Nano Training Series Week 4
Direct Mail 101 (Part 1)
Marketing and sales… what’s the difference in definition between these two words? Marketing gets you
in front of people and selling is what you do when you are in front of them. Marketing includes door
knocking, networking, direct mail and 1 million other business creating methods. Many say marketing is the
hardest part and I would agree; unless… you have a marketing system that works. In this section we are
going to talk about several options you have to help you develop your own marketing system.
There are really only two ways to market. You can use money or you can use blood, sweat, and tears. In business,
YOU ALWAYS NEED AN INVESTMENT TO GET A RETURN.
You can succeed in business without initial money but never without an investment and if you don’t have money to invest then your only option is effort and work. Where new agents go wrong is when they think they will find sales opportunities and success without money or work. This belief is false, unrealistic and will ultimately lead to failure. In this section we are going to talk about ways to market with and without money.
In the final expense business the typical way to market to seniors is via leads. Not all leads are created equal and you usually get what
you pay for. Let’s take a minute and explore some of the lead types.
Direct Mail Leads
Direct mail leads are the most common source of leads for final expense sales. Leads come from direct mail campaigns that are sent out to thousands of prospects. The prospects who are interested reply to the advertisement by requesting information and sending the lead card back to the agent. The agent receives the lead, visits the prospect, and makes the sale.
Pay per Thousand Leads
Agents typically pay per thousand cards mailed. For example, XYZ Lead Co charges $425 per 1,000 leads dropped (mailed). If only one person replies to the mailer, the cost of that one lead was $425. If 10 people reply, the cost would be $42.50 per lead. As you can see the more prospects who reply, the cheaper the leads cost.
Response rates
Response rate for direct mail leads vary from state to state and area to area. You should expect to get a .75%-2% response on your mailers. I have personally seen responses as high as 8% but this is a rare. There are several factors that will determine a lead mailing response. Frequency of drops, style/copy of lead, demographics of area, time of year, holidays, and frequency of competing companies’ drops are several factors that will increase or decrease the number of people who respond to a lead.
Here are a few tips to help you maximize lead responses:
- Space your drops so they are at least 3 months apart
- Avoid doing drops in the months of November and December
- Make sure you drop in areas that are within your target market. For example, avoid areas with really high income ($75,000+) and areas with high populations of people who speak language you don’t know (Spanish, Chinese, etc.). Use www.zipskinny.comto get detailed demographic information.
- Maintain a lead inventory of at least three work weeks so you don’t run out of leads. I like to give myself 4 weeks just to make sure.
- Confirm with your lead vender the turnaround time for lead drops. Some companies need as much as a week to get ready for a drop.
in front of people and selling is what you do when you are in front of them. Marketing includes door
knocking, networking, direct mail and 1 million other business creating methods. Many say marketing is the
hardest part and I would agree; unless… you have a marketing system that works. In this section we are
going to talk about several options you have to help you develop your own marketing system.
There are really only two ways to market. You can use money or you can use blood, sweat, and tears. In business,
YOU ALWAYS NEED AN INVESTMENT TO GET A RETURN.
You can succeed in business without initial money but never without an investment and if you don’t have money to invest then your only option is effort and work. Where new agents go wrong is when they think they will find sales opportunities and success without money or work. This belief is false, unrealistic and will ultimately lead to failure. In this section we are going to talk about ways to market with and without money.
In the final expense business the typical way to market to seniors is via leads. Not all leads are created equal and you usually get what
you pay for. Let’s take a minute and explore some of the lead types.
Direct Mail Leads
Direct mail leads are the most common source of leads for final expense sales. Leads come from direct mail campaigns that are sent out to thousands of prospects. The prospects who are interested reply to the advertisement by requesting information and sending the lead card back to the agent. The agent receives the lead, visits the prospect, and makes the sale.
Pay per Thousand Leads
Agents typically pay per thousand cards mailed. For example, XYZ Lead Co charges $425 per 1,000 leads dropped (mailed). If only one person replies to the mailer, the cost of that one lead was $425. If 10 people reply, the cost would be $42.50 per lead. As you can see the more prospects who reply, the cheaper the leads cost.
Response rates
Response rate for direct mail leads vary from state to state and area to area. You should expect to get a .75%-2% response on your mailers. I have personally seen responses as high as 8% but this is a rare. There are several factors that will determine a lead mailing response. Frequency of drops, style/copy of lead, demographics of area, time of year, holidays, and frequency of competing companies’ drops are several factors that will increase or decrease the number of people who respond to a lead.
Here are a few tips to help you maximize lead responses:
- Space your drops so they are at least 3 months apart
- Avoid doing drops in the months of November and December
- Make sure you drop in areas that are within your target market. For example, avoid areas with really high income ($75,000+) and areas with high populations of people who speak language you don’t know (Spanish, Chinese, etc.). Use www.zipskinny.comto get detailed demographic information.
- Maintain a lead inventory of at least three work weeks so you don’t run out of leads. I like to give myself 4 weeks just to make sure.
- Confirm with your lead vender the turnaround time for lead drops. Some companies need as much as a week to get ready for a drop.
