Part 14 (1/2)

Use mail in conjunction with other tactics, such as telephone and e-, think of directcommunication mechanism, not an event It's more powerful when it continues over time to the same audience

Direct mail is both art and science Take care to know the science side very wel (or get someone who does)

Common mistakesExpectations for direct mail success that are unrealistic For exa to get 25 people to their seet only a handful (if they are lucky) You e response rates for direct es are useless Responses can be as high as 10 percent and as low as 005 percent due to factors that start with the list and include offer; e (letter, postcard, three-dimensional mailer, etc); price of offer (if there is one); and al the rest of the direct mail success factors

Lists and databases that are old, smal , and inaccurate You can only be as successful as your database is clean and fresh There is no cutting corners in this area

Direct mail without an offer or, even worse, offers like ”buy my service” or ”let us be your trusted advisor” that are often not approprate for direct mail

Weak copy and creative that hurt your brand

Direct mail as a one-shot effort

Telephone It's not hard to find argu in professional services We have even seen cold cal ing co i

For thesenti skil s

Bad reputation (business-to-business telephone sel ing is not like the tele dinner)

Inapprorpiate implementation

Personal and e, especial y if they must make the cal s the can, and often should, be a eneration and business develop iy and desire, and cold cal ing can be a rowth and success

Keep in mind as wel that the telephone can be used forIt can be used for research, wareneral relationshi+p development and maintenance This may sound rather obvious, but people don't use the telephone to reach out to prospects or reconnect with clients often enough

Typically good for:Making introductions with top prospects and referral sources

Developing,responses to specific offers

Generating event attendance

Reaching a highly targeted, wel -defined audience

Juh-end services

Words of wisdomDon't ask your professional staff to make the initial cal s unless they have the skil s and desire to do so Not ood reason to cal from the buyer's perspective; don't just pitch services

Deliver value in the telephone cal itself

Choose the right person to do the cal ing: right experience level, right skil , right attitude

Cal in blocks of tiet, client, and referral source with the right frequency; too h and you don't break through

Common mistakesPeople who lack skil and desire make the cal s and fail

Cal reluctance creates procrastination and dul s cold cal ing activity

Robotic cal ing and cal ing from a script

No value for the prospect in the phone cal

Poor target lists

Poor fol ow-up; lack of fol ow-up

Poor record keeping and databaseelse in your tool kit Brand and integrated ht leadershi+p, directwith the telephone and directof the direct communications tool kit Use of e-mail varies in frequency and level of sophistication, but it's a part of al and sales strategies

You can view e-ories: personal and bulk Personal e- an e- it to a person yourself Bulk e- si an autoram

That we cal it bulk e-mail does not mean you should equate it with spam, and it may also be ”from” you and ”to” a specific person with that person's name identified in the actual e-mail For example, your e-mail newsletter may be 100 percent opt-in, and each issue may be packed with content and value that the readershi+p looks forward to It may be extremely wel -done bulk e-ood for:Co, and relationshi+p develop value-based content such as co responses to offers

Pro event attendance

Words of wisdooals Your e- of 200 personal communications per day by your business developeted third-party e-mails, and much more

Don't spaht look and feel for your e-mail that supports your brand and your objectives Someti progra platform for the company and should fit in with your corporate identity

E-eneration media and is eminently trackable Like direct mail, you should test different variables for improved reactions and responses fro more rapidly than le for use such as auto, and e- up every day You have to stay on top of it

Co Spaative reader reaction Once your list gets large enough, soned up at one point and send you an annoyed reply If you're operating your e-ht way, these wil be few and far between But when they come up, don't overreact and stop your efforts completely