I'm struggling a little to figure out what would be a good 2-3 step plan of action for acquiring clients for yellow pages ads.

I want to include a 6 or 7-point report that explains what needs to be done to make yp ads yield desired results.

So...should I send out an initial sales letter designed to plant the idea of hiring a professional in the prospect's mind--with a teaser about calling or emailing for the report?

I wouldn't just include that report in the first mailing, right? (dumb idea?)

If I send the report as a secondary communication, can it be done by email? Or does it have to be snail mail?

(sometimes I feel like I answer my own questions by writing them out here...but I want to make absolutely, positively 100% that I am not overlooking a crucial piece of the puzzle.)

thanks

I would not suggest including the report initially.

If I were going to prospect for yellow page clients I would get a couple copies of the phone books you wish to prospect too... then I would cut out all the ads and send the prospects ad with a simple one page sales letter stating that you have spotted 5 different things they could do in order to at least double the response to that ad.

You could give them one of the "weaknesses" of their ad right in your one page sales letter-- something like 1. You don't have a strong call to action that will cause the reader to choose your ad over your competitors.

Then you could explain a little, within the letter, on why that is so important (You're establishing yourself as an authority on the subject by giving them a little info) to have a strong call to action.

You could close by letting them know that for a $50 Ad Review Fee you would love to explain to them over the phone what the other 4 points are.

On the phone call you could then push for redoing the complete ad for such and such a price.

You see Suzanne, just as I heard Vincent James say recently, "The reader needs to feel like they've just been kicked in the balls".

In other words you need to spark an emotional response and I think sending them one of their ads with a note "suggesting" their ad sucks and is costing them big $$ that you're closer to connecting your foot with their crotch than you are by just offering a free report.

Michael

This is a fabulous idea! I see that you took an old idea that Mr. JP Maroney came up with and built upon it.

Excellent, excellent, excellent. Thank you.

(I know that Subtle was resistant to that idea, so I faltered. But there must be value in providing a couple of free personalized pointers in order to set myself up as an expert and plant doubt about a prospect's existing ad...)

Whenever I needed consulting dollars I did that... yellow pages, newspapers, magazines-- heck there were times when I would go into a chamber of commerce and just scarf brochures and do the same thing with those.

You just have to hint to people that their advertising sucks and you have the 'secret' of how to improve it.

Some prospects might get pissed off at your audacity-- but I say tough. If you aren't irritating someone over the course of the day then you aren't trying.

And I was sending out prospect's ads with a little critique letter before J.P. could spell "marketing".

There's a HUGE difference between:

1. Sending a prospect a direct mail package and then following it up with a phone call.
2. Cold calling a prospect and PIKING how wonderful you are as a copywriter.

Who has the time to make 500 or 1000 cold calls when you can get 1000 packages in the mail in a few days and wait for them to call you.

If you can't get them to call you, then obviously your copywriting/marketing skillz SUCK ... errr ... need to be fine tuned a bit.

You're PIKING you can put a yellow pages ad together for them that will make their phone ring off the hook with customers and yet your direct mail effort doesn't get them to call you. Can't you see this enigma that's wrapped in a warm toasty conundrum?

Anywho SuzzaneR, it looks like you need to get a nice basic education on yellow pages advertising and I'd suggest buying Winicki's book. It's dirt cheap and you can get it from him directly here (see my signature)...

Hi Suzanne,

Try this article by Troy White (featured in the Makepeace Total Package ezine)

Copywriting | Direct Marketing - How to Write Lead Generation Display Ads

It's pretty basic, but it offers great tips and does include a sample ad you can use as a template.

Hope this helps!

ooops! Sorry about that. In any case, your idea is truly excellent.

What do you think of the idea of faxing over a one page letter with xeroxed customer ad as per this article by Daniel Levis? Copywriting | Direct Marketing - Selling High-Ticket Stuff Over the Phone


"Think fax is dead? Think again. In business to business, there’s nothing like it for getting your message through.
But you have to change your approach just a little. Instead of a short punchy ad like we’ve discussed so far, this time you need to write a short letter.
Think about it for a minute.
What happens when a personally addressed letter arrives on the fax machine at a business? That’s right, it gets hand-delivered, right to the desk of your prospect.
Now, how many faxes like that do you think the average prospect gets? Precious few compared to direct mail, and e-mail. Unlike direct mail, again he or she doesn’t even have to bother to open it before reading your benefit-laden headline. And unlike e-mail, you can use fax to make an initial contact (some local restrictions may apply).


Again remember, your copy should sell them on the value of your report, not your product or service just yet.
And whether you use postcards or broadcast fax to generate high-ticket leads, be sure to target your audience carefully. This could be something as simple as selecting only the section of a trade directory that is directly relevant to what you’re selling, or it could mean something as sophisticated as using “selects” made available through a list broker."

Point taken but in reality, I am on and off the phone within 30 seconds flat and I'm calling to make a quick offer, not to persuade or brag.

Read up on high probability selling so you'll know what I am talking about.

I will grant that any kind of prospect calling is probably not conducive to my longterm goals of earning high income. I've already accepted that argument. No need to convince me.

Insider....thanks so much! A very informative read that I have bookmarked.

Interesting that he likes the article look in yp ads where someone else who wrote a yp report stressed bullets over copy. I am sure there is an ongoing debate about that.

Before I got in direct respone I was the number one residential construction salesman on the West coast for Hilti Fastening Systems. Like a few on this board who were salesmen in their previous life, I saw the power of taking 1-on-1 selling and having it done for me thousands of times at once through direct response.

Google unsolicited faxes and you see stuff like this...

The federal law prohibiting facsimile transmission of unsolicited advertisements, 47 U.S.C. Section 227(b), authorizes individuals to bring action in state court to remedy any violation, 47 U.S.C. Section 227(b)(3). The federal law authorizes the award of $500 per unsolicited fax, treble damages for willful or knowing violations, as well as injunctive relief.

All it takes is pissin' off one unhappy small business owner.

Cook County Circuit Court Judge Patrick McGann alone has since 2002 presided over more than 100 lawsuits, all seeking class action status, filed against senders of junk faxes. Most recently, Cleveland-based Charter One Bank in Judge McGann's courtroom agreed to pay $1.8 million for sending unsolicited faxes to about 70,000 phone numbers.

The lawsuits became big business three years ago when a judge in Georgia ordered Hooters of Augusta Inc. to pay nearly $12 million for sending junk faxes through a local telemarketing company.