Probably 99.9 times out of 100 prospects, will not spend the time to read your unsolicited ad or direct mail piece.

The reason is that you are “interrupting their lives.” The simple act of having an ad or sales letter before a prospect will bring them to the proverbial “fork in the Road” and forces them to make a decision to either read on or not read your message.

Every time their eye moves from one word to the next, from one sentence to the next sentence, from one paragraph to the next, they reach yet another fork in the road. Now they have to decide whether they are going to keep reading the ad or not.

What makes your prospect make the wrong decision and drop your ad into the nearest trash bin?

Unsuitability: Your prospect already has what you are offering and quickly decides your product is of no interest to them.

Boredom: Most of the time ads are very boring so they stop reading it.

Disbelief: Your claims are too exaggerated or even dishonest and they figure that they can’t trust anything you say. So always tell the truth.

Exhaustion: Your ad is so difficult to read and impossible to follow, that they simply give up on reading any more.

Interruption: This is probably the number one reason a prospect stops reading your offer. Something just happened to take their attention away from reading. They now will deal with the immediate crisis instead of continuing to read your offer.

I’m sure you can come up with more items but this should give you a start. Let us know why you stop reading an ad or sales piece.

Technorati Tags: acquire customers, acquiring customers, acquiring leads, ad copy, ad story, ad testing, ad writing, Advertising, alex mandossian, all marketers are liars, attract clients, attract customers, attracting leads, attracting prospects, creating customers, customer acquisition, magazine ads, promoting your business

It never fails to astound me that when I’m looking through a magazine or newspaper and reading the ads, that not only do they all look alike and are boring, but almost none of them ask for a response.

Go grab a magazine right now and look through the display ads.  You’ll see ads saying things like: “Open an account”; “Apply now”; “Get started”.  But there is no direct-response mechanism.

Most of the ads are just institutional ones that just tout the company and end with the telephone number, the website address, or the name of the company.  They are not direct-response ads that encourage the reader to contact the company to get something the reader wants and by which the company can create a lead or customer.

The ads merely talk about how great the company is. The ad designer then hopes that the ad copy and images are so great that people hop on the phone, or whatever, and contact the company.

If your prospect sets your ad or sales letter aside to “deal with it later”, you have probably lost them as a customer.  What I suggest is that you should do everything you can think of to induce and create an immediate response from them.

First, make sure that you offer a free report, a free sample, a free service or whatever with each ad you create.

Then along with that, include deadlines of some sort to make the reader think twice about not acting NOW.  Here are some examples:

1. Penalty pricing.  Let them know that the prices will go up on a certain date.

2. Have your offer expire by a certain date.

3. Have a “Mystery Bonus” if they respond within the next 24 hours.

4. Let them know there is a limited supply and that you may run out.  Even if you do not have a limited supply, you can create an illusion that there is.  You can say, “We will return your check uncashed if we run out of the item.”  This suggests that there is a limited supply without you even saying there is.

I’m sure you get the idea.  The first thing I’d like you to do is to get out your ads and promotions. Review them with the thought of what you can add that will motivate the prospect to immediately respond. 

Let me know what you come up with. 

Technorati Tags: acquiring leads, attracting leads, attracting prospects, customer acquisition, lead generation, prospect conversion

A couple months ago, I needed to replace a window that broke during a windstorm.  I saw an ad in the local newspaper.  I noticed it offered a free report, so I decided to contact them instead of going into the yellow pages.

I got the report and frankly it was well written and informational.  I was looking forward to doing business with them.  I waited two weeks and left a message.  Nothing! No follow up.  Almost four weeks went by and still nothing.

Unbelievable!  How is this possible?

Someone sent me a report, so the company had my contact information.  Yet no one followed up.  Even when a prospective customer called 2 weeks later, no one responded.

I can’t understand why a company would invest whatever amount of money they spent for that ad, only to let prospects fall through the cracks. 

Following-up is one of the most important things I stress to any business I consult with.  When you promise something you have to follow up to make sure it was done.

When someone raises their hand and identifies themselves as having an interest in doing business with your company, it is just plain dumb to make only one attempt at selling to that person.

Since very few businesses do a decent job with follow-up, your competitive edge is huge when you do it.

Examine your follow up process and make sure leads and prospects are not falling through the cracks.

Let me know what you think.

Technorati Tags: acquiring leads, attracting leads, attracting prospects, customer acquisition, Customer Conversion, customer follow up, lead conversion, lead follow up, lead generation, prospect conversion, prospect follow up

Whenever I consult with a company, one of the first things I create is a method to capture the names of anyone who inquires about the company or their products.

Note.  I didn’t say create a mailing list of their customers.  I said: “capture the names of anyone who inquires about the company or their products”.

Very few of the companies have a mechanism in which to do this.  I’m going to go over one method that I hope you will implement in your marketing.

Let’s say you own a restaurant.  You probably have ads in the Yellow Pages, coupon mailers and other way’s you use to get customers. 

You probably have 50 or more people each week contacting you to ask a question.  The questions could be “what are your hours of operation?” or “Do you take reservations?”  It could be any question.

The key here is how do you capture those inquiries?  These are what I call “hot prospects.” 

Do the math.  If only 50 people inquire each week, that’s 2600 per year.  If you captured their information, you could now send them a “thank-you-for-calling” letter and also make them an offer.  And you can also send them periodic information. 

For instance, say someone calls to see what hours you are open today.  You do the following:

• Thank the person for calling.
• Let them know what hours you are open.
• Say something like: “Will this be your first time visiting us?” If they say, “Yes”, you can then say: “Let us know when you come in and we’ll have a welcome gift for you.”
• When they come in and identify themselves, thank them and let them know that dessert will be on the house.
• At the end of the dinner, have them complete a short survey that includes their contact information.
• Enter their contact information in your mailing or email list.

Every business should come up with strategies to deal with different inquiry situations. 

When we run an ad, most of the time we think along the lines of: “How many customers do we get from the ad?”  When we add the inquiry strategy, we can also ask: “How many inquirers do I get from the ad?”

This strategy adds another dimension to creating customers.  How can you use it in your business to grow your list of customers?

Technorati Tags: converting inquiries into customers, creating curtomers, customer acquisition, marketing strategy, turning inquiries into customers

I’ve been posting many ideas and secrets that have helped to create more than 6 million customers over my career, and I’ve been encouraging you to make comments.  Some of you have commented and shared your experiences; many others haven’t.

Can you imagine if just 10% of the members share an idea or strategy that could help other members…just one idea?

Today’s economy is one that we haven’t seen before in our lifetimes, and if we group together to help one another, we can all survive this economic downturn.
 
Let’s do it together.  Let’s help one another.  What would happen if we gave one another just one idea in answer to any question we may have regarding growing our businesses or creating customers?  I’m sure that we have a wide range of expertise within this group that would make a difference in the growth of our companies.

I want to help everyone in this group grow their business and create more customers.  If you had the opportunity to ask just one question about finding a solution to one problem you are having in growing your business, or in creating customers, what would it be?

I am hoping that when you ask the question, you will receive dozens of possible solutions to your question from the group.   Post your question in the comment section below.

Technorati Tags: Business ideas, creating customers, customer acquisition

If you are currently advertising using TV, Radio or an ad in the newspaper, you can bring in more customers by also using direct mail.

Direct mail puts your message right in front of your prospect in their own home or business. If you send the right mailing to the right list at the right time, your direct mail is cost-efficient and an easy way to get customer attention and sales.

Here are a few ways that I’ve used direct mail in a few of my businesses.

As a reminder:  Car dealers and other businesses who rely on residual income a number of times during the year, use this tool very well. 

In this fast paced world that we live in, it is hard enough to remember birthdays, let alone when our last doctor visit was.  That is where your direct mail piece comes in. 

A reminder could be anything from a postcard reminding your customer when they are due for an oil change, or a suggestion to repeat the purchase of a birthday cake.

As long as the service or product is something that needs to be repeated or gets used up, this method will work for your business. Your customer will appreciate this service and will be happy that you provided them with such individual attention.

As a promotion. I don’t think there is a customer who doesn’t like to save money.  This is a great method to grab attention and offer an opportunity to save money.

Sending a postcard with a chance to win a new product or offering $20 off a purchase of $60 or more, will inform new and existing customers about what you have to offer and induce them to visit your place of business again.

Make sure you set an expiration date and make it prominent on the mailing so that your customer will rush to save money NOW, before the promotion is over. You can simply say that those taking advantage of this offer within the next 5 days, before (date) will receive (such and such).

To notify your customers of New Products or Services. It is always an exciting time for any business when they decide to offer a new service or handle a new product. This is a great time to share this excitement with your customers.  For example, if you sell software, you can say that you developed an update that will enhance their ability to (whatever) by 45%, therefore saving (Xdollars). The more specific you are, the more you will educate and motivate your customer to take advantage of the offer. Whatever business or service you are in, you can utilize this method to increase sales. Your customers will appreciate your honesty.  And don’t forget the human nature side of this method…people like to be kept informed.

The best way to keep your customers informed is by sending them a newsletter.  In your newsletter, you may want to include articles that relate to your business, special offers, or even stories about your staff.

When customers and prospects see your newsletter on a regular basis, they will start to remember you and your company as an authority and a reliable source for the products and services you sell.  There are several newsletter software programs that you can choose from to format a newsletter.  There are even online programs you can use at very inexpensive prices.  We use a service called Constant Contact.

Here is a very important point.  As you utilize direct mail in your business, be very careful not to bombard the customers with mail. A barrage of mail may invoke an unfavorable response whenever your company is mentioned.

If you have successfully used direct mail in other ways, let us hear what you’ve done. Leave a comment in the Comment section of this blog article.

Technorati Tags: customer acquisition, direct mail

A few weeks ago, I was on a telephone consultation with one of our subscribers and one of the suggestions I gave him was to create a list of the 1,000 individuals or businesses he would like as customers. 

I hope all of you have read the life story of David Oglivy, because when he started in the advertising business, he made a list of the corporations he would most like to have as clients. In fact ,he called this list his Most Desirable Customers List. I don’t remember reading anywhere how many names were on Oglivy’s list, but it didn’t have to be extensive for him to succeed. 

Unfortunately I never read what he did with this list he created.

In my suggestion to create the 1,000 list, I mentioned that when I was in the insurance business, I also created the 1,000 list.  My secret was to be in communication with them at least twice a month, and at the very least once a month, with valuable information that would help them. 

The information didn’t necessarily have to be in reference to their business. It could have been information that would help them lead a better life, a healthier life, or help them and their family to create wealth.   I can go on and on with ideas, but these few should give you an idea of what you need to do.

I had created over 18 reports that I would mail out to them.  Remember, back then it was regular mail.  Today you can email your prospect the reports.

Another thing I did was that whenever I came across an article in a magazine or a newspaper, I would get permission to reprint it to mail to my list.  I’d include a note such as, “Dear Jim, I came across this article and didn’t know if you saw it yet, so I decided to send a copy to you.  I know it will help…(whatever the article was about.)

And by the way, whenever I converted someone from my 1,000 list to a customer, I immediately added another name to the list, so that I always had 1,000 names.  Here’s the remarkable part…I had over a 90% conversion rate—90% of the people on my list became my customers over a five year period of time. 

That means I was in front of them, if once a month, at least 50 to 60 times over the five year period of time.  It doesn’t matter that it took me on average 9 months to get the majority of them to become my customer.  What matters is that you can do the same thing.  So begin today making your list of 1,000.

I know how much time it took me to create these reports, and some of you have asked me to create some way for you to access the ones I’ve already created, or to create additional ones.  I’ll only do it if most of you send me an email and tell me that you need me to do it.  I know how much time and effort it takes to write these reports, but the result is thousands of dollars in profit. So, send me that email.

Technorati Tags: customer acquisition, follow up systems, prospecting

When I had my 35 companies, I created ways to be in touch with my customers constantly.   At least once a month.  With the advent of the Internet, I was able to communicate with them on a weekly basis simply by pushing a button.  

One of the companies I had insured over 600,000 Nurses for malpractice insurance.  I bought my first computer in 1974 from a company called Nixdorf.  The discs themselves were so large in size, that in order to do a backup, we had to use 4 of them daily.

Anyway, the reason I’m mentioning this now is that I struggled for a few years trying to figure out a way to get to my potential customer before my competition.  That’s when I hit on an idea.  Every student Nurse has to take a course called “Legal Aspects of Nursing” in their senior year. When I interviewed a few of the instructors, I found a way to help them, and also a way to be in front of my potential market on a weekly basis.

I created a ”Malpractice Case of the Week” in which I would outline a real case in Malpractice, then list three questions for the students to answer for the Instructor.  In essence I was doing the work of the instructor.

The most important part of this was that it gave me the opportunity to be in front of my potential customer before my competition.  

I also was able to get from each school, the graduation date of the student.  Approximately three months before graduation I sent an email once a week, alerting them to the fact that when they graduate, we would be sending them an application for enrolling in our malpractice insurance. I also explained the many benefits they would receive from us when they became our customer.

Think of the many ways in which you can get to students to promote your company and products.

If you are in the auto products business, you can give a talk to the students before they get their drivers licenses, and create a data base to be in touch with them constantly before their birthday.

If you are a florist, you can speak to seniors about the health benefits of flowers and/or other products.

If you are in the insurance business, you can set up a talk with high school seniors, before they take their driver’s license, and communicate with them via email before they take their drivers test, and the products you offer.

What I’m saying here, is that you should think of methods and ways to get to your future customer before they need your services, and to create a bond with them, so that when they need your product or service, you will be first in their mind.

Technorati Tags: customer acquisition, reaching prospects

HI Everyone. This is going to be a very exciting and profitable journey for me and I hope for you. Who would have ever thought that at my age I’d have a Blog. To some individuals, a Blog would seem to be a negative thing. But to me and to you, this Blog will be my way of answering some of your questions, and I hope these answers will also help others who have the same questions and problems in today’s abysmal economy.

I’m often a Keynote Speaker at many conventions and meetings, and before I speak, I ask the company that hired me, to give me a list of 10 individuals who are attending the event, so that I can speak to them about their problems and what they hope to get out of my talk. In this way, I’m not fantasizing about their needs, but I’m actually getting it from the “Horse’s Mouth.”

The reason I’m mentioning this is that I hope this Blog will accomplish the same thing…getting your concerns and problems directly from you. And I hope that you will also respond with some suggestions of your own to help others.

In the recent survey we sent out, we asked for three problem areas that you would like my ideas on solving.

Today, I’m going to go over a few of the questions that were similar, almost to a T. As I mentioned in the survey, I won’t be using your names when I respond so as to maintain your privacy.

Here goes…

The one question that most of you had was how to fight to gain market share and to maintain a steady sales increase year after year.

Before I get into some probable solutions, I want to mention 2 things. Number one is that you should massage my Marketing Tips of the Week to fit your business and implement them. That’s the critical word…implement them. Number two is that I have found that you must create an email list of your customers and communicate with them at least weekly. Just doing these two things will help you gain market share and maintain a steady sales increase year after year.

One of the subscribers who asked this question is in the ice cream business. Here’s an idea for him.

Secure a little plastic bag to your ice cream product container and include a contest offer to your consumers in the bag. The offer would be for them to go to your web site and sign up to win a free gallon (or 2) of ice-cream. There could be a drawing each month. This way you can get your customers email addresses and be able to contact them with offers, coupons, and announcements of new products.

Here are a few more ideas. Create a club for children. Let them sign up with their email or use their parent’s email. There are so many companies that deal with children products, that you can do a JV with them and offer their products, which of course you get for free.

Do Joint Ventures with charities and schools. I’m sure if you put your mind to it, you or your great marketing department or team (I hope), can come up with a lot more things similar to these.

Hope these help. When they do, please let me know the results, or if I can help you any further.

Technorati Tags: customer acquisition, market share