Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Your Distribution Channels

Most trainers don’t think of themselves as having “distribution channels.” They think that “distribution channels” are Wal-Mart or Kroger or Amazon. They think of them as solely for retail offerings.

Well – let me tell you this is not the case.

Your distribution channel could be your monthly newsletter, your joint venture with the local chiropractor, the seminar you give and any number of other things that get you, your service or your product in front of the prospect.

You can tap into the upside leverage of these distribution channels by capitalizing on the relationships that you’ve already created.

The obvious example is the e-mail list. That is the internet marketer’s distribution channel. Many internet marketers might only sell an e-book to their list. But how could they capitalize on those relationships they’ve built with their subscribers outside of that basic sale of the e-book? Here are just a few ideas:

Offer an affiliate’s product.
Offer a follow up e-book.
Offer information through a different medium (DVD, CD).
Offer a deluxe package with a combination.
Develop a membership site.
Offer a group mentorship program.
Offer one-on-one phone coaching.

I could continue on and on, but you get the picture. So if you already have the distribution channel in place, you need to look for ways to maximize it. Perhaps you could create other peripheral services to offer prospects. Maybe you could create products based on your expertise. They key is to do what I discussed in yesterday’s post – leverage each relationship. You have more channels of distribution than you’ve probably ever given thought to – it’s time to discover their hidden opportunities.