Gaining consent in marketing

In the age of information overload, it's becoming increasingly difficult to capture the attention of prospects and customers. The old model of interruption marketing, where you blast your message to a wide audience in the hopes that some of it will stick, is no longer effective.

A more powerful and respectful approach is to use marketing to gain consent from prospects to receive more information from you. This is known as permission marketing, and it's a cornerstone of the guerrilla marketing philosophy.

The process of gaining consent involves:

• Offering something of value: This could be a free ebook, a helpful webinar, or an informative newsletter.
• Asking for permission: Clearly and explicitly ask for permission to send them more information.
• Making it easy to opt-out: Always provide a clear and easy way for people to unsubscribe from your communications.

Once you have gained consent, your job is to broaden that consent over time. You do this by consistently providing value and building a relationship with your prospects. As you build trust, you can then begin to introduce them to your products and services.

The story of the summer camp director who used a free DVD to gain consent for an in-home consultation is a perfect example of this principle in action. By focusing on gaining consent rather than going for the hard sell, you can build a more sustainable and profitable business.