Direct Mail is Back!

Direct Mail is Back!

Danielle Putnam
Contributing Writer
President, The New Flat Rate

As often as possible, I bring my daughter with me when I travel. Being a parent and an entrepreneur can bring challenges, but I work extra hard at involving my daughter as much as possible in my work life.  When travel calls, she gets to enjoy the ride alongside me.  However, soon she turns two and no longer flies for free.  This might limit the number of trips, but in the meantime, I’m enjoying every minute of it.  Especially, minutes that last 2.5hrs like the one in the Atlanta International Airport as I traveled alone with her from the Comfortech show this past year in Philadelphia. During the lay over before our flight home to Chattanooga, TN I had very few toys to keep her occupied.

If you’ve ever been to the Atlanta airport, there are trains below the terminals that allow for quick travel and access to other terminals or, you can opt to walk on the moving sidewalks. The terminals were crowded so the idea struck me of taking Palmer downstairs between the train stops, to run on the moving sidewalks! Naturally she loved it and we went back and forth a minimum of nine times between the terminals.

I know you’re asking yourself, what does this have to do with lead generation and direct mail?  Well, your customers should want to buy from you time and time again…and in turn, lead generation should be an enjoyable experience. Like my daughter and the moving sidewalks, the transactions between you and your customer base should happen over and over again.  Palmer is now a fan of the moving sidewalks for life! And if she could buy them for her backyard I’m sure she would.

Some of you may be familiar with world renowned marketing consultant Jay Abraham, so you would agree with me that his content deserves repeating. There are only three ways to increase your revenue. Now pay attention, if times are slower than usual and you can actually lift your head up to take a breath, be sure to keep an open eye on what you can do today to increase your revenue.

Increase the Number of Your Customers

This is a no brainer.  If you want more profit, you have to increase the more cash flow into your company.  You will never see exponential growth if you don’t put effort into growing your customer base.

Increase the average transaction value

One way to buffer a slow new customer onboarding season is to find out how to sell more to the one’s you have.  Just like my daughter, if they like what you’re giving and you’re offering them services they can’t deny, you will sell more on average than if you’re not giving them options for upgrades or additional services.  One thing we stand firm in my company is that options are foundational to making more on a job.

buy more while you are in the home!

Increase the frequency of repurchase – Get them to buy again!

 

Let’s pick one area to start on, such as EASY Postcards!

When the phones are slow, here’s a quick 1, 2, 3 step plan to generate service calls:

1)    Target a Niche

a.     What neighborhood is mutually serving?

b.     Export a list from your QuickBooks or software and narrow it down to specific streets and zones.

Write in the neighborhood or target here:  ____________________________

2)    Mail a Postcard

a.     Put a catchy image or phrase on the front.  Something attention grabbing!

b.     Example:  Do You Have Allergies?  It Could Be Mold in Your Duct Work!

Write in your special offer here:  __________________________

3)    Call to Follow-up – Create a Script!

a.     Hi this is Michelle from Rain or Shine HVAC, Plumbing, & Electrical Service, did you receive the postcard for a free duct inspection we sent you? We have some trucks in the area this week, could we send one to your home for that duct inspection? (Be quick to communicate and not too salesy.)

And there you have it, send out 100 postcards because that’s a tangible number – your teenagers and their friends can call 100 people after school one week, providing they are reading the script of course. Do it this month!  Let’s start generating more profitable customers through easy avenues!

People like to check their mail, let’s send them something worth smiling about. (P.S. The teens in your church youth group might be great at hand addressing postcards, especially for a small donation to their group! Whenever possible, hand address for a higher response rate.)