Day 5 – Marketing Arsenal

The Home Sweet Home Effect of Great Direct Mail

When you are thinking about  all of the steps you need to take to grow a successful business aren’t you glad you have someone on your team helping you and telling you what you can do to improve your situation?

Think of how much your life and business will improve if you put into effect at least two of the suggestions that we have given you.

We know how greatly your business will improve if you put in effect all of the suggestions – but for now, just think about two or three.  Why?  Because two or three is typically the number of key products or services any business has to promote.

When you think about how you benefit from help at this exciting, albeit perhaps somewhat scary, time in your life of growing or expanding your financial services, think about how others can benefit from your services at exciting – yet potentially scary – times in their own lives.

A huge mistake many business owners make is thinking that they have enough customers and that they no longer need to advertise.   The most successful business owners never stop advertising no matter how successful they may be.

A great financial planner is not going to sit back and say “Well, I think I have enough clients, I’m just going to stop advertising.”   If at a point you have too much for you to handle alone, perhaps it is time to expand your business or at a minimum refer them to someone qualified in your network!

Growth is not something we just give up on just because we are content with the status quo.   One quick turn of the market, one major disaster could send any business tumbling – but those with more customers are more likely to survive the storms of life that we know that it is not a matter of IF they will come, but when.

But what if you have exhausted your network lists and you have touched base with everyone that you can think of and as far as you know they have touched base with everyone that they can think of and your business is what it is and there doesn’t seem any growth on the horizon.

What do you do then to improve your direct mail marketing?

You consider a new horizon.   There is always a potential for growth if you know where to look and how to look.

Earlier we mentioned lists that could help put you in touch with people who wanted to find out more about your business.  Using our list brokerage service, not only can you get lists to help you expand your influential networking or establish those points of connection to get your breakfast club up and running (See Chapter 2) but there are lists available to you to match you with the people who might be a little bit excited but also scared at some of their recent life events and they may need your help.

People with new situations like having just moved into the area, recently purchased a new home, just got married or recently had a baby – those are the very people who need the financial services that many of us offer!

We all know that with the increasing costs of college that planning must begin even before the baby is born.   By sending out a personalized letter in your own handwritten custom font congratulating them, you are well on your way to establish a relationship with them to be able to help them and their child have the best possible chance for success.

Remember, for it to be direct mail and not junk mail – you’ve got to directly send it to a person (not just an occupant), understand some of their direct needs (not just hope you might be right) and you have to be personal and sincere.

For those of us in investing we have seen what happens when someone fails to plan – we wouldn’t wish that on any family.   The sincerity of those emotions based upon our knowledge are what convey our genuine desire to impact them directly – not just through the mail but face to face over the course of a lifetime.

When sending out “personal” direct marketing mail you want to consider these things:

1.    Color stands out.   Get rid of white envelopes and opt for a designer or decorative colored envelope.

2.    Become an old family friend.   You want your letter to be looked at as a personal message from a friend.  Make the extra effort to have your materials presented on a card that is the same size as a greeting card, or in a handwritten font like what we have mentioned so that the recipient feels extra special.

3.    Use real stamps.   Postage meters equal business mail.   When you use a stamp you are creating the impression of a warm body behind that piece of mail instead of a machine.  Your message becomes alive to the recipient.   The Post Office offers some great designs that are family-friendly, geared toward hobby enthusiasts and much more.

While situations of people just moving into the area provide us great opportunities to help a relocating family and perhaps a home-based business owner find an accountant, or a business advisor, there are many situations in life that are simply difficult with no easy way for a person to ask for help and most of the time they don’t know who to ask.

The local or county courthouses have databases of people who recently have filed for bankruptcy, purchased a new home, refinanced a mortgage, or who perhaps are experiencing the burden of a tax lien or possible foreclosure of their home or business.

By utilizing the contact information from these public records which are open to all, you can help others when they need help immediately.

In cases such as a tax lien or bankruptcy, most people don’t even think to contact a financial advisor or an accountant to help them, even though attorneys who practice in these areas make it clear that they can only advise on matters of law, not matters of finance.

The people who are facing the catastrophic losses of foreclosure or the pressures of tax liens or bankruptcy are the very people who need our help the most.  What we know that they do not know about tax liens and financial management could turn their lives around!

We owe it to them and to ourselves to make an effort to establish those lines of personal communication through direct mail that says that we understand, we know and we are here to help.

We have the resources that they don’t, starting with available lists that tell us how to get in touch with them and that provide us with a basic knowledge of what their felt needs are at that moment in their lives.

As we establish that personal connection by reaching out in a personal way, we are showing the sympathy, care and concern that will allow us to become trusted allies in some of the most difficult moments of a person’s life.

Megan, a C.P.A. in Dallas said that she often felt uncomfortable approaching people who were in a difficult financial situation.  “I have always felt like I was prying into their lives and my offer of help would just bring more pain or embarrassment.”

As Megan found out with a family that she began helping following Hurricane Katrina’s destruction of their home, their way of life and their solid future – she realized that the very people she needed to be direct with were the very people she often felt that she couldn’t be.  “Now, I know that people need me and the services I offer.  I listen to my gut more and just make more of an effort to work with people who just do not see a light in the dark. ” she explains.

Megan learned that it was not her ability to talk as much as it was her ability to listen to her client’s needs that made the difference.  She knew the situation enough having seen it before to be able to perceive the actual problems as well as potential opportunities for her clients.

She diligently worked to dig out areas where she could show empathy while demonstrating problem solving skills that brought genuine benefit to her clients.  With her services, Megan’s clients weathered a rough time in their lives and were able to feel “home, sweet home” in a different place under the new circumstances much sooner than they ever expected.

Because each potential client is different, you need to make your marketing mail different.  There is simply not one system that works for everyone every single time.   The materials of the message prompt different levels of care in creating the perfect personal direct marketing mail materials and tools.    In addition to the personal greeting card style letter some other examples you can use are:

1.    Postcards.  Because most people sort their mail at a desk with a trash can nearby, postcards are a great way to get your message across quickly and efficiently so that the recipient is most likely to pay attention to what you are sending them.   There is no envelope to open so the message is readily available.  If your postcard is oversized it is most likely to be noticed by your recipient and not run the risk of getting caught up in a sales flyer or magazine causing you to miss the opportunity of connecting with a would-be client.

For more information, be sure to check out our next chapter on Postcards.

2.    Magnetic advertising.   From business cards to calendars – magnetic advertising is a great tool to give your client that personal connection between you and them.   Some great examples are sending out a calendar with the game schedule of the local high school or professional sports teams.  In the top right-hand corner, include your photo that shows you with a warm and welcoming smile and have a personal message such as “welcome to the neighborhood” or an inspirational saying at the top.

People use magnets and every time they pass by it – you are creating that “face-to-face” or personal connection with them.

When you think about what methods of marketing work for you and which ones you consider junk mail, that will help you identify what styles of marketing materials are going to attract people who like similar things to what you like and who think like you.

In general most people respond better to:

1.    Mail that looks like it was sent by a person and not a business.

2.    Mail that is on colored materials and not white.

3.    Mail free of business names and business addresses.

4.    Mail that is printed in color not black and white.

5.    Mail that does not look mass-produced but has special attention to detail.

6.    Mail that target their needs specifically.

7.    Mail that offers a relationship and seeks a response.

For some people, a new situation letter from you may just be icing on their celebration cake, for others – that letter may be like a light in the darkness for them and be the very hope they need at that moment.  Regardless of what new situation your letter addresses, one thing for certain is that it will have a direct impact on the people it reaches and very well could create the foundation for a relationship for life with that prospective client.

In the long run, wasn’t that what you were hoping for?

BLUEPRINT FOR BUILDING

In order to have the long-term success of your business you have to work to reach clients when they need you, not just when you need them.  Business are built over the long term by relationships that show that you care and that you are there to help your client facilitate positive change in their lives.

Next Stage – Build Out Plans: Postcard Marketing

Inexpensive and effective – the powerful combination for those whose budgets have little room to squeeze, in the next chapter we are going to explore the time-tested success of postcard marketing  and how you can provide a variation on an old tool to bring new life to your business!