, and they need to know what it is you have to share who you are, what you stand for. And until they are comfortable with that, they're probably not going to work with you.

In this third email, generally what works really well … You can either do it in an email. You can have a little bit of a story about who you are, why you do what you do, and the reason that it works for clients and customers. This isn't a pitch, this is a, “Hey. I'm Sally, and I help business go from six to seven figures. I got started in corporate America back in 2000 whatever. And I realised, overtime, that some of the smaller clients we were working with were having real struggles doing this. And I found through working with them, that there were some very simple ways to help them change their mindset and reach that much more quickly. So that's why I've put this show together, and that's why I put this offer together, is to help folks out there like you make that transition.” Something very similar, or very simple.

Barry: And even throw in a bit of social proof in there so that here's a customer that went from six to seven, blah blah. Yeah.

Ben: Exactly, exactly. But the real goal there is, it's not a sales pitch, it's a, “Hey. Here's who I am, here's what I do in a nut shell. And here's why you should listen to me.” Without being me, me, me.

Barry: Yeah.

Ben: And then that, generally … I'll end that with a question, as well, to get folks responding and say, “Hey, so now that you know a little bit more about me, I'd love to hear a little bit about you. What is your … ” And this is where I'll usually ask, “What's the biggest challenge that you're facing right now when it comes to, in this instance, taking your business from six figures to seven figures.” So for your instance, it'll be different. But after you've kind of introduced yourself and talked a little bit about what folks can expect, then ask folks to hit reply, send you a quick reply with, what's your big challenge in achieving this type of a result that I help folks achieve?” As the expert or as the business owner, you'll probably already know the five or six challenges that folks have. But again, this is an opportunity for folks that are really interested, to raise their hand and step out of the crowd, and open up a conversation with you.

Barry: Yeah. You're really starting a conversation; it's exactly the same as if you were in real life at a networking event or a mixer. You know?

Ben: Exactly.

Barry: You might talk about what you do. And the next question is, “Well, all right. What do you do? What's your story?” I think that conversational tone certainly works more effectively than the pitch, pitch, pitch, sale, sale, sale stuff.

Ben: Yeah. And you hit the nail on the head; it really is about opening up a two-way conversation, not just, “Hey, you asked for an opt-in. I sent you an opt-in.”. Now the conversation's over. Or I'm just going to start pitching the crap out of my product.

Barry: Just going to start lobbing pitches at you everyday for the next 30 days.

Ben: Exactly. We talked about if folks do have a podcast, the next piece is kind of where this can step in. Because what I like to do for email four, is literally show people how they can get the most out of what you have to offer for them. And so, if you have a podcast or any type of content, whether it's a blog, or articles, what I find works really well is take some of the most trafficked or most popular posts and in your fourth email, you can write a short email about whatever that content topic is and how it's going to help them achieve a certain result, and the fact that you created this piece of content specifically for them.

And if this is a podcast, you can link to the content and then below that have, “And if you really like what you're seeing, here's where you can get more advice just like this to help you take your business from six figures to seven figures. You can subscribe in iTunes. You can subscribe in Stitcher. You can get the RSS feed here.” Essentially, we get people to take action in the direction that we want them to, and continue to give them the next step if they're ready to take it.

Barry: Yeah. Very cool. All right. To summarise that, we've got email one that goes out; that's you're fulfilling your promise with the call to action, a bit of an introduction to yourself, and then an open ended question to get them to respond, “Tell me about whatever.”

Then, we're hitting them up three days later with a repeat of that, saying basically, “Hey. If you missed it … ” And you can even use your marketing automation to skip that step if you know that they've responded, or something like that. But if they haven't responded, hit them again in three days with basically a repeat of the message, “Hey, did you miss this? We just want to make sure you got what you were after.”

Then day three, you're introducing yourself, telling them more about you and what you do, and then ending with an open ended question to get them to talk about themselves and what they're doing and what they're business is.

And then, that fourth day is basically, “Here's all my best stuff. Here's some really great articles that have helped other people. Hopefully they'll help you as well. And if you think these are great, there's going to be more coming every week, so subscribe to the podcast.”

[crosstalk 00:18:01] Does that about sum it up?

Ben: That's the whole deal, baby.

Barry: Beautiful.

Ben: I love it because it's so simple. And a lot of people like to complicate this stuff, and it really isn't. Especially folks listening to this, you're looking to automate your business, not make it tougher, so [crosstalk 00:18:19] let's do that.

Barry: Simple always works best.

Ben: Definitely, definitely.

Barry: All right, Ben. I know you've got to go, so we'll wrap it up here. But thanks so much for sharing that sequence with us. And we'll have it up on the website if you want to check out the show notes. Always a pleasure to have you on. Always love to hear about what's going on in your business, as well.

Ben: Yeah, really appreciate you having me on, Barry. Thank you so much. Glad I was able to share this, and hopefully this is really helpful for those listeners out there. Yeah, man. I love what you're doing with the show; really excited about it. And I really appreciate the opportunity to come on.

Barry: All right. Thanks, man. And we'll see you again sometimes soon.

Ben: All right. Thank you. Have a good one.

Barry: Thanks, brother.

All right. I'd like to thank Ben for coming on and sharing that sequence for us. All the show notes with the links and a bit about the sequence we just discussed will be available to you over on the show notes at theactivemarketer.com/episode19.

Just want to thank you guys for stopping by and listening to the podcast. Really appreciate it. I hope you found this information useful and gave you some ideas that you can run away and implement in your business. And we'd love it if you found it useful, please share it with your friends; let them know about the power of marketing automation, as well.

And next week, we're going to start changing it up a little bit, and we're going to start talking a little bit more about sales funnels. We're going to do a sequence of podcasts specifically designed around sales funnels and how you can use sales funnels and marketing automation together to really kind of accelerate your business. That's coming up next week. In the meantime, you can go over to the website and download our ninja guide to tagging, so you can get your tagging strategy all set up before you start building your funnels. And you can find that over at theactivemarketer.com/taggingguide.

We'll see you next week. But in the meantime, I want you to go out there and design, automate, and scale your business to the next level. See you next week, everybody.

Announcer: Thanks for listening to The Active Marketer Podcast. You can find the show notes and all the latest marketing automation news over at theactivemarketer.com