How to consistently fill your customer pipeline
Here in Buenos Aires, there are an abundance of tango instructors.
It’s totally understandable why. Buenos Aires is the mecca of tango. Eager dancers flock here from all over the world to dance, get expert instruction, and to soak up the atmosphere.
But with so many instructors, there’s a bit of a supply and demand issue. How does a tourist, or anyone who is here in Buenos Aires figure out which instructor to go to?
And how does an instructor, who wants to make a living teaching tango has to have enough customers to sustain their business?
For the enterprising tango instructor, there are four key challenges:
- Get people interested in attending tango lessons
- Showcase that they are someone who is capable of teaching a lesson
- Get them to show up to the lesson
- They have to repeat the system so it brings them desired results over time
When I first arrived in Buenos Aires, I made it to a tango lesson because the woman I rented my apartment from took me to the class. So I made it to a place I’ve grown to love by word of mouth.
That’s still a strong way to win business. But unless you’re always booked solid via this method, it can’t be your only strategy for getting new customers.
My tango instructor here in Buenos Aires, for the past twenty years, gives a free tango exhibition in a plaza at the end of a popular open air market every Sunday. Once the exhibition and the market are over, he then holds a free milonga (tango party), that attracts dancers and onlookers each week.
He gets people interested in lessons, by doing the exhibition in a prime location.
He establishes himself as an authority by dancing in the exhibition, as well as holding the milonga each week. People are able to clearly see he is in the know.
He and his team get people to show up to their tango lessons during the week by passing out business cards with information about their classes.
He repeats his lead generation system every Sunday in the plaza.
His approach to marketing his business simple. And it works. And he clearly stands out from the sea of tango teachers who show up at milongas around the city passing out flyers.
So as you think about creating a sustainable marketing system that consistently brings your ideal customers to you, you’ve got to figure out a few things:
- How to find people who have the problem your business solves
- How to let them know that you can solve their problem
- How to get them comfortable enough with you that they’ll take the next step in the journey that leads to them becoming your customer
- How can you repeat the process consistently over time
It doesn’t have to be an elaborate system. It just needs to be one that works for you. Consistently over time.
Here’s your homework for the week:
- What is the problem that your ideal customers have that your business solves
- How do your ideal customers know they have a problem?
- If your ideal customers aren’t aware that they have a problem, brainstorm three things you can do to help them identify it? ex. The tango instructor encourages a desire to learn tango, by showing onlookers how beautiful the dance is.
- Where do your ideal customers hang out?
- Brainstorm seven ways you can demonstrate to your ideal customers that you can solve their problem.
- How can you systematize this process so you can get new customers in your business on a regular basis
