Direct Mail

[norcalinsurance]

A very interesting post. A few random thoughts:

Sixteen times to warm up? Hogwash. If the guy knew anything about direct mail marketing, think he'd be working as a rep for Blue Cross?

The prospect WILL contact you if you 1) use a great list, and 2) make a relevant offer. They may choose to call you, or they may choose to respond electronically (it's 2008 ya know). Give 'em a choice!

If you make the same 'ole lame, boring offer that everyone else does, then you'll get the same 'ole lame, boring 1% return that people get. Then you have to get on the phone and try to pound them into submission.

Try this on for size...

"If I Can't Save You Money On Your Homeowner's Insurance, I'll Send You a Check For $250."

Think that would get any more attention/response than the stale dung being mailed?

I didn't say that I believes it takes 16 mailings, the point I was striving for, hogwash to you or not is that if your going to direct mail, you need repetition and follow-up calls. From my experience you'll get a higher ratio.

And the most I'd pay for someone to move their business to my agency is $249, so you've got me beat.

The stale dung is great to be flung all day long. It's a beautiful sight to behold.

 

[salesprospects]

I understood completely what you were saying NORCALINSURANCE and its a great point. Sometimes people in forums like to "poo-poo" everything regardless. Your point should not be understated. Frequency in any advertising medium is crucial. Your target, your message and your frequency = $$$$.

 

[norcalinsurance]

I understood completely what you were saying NORCALINSURANCE and its a great point. Sometimes people in forums like to "poo-poo" everything regardless. Your point should not be understated. Frequency in any advertising medium is crucial. Your target, your message and your frequency = $$$$.

As I hold my hands up high like the horrific Reverend Wright, I praise Jesus for Salesprospects perspective. Thank you for understanding what my point was.

 

[TimLett]

Good news, I just got back from the post office and had 12 return envelopes inside. Four of them are bogus but the other eight can be called. I have one who is very old and a couple who are very overweight so it will be interesting to see how this all plays out. I'll be calling them all over the next 24 hours to set appointments. Wish me luck!

Just curious, do you have anything good for your fatties.....I mean the overweight couple?

 

[TimLett]

I sell MP too. I buy MP leads with guarantees. I usually buy 30 leads per month. Instead of doing 1k piece mailings. The response rate has gone way down. So I would rather pay a few extra bucks for guarantees. Also, to generate leads I have just begun to cold call new mortgages and refi's. These people get so many letters they don't know whats what. And it's free....

Could you talk a bit more about the "leads with guarantees", please?

 

[mickeyma]

I also am in the mortgage life market. I mail a 4x6 postcard in a #7 envelop with a window that lets the prospects name and address be visible. If interested, the prospect returns the postcard. This is much cheaper than including a letter and return envelop. I have tested both and my rate of return is the same--.55% (down from 1.5% a couple of years ago). But, the letters inside the #10 envelop allow you to ask more questions of the prospect and COULD you a better lead. I've had no problem asking for health information when I phone. A TIP: make it easy for them to respond. Use a headline!!!! Use FREE and NO OBLIGATION.
Sell to the emotions. Many marketers in the annuity marketplace are recommending a postcard with a 800 number to call. That's super cheap and they claim they are getting good returns.

 

[EvolvingCloser]

lol...

New member here and latched right onto this thread.

Been experimenting with this method for years in 1 facet or the other and still haven't found the right approach to yield success... or at least success that I can be excited about.

Sent postcards, letters in envelopes, and letters in hand addressed envelopes(actually turned a profit... although my wife nearly got carpal tunnel). Sent out a handful of different marketing pieces and I guess my thoughts on this method at this point is that it is probably outdated. In a day where we are overwhelmed with junk mail everytime we go out to our box it's hard to be effective when most have been programed that when getting mail we are essentially sifting through garbage to begin with. When you start as basically a piece of trash it is much more difficult to stand out and grasp your potential clients attention especially considering your one out of maybe 5 to possibly 20+ different people trying to accomplish the same thing.

It's hard to let go though cause this once was a lucrative method of marketing.

Good luck!

 

[themarcgroup]

cards are cheaper than env

 

[Ramond B]

Mail results always depend on saturation levels. Sure its cheaper to send post cards but more people do it so responses are not as good as some other pieces. If you live in a heavily marketed area mail simply wont give you the response needed to gain a good ROI. cold calling works better for heavily saturated areas over the mail. How ever if your in a place that is not overly advertised you can do well.

This doesn't change whether your doing Mortgage, Insurance, or Real Estate....the demand and saturation is the key factors to think about with direct mail. I haven't yet mailed a ton of insurance stuff but we send about 4 million pieces per day for various industries and over all responses will be the same no matter what the industry is...it all boils down to saturation levels.

 

[Beach Broker]

I love this topic because I built my business on the back of direct mail.

I mean, who likes making cold calls? I got so sick of making cold calls I had to try something else.

I've found some things that definitely work 1st time out, not 10 or 16 times after someone gets it.

It's all about direct response marketing.

Creating an ad/letter that is compelling, with a great headline, good body copy, interesting copy, a good offer, and some PERSONALIZATION!

I can't overstate the importance of being personal in your mailing efforts.

You've got to make sure your letters come across from a friend to a friend. Not from some stuffy boring institution (like an insurance agent)

The formula is AIDA
Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.

A good headline is crucial for getting responses. Think of trying to read the newspaper without headlines.

If you need good ideas for headlines, just look at the inquirer magazine. They have some of the highest paid copywriters in the world working for them.

I've NEVER had a great RIO using postcards, go for letters, use a live stamp, no company name on the return address (so they don't know it's junk mail) and hand write the addresses on the envelope.

It's got to look like a legit personal letter. (I have a guy who is just as cheap as a print house, but has a group of employee's who actually hand write every single address on with pen, so it is totally authentic. It is not just a fake cursive handwriting print job, it's actual handwriting.)

This is the basics of being successful in mailing.

There's more on a video at Insurance Marketing Mavericks