Progressive Profiling is an incredibly powerful marketing tactic that can help you convert more prospects into paying customers more quickly and more efficiently. Yet, very few marketers and business owners take advantage of this...in fact, many don't even know what it is.
In today's free training, I'm going to educate you on Progressive Profiling so you walk away understanding what it is and how you can easily implement it into your business.
Here's what you'll be learning today:
This training is going to be packed with actionable insight and value for you so please make sure to download your free guide. It will provide you with everything you'll need to get started. Simply enter your details below to get yours instantly.
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Let's cover the first thing I promised you, the definition of Progressive Profiling.
Progressive
Profiling Defined
Progressive Profiling is centered at the heart of your customer experience, enabling you to gain additional pieces of information from prospective customers without asking them for all the information you wish to gather at once.
Using Progressive Profiling allows you to drip questions (i.e. collect additional pieces of customer data points) over time, so at no point are you overwhelming the prospect with all your questions.
In this way, you're able to create a comprehensive customer profile based on information they give you, enabling you to craft your marketing and sales incentives based on their specific profile needs, pain points, and desires.
Here's a story to show you how Progressive Profiling makes sense in your marketing.
Let's say you attend a friend's party and are introduced to someone who you'd like to ask out on a date. It would be a disaster if you walked over to this person and led with, "Will you marry me?" Most likely, your proposal would be declined and the person might even be offended. Either way, you would have little recourse to fix the situation.
This is because we, as humans, don't engage this way.
We want to build a rapport before we buy into a person's proposal or idea (or offer to purchase). That's why, when courting a prospect, it's important to establish a conversation based on their interests, in order for you to get to the point where you can make an offer they'll be open to considering.
Now, let's use our time machine and go back to that party with the person you're interested in.
This time, you walk over and spark up a casual conversation, asking basic questions about this person and what they're interested in. As they answer, you tailor your questions and the conversation according to their responses. The conversation progresses, this person begins feeling more comfortable with you and is enjoying themselves (because you're exchanging value and entertainment between each other).
You're engaged and they're engaged.
And then, when the timing is right, you ask them if they'd like to go out for a coffee or drink sometime (an initial offer or request for them to invest their time with you. Remember, time equates to money).
They say "yes."
After a few dates (additional rapport building with equal exchanges of value and entertainment) and over time, as you continue to get to know this person, your relationship deepens, and finally, you ask the big question: "Will you marry me?" (Your "ask" at this stage is the full investment into what you are offering), and guess what - they say "yes!"
That, my friend, is Progressive Profiling.
As you read that, you probably agreed that's the typical course of progression in a relationship.
That's because humans are naturally wired this way. We crave value and entertainment in a structured pace. We divulge more information and invest more time when we feel safe and are invested in the relationship.
The relationship is directly correlated to the person's goal of what they want from that relationship. Which could be anything from: "I want a loving relationship," to the transactional side of consumerism which might be: "I want to grow my business," or, "I want to lose weight and look great at the beach."
In today's digital world, we must understand how to effectively use Progressive Profiling in our marketing in order to drive deeper engagement and close more sales with relevant offers and communications.
Use Case #1
How to use Progressive Profiling in your marketing automation.
Let's first look at using Progressive Profiling with marketing automation. Anytime you use forms or collect data with landing pages, lead magnets, and opt-ins, you can utilize Progressive Profiling to drive audience segmentation and increase qualified leads.
Most likely the content you share is relevant to multiple audiences, and it's helpful to segment those audiences so you can market to them accordingly. However, you don't want to create a long opt-in form asking for a bunch of personal information (like phone number, job title, specific needs/desires) right from the get-go (remember our dating example from above?).
Typically, the more form fields you ask your lead to fill out, the more likely they'll leave for another, easier way to get the content they want without going through the 3rd degree.
So, how do you get the valuable, qualifying information you need to further engage these leads? You guessed it - Progressive Profiling.
You can start by using a short, to-the-point opt-in form (name, email address, phone number). They're now in your CRM, which means you can first deliver the piece of content they want (content which has value sparks the value exchange which is critical for conversion), and then continue to communicate with them.
Mistake #1
Here is the first mistake marketers and business owners make.
From this point we wrongly assume that we should now push offers at them because they have opted in. Of course you'll make an initial offer to identify the people ready to buy, but the statistical probability that they will buy anything over $50 with you from the initial touch point is wrong (in my humble opinion).
Mistake #2
Here is the second and biggest mistake marketers and business owners make.
So, the prospect has opted in and now they're in your marketing communications. Most businesses will then create more content and offers, and then use that content to ask their prospects for what?
- Name
- Phone Number
Your prospect has already given you this. You are gaining nothing new from them! In fact, you're continually guessing they're going to eventually buy simply because you keep creating content hoping that will be the turnout.
How can you assume they will buy from you if you know nothing about them other than their name, email and possibly their phone number?
Here's a real life example to drive this point home:
- You are at a party and you meet someone you're interested in. You spark up a conversation with them (let's say for the business world this would be your ad that gets their attention).
- You have a good brief conversation (your ad copy).
- They are intrigued. They want to know more so they give you some information about them (they opt-in and give you their name, email and phone number).
- You make an initial offer to them and they decline but they are still interested.
- You then offer more value to them (your new content) and they are interested so you ask them the same questions (give me your name, email and phone number).
- They are now offended. "Were you not paying attention? I just gave you that. You're asking me the same question again that I already answered for you!"
- Your conversation starts to go downhill. The prospect is annoyed.
- You present more value (additional content). They are interested so what do you ask them for? Their name, email and phone number.
You can see how in real life this would make it difficult to hold a conversation with anyone if you kept asking for the same information repeatedly. But this is exactly what we do in our marketing.
You are getting no new information from them to craft an efficient way to identify what their situation is like (your qualifying sales questions) so you can sell them the solution.
Instead of continuing to send them more content/offers based on assumptions, you should use Progressive Profiling to ask them what they're interested to learn more about (or what their biggest challenges are), and then use that info to segment your audience.
Here is how to use Progressive Profiling in your marketing automation.
- After someone has opted in to your marketing communications you should drip out questions on a regular cadence that asks additional pieces of information about their business.
- You can use web forms right from your automated marketing emails to ask them for additional information without having to ask them for their name, email, and phone number. (If you don't know how to do this schedule a free consult with our Client Success Team to learn how we can set this up for you. Simply click here to schedule your free call.)
- I would suggest that you create these one-question web forms at a normal cadence between at least three pieces of value that you send out so it does not feel like you are bombarding the prospect with questions.
Start with broad questions and then get more detailed as the relationship with the prospect progresses and strengthens - again, think about how a face-to-face conversation with someone would flow.
For example, you might start with the most critical information such as what the name of their company is and their position, and later on, you may ask more specific product or service focused questions.
As your web forms are completed by your prospects, you build a strong qualified candidate sales profile. You'll then have the right information you need to make smart sales and marketing offers to this person.
This approach will not cost you more money than what you already are spending if you use a marketing automation system such as Infusionsoft/Keap, ActiveCampaign or Hubspot.
Over time, this will give you an enhanced picture of your leads, which helps you personalize your nurturing process and market (and sell) to them with more comprehensive targeting.
Tip: Let your prospects know their answers will help them receive more value.
It's helpful to include a little copy to explain why someone should answer your questions in your form or email.
For example, say you ask your prospect to identify a specific challenge that's facing their small business. Include some copy that succinctly explains why answering this question will provide them value, such as: "By answering this question, I'll be able to provide you with more relevant content you can use to help your business succeed."
You also want to be sure you follow up on your progressive nurturing process. As you refine your opt-in and lead form strategy, you want to be sure you also hone and adjust your automated communications.
Automated Marketing Software (like Infusionsoft) allows you to do this easily. For example, you can personalize all your automated communication with appropriate language based upon the information you receive.
Instead of asking "What's your job title?" you can instead ask, "{First Name}, what role do you currently play at {Company Name}?" This kind of personalization makes for a unique and enjoyable experience for the user, and makes data collection and lead qualification even easier for you.
Hopefully you've downloaded your free Progressive Profiling guide already. if not, you'll want to make sure to do that now.
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Convert more prospects faster using this tactic.
Use Case #2
How to use Progressive Profiling with a Membership Site.
Using a membership site (like AccessAlly) for lead magnet delivery is the crème de la crème of Progressive Profiling. My full-service agency, Built by Love, uses it for our member portal (which I talk more about in the Resources section below).
A membership site is one of the best ways to fix Mistake #2 that I described above - the problem of delivering valuable content, but not getting any usable data in return (just the same name and the same email address).
This is where a membership site can revolutionize the way you share content, collect data, and nurture leads.
Here's how it works: Instead of having prospects opt-in each time they want a lead magnet or resource, you can create a library of valuable content or courses within your membership site that prospects can access anytime they login to your portal.
The catch is, you don't give it all away at once.
A well-designed membership site can share a finite amount of valuable content, education, and resources with members, and then, when they want more, it can engage them in a short simple conversation.
For example, they answer 2 qualifying questions, they get access to 2 more valuable resources.
This revolutionary approach gives your prospects something of value, while gleaning lead-qualifying data for you and ALSO tracking how much - and what - your prospects consume. This provides you with all the information you need to close the sale, and better yet, because it's automated, it's all done with minimal effort on your part.
This makes a lot more sense than pushing an already-subscribed prospect to fill out yet another opt-in form every time they want one of your free resources or offers.
In addition, you can showcase premium resources and paid courses in your membership portal, which sets you up for easy up-selling and cross-selling.
Here's why I love this new Progressive Profiling approach I'm sharing with you.
The membership site approach that uses Progressive Profiling is designed how consumers have been conditioned to consume content.
Think Netflix.
You log in and get everything at once. Consume - or binge - as you please. It's all there. iTunes, Pandora, Hulu, Amazon Prime, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are all platforms that allow you to consume as much as you want.
Furthermore, with today's digital landscape, consumers don't want to wait for their content. If you're using the old school strategy of designing content and hoping your prospects will continually come back to consume it, you're using an outdated marketing and content strategy.
I strongly suggest you consider taking the Netflix style "binge all you want" content strategy. Below I will outline the resources you'll want to use. Of course, if you want our agency to custom build this for you, simply schedule your free consult with us by clicking this link.
The Resources you'll want to use for Progressive Profiling
Despite the benefits of Progressive Profiling becoming more well known, not all marketing automation tools are equipped with the ability to support it. Two that do (and do it well) are ones that I use for my agency and also recommend to my clients - Infusionsoft and AccessAlly.
1) Infusionsoft
The Infusionsoft CRM (now Keap) is one of the few marketing automation softwares that enables the use of Progressive Profiling. If you don't have this system and would like to know more about the power it wields, you should contact me. I am an Infusionsoft Certified Partner and can answer your questions, see if it's the right fit for you, set it up, and train you in it.
2) AccessAlly
AccessAlly is simply one of the best membership site automation tools on the market. With it, you can easily create a pro-level membership site without complex or costly custom coding, plus you don't have to buy multiple licenses to get course-teaching functionality - it's all built in so you have you everything you need to sell, engage, and teach online.
I love AccessAlly, which is why, as mentioned previously, it's exactly what my full-service marketing agency uses for our membership site (as well as what we use whenever we build a membership site for our clients). To learn more about AccessAlly you can follow this link.
3) A team of pros to build it for you.
Want state-of-the-art marketing automation, progressive profiling, and a beautiful, custom-built membership site done for you? Schedule a free consult with my full-service marketing agency, and we can discuss how to implement Progressive Profiling into your marketing strategy to organically and exponentially grow your business.
In the meantime, don't forget to get free access to your Progressive Profiling Guide below (along with access to a number of other How-To resources).
Claim Your Progressive Profiling How-To Guide Now
Convert more prospects faster using this tactic.
If you are a business owner that is serious about growing his or her business, then I would like to personally invite you to schedule a free strategic consult with my agency.
We'll discuss your road map to success and how we can add value to your company by creating and implementing intelligently designed marketing strategies, video, graphics, and copy writing into your business. Click here to schedule your free consult.
Daniel Bussius is an award-winning Infusionsoft Certified Partner who is a highly sought after Marketing Agency CEO and Professional Consultant, Daniel and his agency, Built By Love, work with celebrities, New York Times best-selling authors, Fortune 500 companies, and over 1,000 small business owners from around the world.
Daniel is the world's only dual-certified StoryBrand Certified Agency and Infusionsoft Certified Partner. His agency holds a long list of certifications and hires top talent that has one primary goal: to make clients achieve their wildest dreams.
