Most of us have read somewhere at some time that whenever we advertise, 1% is a normal response rate… what a crock.
When we are recalling these “facts” we have heard somewhere we somehow forgot the rest of the story (or heard it from someone paraphrasing something they heard or read)
If 1% were normal I would be a millionaire. If I could mail 10,000 postcards and get 100 jobs… I would be mailing 10,000 a week. I would be grossing $15,000-$20,000 [U]per week[/U]. Imagine what a company would make mailing 500,000 cards a year. 1% just does not happen.
I have got 3-4% many times, but guess what; never on a giant mailing. The 1% rule works well when directed at the right people and spoken to in the right language. Nobody mails 100,000 and get’s 1%. I can easily mail 200 and get 3%.
I had a flier that got 3% response in one area. So I take this “superstar” flier to another area and get 0%. Whycome? What happened? Same card, same offer, delivered to an area that has a disposable income… The “law” says I should be getting 1% but I got 0%.
That is why you need to know who is getting your ads. You need to speak directly to their interests. You need to create offers you know they will appreciate.
I have over 50 customers in the neighborhood I got my 3%. None of the callers knew of me other than seeing my ads… and they get pounded by 5 other companies. I own that area because I know them VERY well and my ads speak directly to them.
I have collected my competitions ads and they are all the same
[B]Company name[/B]
[B]10% off[/B]
Maybe some scribble on various services but no reasons are given. No benefits are talked about. No good offer to take advantage of.
I will tell you how good I know that area. I have a customer there that has a competitor living next door! I won his neighbor over with a flier.
Here is another secret about the 1% rule, it is not about the response it is about the profit. If I spent $200 mailing letters to 400 homes and got 2 jobs worth $500 ea did I lose? I paid $100 each for only 2 new customers.
Some may say “too spendy” and some will say “$1000 in sales is great”
Both are not good as it has been disconnected from the REAL value. First off if you are good and you give these new customers excellent service you likely will have them for years. (at only 1 cleaning per year for 3 years= $3000)
Now besides making at least $3000 from them we also have the opportunity to get their friends and neighbors. I can’t tell you how powerful it is to get your foot in the door of a neighborhood. Their friends and neighbors will surely use you too, they stick together. (for those of you doing million dollar homes you know this to be especially true)
Always see the big picture. Who cares about 1 sale? I want each customer to buy 20 times. That is how we last in this business.
In this day and age it is not so much as “keeping up with the Jones’s”. People are more concerned to find a dependable service, and to prove our worth by having a neighbor as a customer is HUGE.
To be honest I want 5% response and I shoot for that every time. Will I ever get it, who knows. But I put 5% response worth of effort into EVERY ad.
Concentrate more on the prospects and less on your expected response. If you expose a problem they have and give them a [U]believable[/U] solution, you will get their attention.
Go get some
