How to Create a Profitable 3-step Offline Campaign

Most of us have heard master copywriters/direct response marketers talk about multi-step approaches to direct mail marketing.

That's why I'm starting this thread...

Have any of you effectively implemented a 3-step -- or other -- multiple mailing campaign(s) where you mailed the same list various pieces spaced apart a few days or weeks? (Michel, I know you have -- we just discussed your "hair transplant" campaign this week)

Here's what I'm up to...

I just got booked to speak at a national conference for a large association (for those of you who don't know me -- this is a big part of what I do -- see http://www.JPMaroney.com ).

Anyhow, I had a data entry person create a database of all the state, regional and local chapters and their executive directors -- about 150+/- contacts.

I want to mail to them and eventually generate bookings at the state, regional, and local level. (Background Note: In addition to my recent booking with the National Assocation, I've already completed highly-successful, well-received presentations with one state chapter, and one local chapter.)

I'm thinking I want to conduct a 3-step direct mail campaign to these chapter executives -- all of them hire speakers for their meetings -- so this is a qualified list.

Other details:

- In November I had an article in the association's national magazine.
- I have a "KILLER" testimonial from the Director of Education in this association (she was at the presentation I gave for the state chapter) -- which is why she hired me for the National Convention.

Questions:

- What types of mailings / types of materials or approaches would you take in this 3-part campaign?

- I'm thinking the first might be... not in these words, but... "If he's good enough for the National Conference, he's good enough for you." -- I definitely would use that phase, but that's the idea.

- Could be "He was so good when I heard him at the Texas State Conference... I hired him for the National Conference -- You should consider him for your meetings!" (I could probably get her to go along with that type of an endorsement/testimonial)

- I thought one of the mailings might be a "pitch" about one of the two seminars I'm giving at the national conference (See http://www.jpmaroney.com/Custom.htm?custID=74 and http://www.jpmaroney.com/Custom.htm?custID=21 ) ---- In that case, I would develop full-blown sales letters pitching the seminars... which should have been done a long time ago!

- I intend to include testimonials... especially those I have from within this industry

SO... my amazing copywriter friends -- what approach would you take. Let your mind run free... let your brain go crazy... I'm not ruling anything out at this point -- we can "edit and adjust" later!

Your input and feedback is appreciated...

JP,

Our experience with selling seminars is not in the offline world - and it is a little different than what you have, but the principles are the same...

This isn't your promise - this is proof to back up your promise. I wouldn't use this as a headline direction unless there where strong direct benefits within. Even then - it is focusing on you, not them.

What is it exactly that you will offer to these executives that can get them to perk up when they read your headline? I don't think the "he or she says so" is enough... it's a flag without wind...

What's your "wind"... your PROMISE to get them standing?

Once you have the promise, I would find a way to make it personal to each reader in the headline... maybe even put each name and title in (i.e. John Williams, Executive Director ABC)

Something like (this is very general just to give you the idea):

A Rare And Proven Opportunity For (target) To (promise)

Ok, something like this should get their attention (send it FedEx)... a personal headline with a good, targeted promise is hard to resist! Now the question is strategy...

Since you have what seems to be a small and very targeted list, perhaps you should send them everything you have to make the sell, or at least enough info to get them to call YOU or FAX, and maybe mention in the PS that you will follow-up by phone to make sure they got this offer ok (as it is time-sensitive)... if they phone you, or leave a fax message, then you will get back to them immediately.

We use the 3-step process when approaching a big list, and the first step is a short letter "filter" to pull as many hot leads as possible into a "second list", the second step is the sales letter to those who took a small action, the 3rd is follow-up to this second "hot" list.

You might be able to get away with just 2 steps since the list is so specific... don't know, but I would seriously consider it.

Hope this gives you some ideas,

Tim

P.S. If you can put something in the FedEx package as a "grabber" that makes these executives remember you clearly, as Gary Halbert so often suggests, this might help. You want them to remember you when you phone (if they don't contact you). Doesn't have to be a dollar bill - get creative...

JP,

I have had a telemarketing campaign going with association directors for about seven months, and I have learned several things:

1)Only 5% remembered my initial mailing when they were called 7-10 days after presumed receipt. We have now skipped the initial mailing altogether and my sales person is just calling and following up conscientiously and many times with those who express interest.

2)There's a *very* long sales cycle. You have to have patience to get a booking in this market. It will take several months more before I know whether or not this campaign has paid off.

3)For them to get interested (they are approached by lots of speakers), you need to have a very strong message of what benefit you can offer the association members that other speakers cannot.

Hope this helps.

Marcia Yudkin

I've never used the 3-step mailing myself, but I'm about to...

I'm about to test 1,000 prospects on a 3-step mailing and here how I'm doing it.

In the first letter, I'm making my entire case. Pulling everything out and go for the sale.

In the second letter, I'm reminding them of my offer. Telling them they haven't booked me yet. Saying: "I can't understand why... I can only think of 2 reasons:

You have not have the time to read my letter
You don't believe me!

Etc"

And then lead into the whole offer again. Same for number 3, with an urgency attached to it... "This is your last chance" kind of thing.

Then, after about a month, I'll do a "damaged-set" mailing. If you've read the Robert Collier letter book, you'll recognize this. This is when you do a mailing that says, "We still have X amount of products left over from our big sale, and we're offering it to you and a select few of other business men in your industry, as we know you're interested in our product.

Now is your chance to snap it up at a 33% discount. There's only one condition...

You have to fill out the order card and send it out now.

Like I said, there are only 7 left and they'll be picked up in no time... So act now - because you won't get a deal like this again.

Hastily yours,
Erik"


So actually, this is 4-step.

Your 4-step mailing could say something like: I've been completely booked but have 2 dates left. Just offer a discount that you can afford to 2 lucky people of your entire list.

Of course, this can eventually mean a lot more orders than those 2, but I'm sure there are ways to book them in Usually, damaged sets and leftover sales go so well that you have to bring in more stock than you originally intended to dispose of.

Other than that, there's not much to say specifically about 3-step campaigns. It's just like every other campaign - the offer counts, the copy counts and it's basically just like any other direct-marketing effort.

Just make sure you restate your entire offer in every mailing (except for the last, you can only give the basic idea there because you're not making a sale, you're doing away with leftovers.. they already know what you're selling)... And also make sure you refer to the previous letters each them you send a follow-up.

I'm writing this as the ideas were coming off the top of my head so excuse me if it looks sloppy... it probably is... but I hope it's useful anyway.

Good luck

A LITTLE MORE BACKGROUND... then, I'd like to address the replies received so far!

Mission... in this industry (not speaking industry, industry I'm targeting) -- THE #1 hottest issues is employee turnover... they're bleeding personnel. (that comes from the top association executives).

Which is why they hired me for the national convention... it's big part of what I talk about as a speaker (I speak 30-40 times a year... mostly to association audiences).

Should I HAMMER that issue? I have to keep in mind that I'm really not selling to the ultimate audience. I'm selling to the association executive.

So I have to "Sell them" on the idea that "Their members will benefit from the presentation."

From the association exec's perspective, their number one fear is "Looking foolish for hiring THE WRONG SPEAKER -- so I have to address that.

It becomes a balance act of "Selling the speech" or "Selling the speaker" -- or both???

See my delima?

In person and on the phone, I do this every week -- booking myself for speeches... most of which come to me because someone heard me, was referred to me, etc.

I'm just attempting to "BOOST" my business by implementing effective direct response. I don't know if it'll work in the speaking business or not.

Approaching this as a "new way" of generating business... and starting with an industry where I already have some acceptance -- credibility -- and testimonials.

Your thoughts?

First, thanks Tim, Marcia and Erik (so far)... and Peter by PM,

1) Tim, I've wanted to try a FedEx approach for a while... I agree -- this looks like a good opportunity. I think I'll probably test with part of the list... probably the state chapters -- maybe even the bigger states -- first.

I'll work on crafting my letter over the next couple of days -- and your recommendations will come in handy on creating the offer. THANKS FOR pointing out the difference between Promise and Proof as it relates to my situation.

2) Marcia -- you're dead-on with your assessment of the association market. While being THE BEST and FASTEST place to get booked (because they hire so freakin' many speakers a year), it's also a tedious and long-drawn-out process... education committees, etc. I've been very successful in the association market -- in fact 3/4 or better of my keynotes/seminars are with associations... the rest are usually execs of companies who heard me speak at the association conference.

3) Erik, you probably saved me making a major mistake with your post -- in fact Tim you alluded to the same. I was initially thinking of mailings that each gave "part" of the message -- each focusing on a different aspect or angles. I think I like and agree more with your idea of putting the whole package out in front of them to begin with... or at least enough to formulate some opinions and generate curiosity and response.

Now... I'll need to take all this and work on my copy (not my greatest strength ) -- giving some thought to what kind of "Call to Action" I want to make...

1) Call or fax me to request my full PromoPak (demo video, samples, stuff)
2) Call or fax to receive something free -- a CD of one of my more popular seminars... actually a recording at an association meeting,
3) Not sure...

Ultimately, I'm not playing tiddle winks (sp?)... I want them to hire me to speak at their meeting(s). So, I'm guessing -- as Erik puts it -- pull out all the stops and sell the speech, sell myself, and back it up with undeniable PROOF... as Tim points out.

JP,

Disclaimer: I know absolutely nothing about getting booked by associations.

That said - I like the idea of offering some kind of relevant freebie as a way to qualify people.

Another strategy that many people use to good effect is to make a call first, to let them know you'll be sending them some materials. Then, after they've received them (you hope!), make a follow up call. With such a small list, this shouldn't be a major drama.

But what I'm really wondering is if you can leverage your existing relationships and good standing with this organisation in a more direct way. Have you tried asking for referrals?

Also - I don't understand the "fed-ex" thing. I know it will make the letter seem more important and someone will have to sign for it, but does that really impact on their decision making and will any increase in response cover the additional cost of doing it? Is there a risk that people will be turned off when they discover that this "really important letter" is simply a sales pitch? Am I being thick, but I don't really understand how that works and would appreciate either you or Tim explaining that.

HTH,
Jane

Hi Jane,

For JV's, I think fed-exing is a great way to blast out your offer to a great amount of people... And really get their attention. I picked this up from Jason Cox who's been doing this and having a great deal of success with it.

However, for Direct-mail campaigns, like you, it strikes me as inappropriate.

Robert Collier in his Letter Book described a campaign in which he mailed as "special delivery". He related that the amount of orders were incredible (a much higher response than usual), but that they also received a lot of complaints about it. A LOT of really angry people called and wrote who really disliked the fact that they had to sign, sometimes at really untimely moments, for a sales pitch.

In the end, they decided it was ultimately bad for business. The loss of future orders, prospects and customers outweighed the larger response from the ones who did respond to it.

Hi Erik (fellow night-owl),

So, let me phrase what you said in my own language:

It's a cheap trick to get people's attention but which ultimately backfires, and, it's not really that cheap in the first place.

If someone fed-ex'd me a sales letter I would be absolutely furious. Especially if I was out at the time and ended up having to go and collect it (or they kept trying to redeliver it), believing it to be something important and interesting.

JP - this is probably very obvious and I'm sure you already know, but let me say it anyway - whatever you decide to do - I hope you make sure that it enhances your reputation and standing with this organisation, rather then diminishing it. Sometimes it's OK to take risks and be very bold, and sometimes, it's probably better to play "softly softly catchy monkey".

Jane

I imagine these executives have offices and secretaries, so I really don't see this as an issue. It's not like the person will be taking a shower or sleeping-in when the doorbell rings...

The point is FedEx gets opened. Now whether or not the content inside is offensive completely depends on the approach - this isn't an IM product! If they are offended - then the letter failed no matter what means of transport was used. FedEx simply gets the message to the desk of the targeted person and opened. If the message is targeted correctly, and benefit oriented to the reader, it won't offend... it will get a response!

Maybe I'm wrong, but if someone spends the extra energy and money to send FedEx, it comes across as a specific mailing, not a mass mailing - and it shows that the sender gives extra value to the content, and to the recipient.

I see no reason why it can't be done in a way that is appreciated.

It might actually be a good idea to phone and fax these executives ahead of time, just to let them know a package is arriving - and maybe it would be a good idea to put a CD or DVD inside (giving the package more value, and justifying further the FedEx).

Then use the phone to follow-up to make sure they at least take a close look at your offer and proof.

Then like you said JP, test a few to see how it goes.

I personally have had great success with email - just the other day I had the president of a large corporation call me here in Italy from California, and hook up a 3 way conference with other representatives in other states - we all talked for an hour... just from one email I sent them.

When your message is crystal clear to specific benefits that they can easily see you providing to improve their own business - they perk up - without the message, it doesn't matter what form you use - it will get trashed.

Heck, JP you can try a few emails to see how that goes too - you don't have to sell your service, just get them interested enough to talk to you.

The more personal you can make it to each recipient, the more likely they will respond - it can NOT look like a form letter. This requires a little research for each recipient - but the results can be surprising.

Best of luck,

Gotta get back to work!

Tim