Today the focus will be on direct mail marketing and yes, telemarketing to your full advantage. I know the word “telemarketing” might as well be four letters, but there is a way to utilize it in a way that customers feel like they are getting personal attention and keep them from blocking your number! I wouldn’t have believed it either, they are the first ones I try to eliminate.

The success realized from direct mail marketing and the availability of computers can be used as a powerful marketing tool for your success. Telemarketing is best for high priced, high margin products and/or services.

Here are the key steps for creating a highly effective direct mail marketing program:

1. List all of the benefits customers will receive from the purchase of your products and services
2. Select the single most powerful benefit from that list
3. Build an attention-getting headline around that benefit. Remember to use emotion – fulfill the desire to be young, wealthy, desired, popular, successful or whatever your outcome is seeking.
4. Develop a sales letter using the headline you created to grab attention, provide information, and motivate customers to act
5. Put together supplementary items such as a brochure, order form, reply envelope, or note that encourages them to read the letter
6. Rent or purchase a mailing list
7. Compare cost of mailing vs. cost per order
8. Continue to test and refine your direct mail marketing plan

The above demonstrates how direct mail marketing can help you find a local or even country-wide target market to send letters or postcards to in order to draw in new clientele and customers. Fine-tuning your marketing campaign will bring better results and therefore lower the overall cost of the campaign.

To be successful in telemarketing you need to:

• Put together a plan, so you know exactly what you want to accomplish during the call
• Develop a list of topics to discuss and the questions you want to present with respect to these topics
• Input language checking to see if you are calling at a good time
• Include enough questions to keep the conversation engaging, but not so many that it feels like an interrogation
• Start with broad questions and narrow your focus as the conversation progresses
• Offer feedback to show you are attentive and appreciative of their time
• Refrain from insulting a prospect’s intelligence or resorting to manipulation
• Listen first, speak second
• Be relaxed and engaging

Telemarketing doesn’t have to be the bane of your existence. You can develop an honest, personal, and effective telemarketing campaign that is both engaging and informative, and will get the job done. Think of how you would want to be treated on a marketing call. Canvass your friends and family for feedback about what they hate most about telemarketing calls they receive and work hard to craft your plan in a better way without those annoyances they expressed.

“When selling by telephone, you have approximately 30 seconds to convince the customer to listen to you. You need an opening statement that captures their attention, conveys who you are, what you want and why the prospect should listen.” Jay Abraham

I would argue with the amount of blasting that people get these days with marketing and attention grabbing tactics that you now have about 10 seconds to convey these same messages.  And what used to be 7-10 contacts to get a customer reaction is now over 20 contact points!!  This makes for much more importance on your message and tenacity to get the touches in.

It’s easy to see how direct mail marketing and telemarketing can positively affect your business by bringing in new customers and increasing the level of awareness about your products, services and company branding. Reach out to me for the resources and tools you need to work through these processes and generate the best possible marketing plan for your business.

Zach Poland

www.conflowstrategic.com