Direct mail is a great way to not only get new clients but also scale your business for 20, 30, 50 or even 100 clients! A direct mail campaign that is properly implemented can have the highest success rate when compared to your other lead generation campaigns. The hardest part about direct mail is getting the business owner to open your package. But the contents of your direct mail piece should be engaging enough that business owner will call back. Finally when following up with business owners you can refer to the “correspondences” you sent so you are now warm calling. Direct mail is a great lead generation system and a must for your start up business.
Packaging
The first and most important thing when it comes to your Direct Mail campaign is the packaging. Now there are many different options but the two that work best are Priority Mail Envelopes from USPS.com or Envelopes from Fedex.com. Both are equally effective and will greatly increase the chance of your direct mail piece being opened by a business owner. Typically information that is mailed via Priority Mail or FedEx tends to be important therefor a business owner will surely open it.
Another option that has been getting a lot of attention lately in the world of direct mail is the use of Bank Bags. These are simple bags that you can use to package you direct mail piece. Again the purpose of the packaging is to ensure your marketing piece is read by the business owner. Although this method may be a bit more expensive will it will greatly increase the chances of getting new leads and new clients.
DM Contents
Now that the business owner has opened your direct mail piece you MUST immediately grab their attention. The best way to do this is with $1.oo bill attached to the top of your marketing piece. This is an old direct mail gimmick that makes your report stand out and more memorable when you follow up. The $1.00 bill trick is the only method that I use when sending direct mail pieces.
By now you’ve successfully got the business owner to open your DM piece, you have their attention now its time to get a new lead! This is done with the contents you send to the business owner. Now it depends on the type of services you are selling the particular business, but you can create some type of personalized attractive report showing them their pain. This goes back to knowing your prospect. Simply create a report which shows their pain and how you can help.
For example if you are selling SEO services you can send a report showing the top keywords for an industry and how many leads the top ranking site can expect to get. Another option is for those selling mobile websites. Create a short a short report showing a non-optimized mobile site compared to a mock up site. For both examples you can create a general template and plugin different business information then send the report.
Finally, at end of your report you need to include a definite Call To Action (CTA). This is what makes the difference between sending out free and information and getting new leads. End your report by telling the business owner to call you back so you can talk more about the information you provided. You can also inform the business owner that you will be following up with them within a couple days if you don’t hear a response.
Follow UP
Although DM is very effective in lead generation it still requires some follow up. The two methods I use for follow up is warm calling and/ or sending a “lumpy” mailing. First I say warm call because since we know the business owner will open and read the DM piece we can assume they know we will be following up with them. Therefore the business owner should be expecting our call. My follow up warm call script would go something like this:
You: Hello this is <your name> I’m calling about the correspondence sent to <business owner name> on <insert date>
Sectary: Ok I will get him for you
….
Owner: Hello this is John, who am I speaking with?
You: Hey John this is <your name> I’m just calling about the report we sent you on <insert date>
The one with the $1 attached…
Owner: Oh yes I remember that, I looked it over and…
Now proceed to cover the report answer any question the business owner may have and set a meeting!
Numerous deals have been closed because of a warm call follow up. Most business owners want to call you back especially if you do a good job of showing how you can help them. However they are busy, so you must follow up.
Finally if you are still having trouble getting in contact with a business owner, I will follow up by sending some “lumpy” mail. These are just little items used to get the business owners attention and let them know that you are serious about helping their business grow. A good example of a lumpy mail follow up I often use is Shredded Money. I will add the line “your website costing you money” or “stop wasting money on ineffective adverting!” Of course after the lumpy mail is sent I will follow up with another warm call.
What’s Next
Before going out and investing in postage or direct mail pieces I would suggest visiting the warrior forum and finding a more detailed course about direct mail. You will be able to find a more complete step by step guide and templates to use for your direct mail efforts.
Find a good template that works for you. Direct mail does take an initial investment compared to other lead generation strategies, but as I stated before it is also one of the best. I would recommend starting off by mailing 20 of your top prospects. Most importantly be sure to follow up with each of these clients. Even If you close one new client from direct mail you will easily cover all of your initial expenses. Simply continue to repeat, improve and scale your DM process until you have reached the desired number of clients!