You know they’re out there. You just can’t put a finger on them. I’m talking about your customers. One of the best ways for businesses to get in front of the very people who will become their customers is with a free opt in offer.

An opt in offer can be a free report, an infographic, or a slideshow. You could also host a live event for people who are all ears for your service or product. 

A great free opt in offer for a local business is an event that gets people in your door and quickly shows how you can serve them.

With a free event you get to actually prove that you can do what you claim. Without relying on expensive advertising, without waiting for your clients to send new business your way, and without even sending multiple emails to your prospects; you show how you walk your talk.

If you’re really good, you can host an event to strut your stuff.

Last Saturday my son and I attended a free hitting clinic for young baseball players and I was blown away by the skills and information we walked away with…

I heard about it through the grapevine at the last game. Then I received an email that slots were filling fast for Saturday’s clinic. Since we didin’t have a game scheduled until the afternoon I figured, “Why not?” May as well get some hitting in since he’d missed a couple of practices recently due to rain. I was expecting a loosely organized hitting session, where all the boys got to hit and some young men gave them tips on their swing. I was wrong.

The whole thing was tightly organized and ran like clockwork. Parents were included in the training too. The manager showed before and after videos, gave a breakdown of a pro’s swing and an overview of the way most coaches teach hitting. Then the whole team gave a sampling of the hitting training at Trent Reynolds Baseball Development.

They didn’t even need to made the claim that they were different; they simply showed it. Each kid got a chance to swing on video and then watch his swing while one of the team played it back and discussed it with the player and his parent. Each kid spent some time with a differnt player working on footwork, arm positions, and even their mental game. Best of all, the kids had fun.

At the end, there was no hard sell, but each parent had seen their kid swing and connect like crazy with the ball. Pretty impressive hits at the end of the 1.5-hour training!

Many stayed around to ask questions about the program and how to get signed up. Get this: there’s a waiting list. After a great event, they introduced the age-old sales tactic: scarcity!

So here’s what you can do…

• Let people know what you’re planning. Especially if you’re a local business, start getting the word out among your current customers. Ask them to tell their friends.
• Find a local champion (someone in your network) who has a list of people you’d like to meet. (In this case, although I first heard about the clinic from another mom on the team, I received the email from the local ball club.)
• Send an email with a link to a landing page about your event, post it on your Facebook page, tweet it to your followers. Make it clear what your are offering and what people will take away from the event. Get a decent copywriter for the job.
• Make signing up very easy. Use a contact management system that you’ve tested.
• Retain the emails of all your sign-ups for later follow-up.
• Keep groups small if your presentation involves hands-on work or practice. Too many participants can be tricky to manage and could backfire.
• Stay on schedule. If you promise one hour, finish on time or 5-minutes early.
• Focus your attention on the event. Don’t take outside phone calls, or attend to other business while you are trying to make a connection with the people who attend your event.
• Invite further engagement. Explain what the next step is to your interested attendees. (I left with a simple flyer describing the full hitting program for young players, along with a business card of the manager.)
• Schedule back-to-back sessions. It’s psychologically powerful to see another group walking in, especially after being told there is a waiting list for new members.
• Follow up with another email to the people who expressed interest and a thank you email to all people who came to your event.

Looking for tips on a strategic free opt in offer for your business? Need enticing copy that gets ideal clients coming your way? How about some ideas for the next steps after the opt-in — those first crucial emails? You’ve got it. Get the free Four-Part Series Outstanding Connections. Simply let me know below where to deliver it. (Your email address is secure with MyTeamConnects!)