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In this issue:
Marketing Article: Increase Your Profits With Effective Follow Up
Marketing Article: Postcards vs. Letters

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Everybody knows that sales are vital to building a profitable business. But, few people understand the importance of maintaining a permanent reservoir of potential customers (I call them "hot prospects") from which sales can be made now or very soon. The majority of businesses put most of their time and effort into continually attracting new prospects. They spend very little or no time and effort on following up with previous prospects. Attracting new prospects is important. It's also expensive. Following up with previous prospects is important, too. In comparison with finding new prospects, it's very inexpensive.

If you're in business, don't overlook the "acres of diamonds" in your own backyard. You've already devoted the time and spent the money to attract these previous prospects. Most of them who haven't yet bought from you still have an interest in your product or service. It just wasn't convenient for them to take action at the time you communicated with them. You can still get business from these prospects if you stay in contact with them. The cost of getting business by following up with previous prospects will be very low in comparison to getting business by finding fresh, new prospects.

How do you handle these previous prospects to keep your name in front of them without becoming a pest? I'll give you two "real life" examples from my own experience. One is a traditional, postal mail technique. The other is an online, e-mail technique. Adapt either or both examples to your operation. You'll see an immediate increase in business with little or no expense.

FOLLOW UP BY POSTAL MAIL

Before retiring, I was in the financial services sales business. Most of our business came from sales of life insurance and mutual funds. Because the client sees no immediate reward for buying life insurance or setting up an investment account, most people tend to delay taking action. There is never a right time to start. I became very proficient at staying in contact with potential clients. As a result, most of my new business came from prospects I met months or even years earlier.

Every 3 months I sent a postcard to each previous prospect offering them something of value. This was usually a free report or booklet of useful information related in some way to financial planning. The postcard kept my name in front of them. Plus, every time they responded to request the new information, I had another opportunity to talk with them about their financial planning. Best of all, the discussion was always conducted under favorable circumstances because they requested the communication. Not me.

If you implement this type of follow up, here are two suggestions:

1. Use postcards with just a brief message. They will get read by almost 100% of the recipients. Postcards are easy to print and they're very inexpensive. Plus, the postage for sending a postcard in the US is only 20 cents... and you get First Class Mail service.

2. Send approximately the same number of postcards every week instead of sending a large number at one time every few months. You don't want to generate 250 inquiries this week and none for the next 3 months. You won't be able to follow up on all of them while they are still "fresh". What you want is 20 inquiries per week every week so you can follow up with each one as soon as you get it... while they still have a high level of interest.

FOLLOW UP BY E-MAIL

The other example of successful follow up involves e-mail. Since retiring, I've written a manual and several reports that I sell on the Internet. E-mail inquiries go to one of my autoresponders or come directly to me. All of them receive an offer with a special price deadline about 15 days in the future. About half of the orders I get come from this first contact. However, the other half results from my follow ups. I use 2 methods of follow up:

1. Five days before the Special Price deadline, I send a brief e-mail message reminding the prospect that the Special Price Offer is about to expire. The reminder includes an offer to send another copy of the original message if the prospect doesn't have it. Only about 10%-15% request the information again. Almost all of them place an order.

2. Every 2 months I follow up again with a brief e-mail reminder of the original request and offer to send my current Special Price Offer if the prospect requests it. Usually 20%-30% will request it.

About 50% of my total sales results from inquiries generated by these 2 types of follow up messages. I would have only half as much business if I didn't send those follow up messages. What does it cost me to generate this additional business? Nothing. The money was already spent to get the first reply.

Implementing a follow up procedure can substantially increase your volume of business. Because following up is so inexpensive, the business it produces is very profitable.

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Bob Leduc retired from a 30 year career of recruiting sales personnel and developing sales leads. He is now a Sales Consultant. Bob recently wrote a manual for small business owners titled "How to Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards" and several other publications to help small businesses grow and prosper. For more information... Email:BobLeduc@aol.com Subject: "Postcards". Phone: (702) 658-1707 (After 10 AM Pacific time) Or write: Bob Leduc, PO Box 33628, Las Vegas, NV 89133

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Part 1: The Question

A few weeks ago, the E-Tailer's Digest discussion group had an interesting discussion on the merits of using postcards vs. letters. This group deals with issues that concern retailers, be they online or offline, and you can learn more about it at:

http://www.etailersdigest.com

The question posed to the group was: "Which do you read, a 6 x 9 post card or open a #10 (A4 letter for the world sans US) envelope addressed to you (not a label)? The second part of this is what does a C-level executive read, the postcard or letter?"

Part 2: The Three Replies

#1: From author and small business expert Janet Attard

The answer to that question has a lot to do with how big a corporation the executive is with and/or whether they have a gatekeeper screening all of their incoming mail.

Postcard mailings are useful -- if they actually reach the recipient you are targeting. But that doesn't always happen.

One woman who attended a marketing seminar I gave last week said she had worked as a gatekeeper for a corporate executive, and in that corporation, the company policy was to have the mail room personnel discard all postcard mailings. They never made it to the recipients -- or to their gatekeepers.

So, if you have any personal contacts in organizations in which there are prospects you are targeting, ask if there is any formal policy on postcard mail. Does it get through to the departments, and how is it handled by executive gatekeepers.

Janet Attard Author, The Home Office and Small Business Answer Book Business Know-How® small business center http://www.businessknowhow.com

#2: From Postcard Marketing Secrets e-zine and e-book publisher Martha Retallick

There are times when letters work better than postcards. Permit me to explain:

One of the advantages -- and drawbacks -- of postcards is their size. They're small, and that means that there's a limit to how much copy you can put on them.

So, if you need to use a lot of copy to explain what you're selling, you MAY be better off sending a letter. But keep in mind that many of your recipients just won't take the time to open the letter and read it.

Here's a way around that problem. Put up a website, fill it with all the copy that you need, send a card that encourages people to visit your site, then let the site close the sale. This works best for direct-response type products (such as "how-to" manuals). It doesn't work as well for things that require some sort of personal interaction (with a sales rep, for example).

Martha Retallick Grow your business with direct mail postcards! It's easy, affordable, and FUN! Learn how at: http://www.PostcardMarketingSecrets.com

#3: From Postcard Marketing Secrets subscriber and contributor Hiram Wurf

It would seem to me there are a lot of conditions that postcards might not work (as the sole medium -- not necessarily as part of a coordinated campaign). Absolute Basics Your message is too long (at its most concise) for a postcard format (even if a larger card is used) Your message contains confidential or otherwise privileged information that others should not see (e.g. "We've heard your firm will be laying off . . . try the services of our outplacement firm") You are offering a formal contract/agreement/proposal You require attachments/charts/graphs etc. as separate pieces of the mailing.

Other Times

The postcard tone is too informal for the offer/clientele (and yes this begs the original question). In general I would say this applies to: For major purchases involving complexity (ERP systems, however dated, come to mind) postcards should not be the sole medium used to get sales (as opposed to postcards being used as reminders/follow-ups, pointers to websites, teasers, etc.) For "personal correspondence" type appeals in formal settings (while this might be artfully done as a 'postcard from a vacation' type look in less formal scenarios -- there are times you may not want to appear like you're on vacation!) For contacts/industries where postcards would breech etiquette in a negative way (again begging the question)

Hiram Wurf B-U-S-I-N-E-S-S B-U-I-L-D-E-R-S Midwest Regional Office Naperville, Illinois, USA Telephone: 630-416-2198 Fax: 630-416-1071 http://www.businessbuilders.com

Use the Right Tool for the Job

Well, as you can see from the above, postcards must be used carefully if they are to be effective. In short, use the right tool for the job.

If the answer to your "postcards vs. letters" question is postcards, then check out my Postcard Marketing Secrets manual. Here's what Paul Smith has to say about it:

"Martha is a solid, respected professional. Her book 'Postcard Marketing Secrets' is not only a solid, professional introduction to the art and science of postcards, it's one well worth its cost.

"Do postcards work? You bet! I became acquainted with Martha through the postcards she sent me. THIS is what led to my recent purchase of her book on postcards. My purchase puts her well ahead of the $6/year she estimates postcards cost. Good for you, Martha! With the help of your book I'll be doing the same soon."

Paul Smith, President SupportNet, Inc, Oakland, California, USA http://www.support.net

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Martha Retallick, "The Passionate Postcarder," hails from Tucson, Arizona, USA. She is the author of Postcard Marketing Secrets, a downloadable PDF manual will show you how to put postcards to work for your business—profitably. Learn more about it at: http://www.PostcardMarketingSecrets.com