There are many businesses out there that have tried direct mail and found it to be a very big letdown.
They haphazardly attempt to create a direct mail campaign without adequate preparation. They then spend thousands without first testing their offer. Once they’ve failed, they lament the whole idea and quickly give up. They fail to test and adjust, then test again.
Nothing gives you a better return on investment than direct mail marketing; it doesn’t matter what product or service you sell. You can make all the initial phone calls in the world and not come out ahead as you would with a great sales letter.
A sales letter is the most powerful marketing tool you could ever use. I know I sound positively evangelical about this, but take it from a guy who has cold called in person and on the phone for years.
For about the price of a kid’s burger – it will tirelessly prospect for you and even more importantly, qualify prospects for you time and time again. It will never, never get its feeling hurt from too many rejections. A sales letter will never make excuses for lack of performance. And it will never quit to go get a salaried position somewhere else.
So how do you test your offer and develop a solid direct mail program without busting your wallet? It takes a whole lot of planning but it can be done in less than 30 days. The first step is to decide what the objective of your program will be. Do you want the mailing to grab potential clients? Do you want to sell something on a one-call close? These are the decisions that need to be made at this point.
The secret to winning this game is to make the postal presentation very personal. People do not hesitate to open an envelope that looks like Aunt Tilly sent it to them. If the package is presented appropriately and the contents looks simple and has appealing offers, the c (more…)
