How-To Turn Prospects Into Paying Customers Using A Customer Activation Cycle + More
If you catch a fish, you need to know what to do with it!
Welcome to the official newsletter of “The Transition,” brought to you by me, "IRON" Mike Steadman, A Marine Corps Veteran, Social Entrepreneur, and Member of The Bunker Labs Branding Team.
Dear Bunker,
Before I share last week’s episode of the Transition, I want to talk about the importance of building a customer activation cycle, i.e. a step-by-step process that maps out how you turn prospects into customers.
Marketing without a customer activation cycle is the equivalent of putting the cart before the horse. If you want to build brand awareness, start by driving revenue and build awareness through paying customers. In the early stages of your venture, a marketing plan is a nice to have but an activation cycle is a necessity. Below is a short video I recorded for Bunker Online, where I break the process down.
The Customer Activation Cycle
Regardless of your type of venture, whether it’s a small business, startup, or nonprofit organization, you need an activation cycle.
Don’t over thinking, just map it out and then plug in the holes. For example, if you secure a meeting with a warm prospect, what marketing assets are you sending them to fire them up before the meeting? I send a video and PDF overview of services. For E-commerce brands, once they visit your website, what’s the next step? Do you have email pop-up? What’s the copy on the front page? Just something to think through.
In the comment section below, draft a quick customer activation cycle so I can take a look. I’ll do my best to submit feedback throughout the week. I’m an entrepreneur in the fight just like you, so I might take me sometime to respond!
The latest episode of “The Transition”
Last week on the Transition, I featured A.J. Yawn, A Former Division 1 basketball player and Army Veteran that raised 3 million dollars to fund his cyber security startup.
AJ is the Founder and CEO of ByteChek, an early stage B2B SaaS company that builds, manages, and assesses a company’s cybersecurity program, in order to build trust with customers and unlock sales. ByteChek raised it’s 3 Million Dollars in SEED funding from predominantly black investors. Despite his military background, expertise in cyber security, and status as a former D1 Athlete, AJ struggled raising capital from non-black investors.
It’s unfortunate, but this is a recurring trend amongst many of our talented underrepresented entrepreneurs with Bunker Lab ecosystem, which is why its important to get their stories out, so that those who are raising capital, understand the challenges ahead and how to Navigate them.
On the show, AJ opens up how he succeeded in his raise, despite the adversity, the importance of his family and mental health, and the lessons he’s learned building his first startup.
You can listen to the episode at the link in my signature. Please rate the show on iTunes and Spotify, browny points if you leave a review.
We want to hear from you!
My goal is to make the Transition the #1 resource for military connected entrepreneurs. I can’t do it alone. In order to make the best show possible, we’d love to hear your feedback on topics you’d like us to cover. Feel free to shoot me and email at Mike.Steadman@BunkerLabs.org or simply comment below.
Join Me On Bunker Online
Bunker Online is a great place to connect with other veteran and military spouse entrepreneurs. You can join here: https://bunkerlabs.mn.co/feed
The Transition is brought to you by Metlife Foundation, and their commitment the supporting veteran and military-spouse entrepreneurs. In addition, Metlife Foundation also provides mentorship and financial health resources to veterans and military spouses transition into the workforce.
***P.S. I’m a Marine Grunt, so I apologize for any grammar errors in advance, but know I’m working on improving my writing."
Listen to the latest episode of the Transition on your favorite podcast below.