Marketing

[newtnee]

I have been out doing door hangers and have noticed that we really don't get any calls from them at all. We are using the company's brochures and Stapling a business cards on it. I did have better luck when I found people outside. I was able to talk to them and see if they would take some of our info. Some did and we had one call from that.
I have also been emailing friends and old classmates with some replies back.
Also the company mailed out allot of post cards to which we had one reply and he did not sign up. The company did this without our knowledge and it cost us about 600 dollars. We got some of it back luckily.
I think the brochures are informative but boring and the cards are even worse. I have some ideas to get people to at least look at them before throwing them away but I would like hear what other people have done and what their success rate was.

 

[timsip]

I don't think you will like this, but what works best is the hardest type of marketing...cold calling. Networking also works as well as referals, but before you can get those, you need initial contacts. I have looked into a lot of other marketing strategies, but the best use of you time and energy is cold calling. I hate to do it, but it does work, even though it really sucks. Mailers have an average return of 1-3% nationwide. I don't know the statistics of door hangers, but I can't imagine they are much better.

Networking requires you to get involved in your community and professional groups. Not only do you need to get involved, you need to become a leader in these groups. Make your name be known and make others in this group look up to you. Gaining this respect will get everyone to look to you when either they need your services, or they know someone that does. It also will make it easier for you to ask them for referrals.

 

[Frank Stastny]

I don't think you will like this, but what works best is the hardest type of marketing...cold calling. Networking also works as well as referals, but before you can get those, you need initial contacts. I have looked into a lot of other marketing strategies, but the best use of you time and energy is cold calling. I hate to do it, but it does work, even though it really sucks. Mailers have an average return of 1-3% nationwide. I don't know the statistics of door hangers, but I can't imagine they are much better.

Networking requires you to get involved in your community and professional groups. Not only do you need to get involved, you need to become a leader in these groups. Make your name be known and make others in this group look up to you. Gaining this respect will get everyone to look to you when either they need your services, or they know someone that does. It also will make it easier for you to ask them for referrals.

You obviously have learned how to doit and do it well. " ...but what works best is the hardest type of marketing...cold calling....". I'm sure you are very successful at what you do.

Would you not agree that once the agent has a very smooth, conversational telephone approach that enables the agent to maintain control of the conversation that it becomes a whole lot easier?

At least that is what I have discovered. I have not purchased a lead in at least six to eight years. I generate my own calling on the phone from a list.

Your statement about getting involved in spot on. One just can't join and then expect to start writing apps. It takes a whole lot of time and involvement.

As you said, it is about earning their respect, once you have their respect comes their trust. If one has both their respect and trust they will come to you for insurance. The agent will not have to "sell" it to them.

 

[Pusher08]

Door hangers are good but getting in front of people is better. The thing to remember even when your just putting door hangers out is to be ready to sell. If you catch someone on their way out of the house have your elevator pitch and rebuttals ready.

ex:"Glad I caught you before you head out, My name is yada yada I'll be in the neighborhood today and tomorrow whens a good time for me to come back and discuss my product with you."

If you walk up to a door and see someone sitting down watching T.V. your goal is no longer to drop off a business card and some info, its to sit down and close. I don't know your financial situation but the best thing to do is to hire 3 high school or college students to place the door hangers. You'll cover more ground in the same amount of time.

Beyond that you should go business to business. There are more people to talk to and more opportunities to reach a business owner that will land your bigger cases. Hope that helps.

 

[timsip]

I think there are a couple of traits that one has to have to make it in the business. First is discipline. You have to be able to set a schedule, then keep it. It is easy to say that on Mondays, I am going to sit at my desk and make 40 calls an hour for eight hours and set a minimum of two appointments per day for that week. It's actually following through with that plan that makes the money. Another trait is persistence. When you tell someone that you will call them back, do so. When you set a schedule, follow it. When you get done with an appointment, follow up. Keep following up until you decide to retire. The money in this business isn't made at the sale, it is made five years later when you have more money in residual income coming in each day than you are getting in new sales each week.

That brings me to the vast reward of the hard work of cold calling. Putting yourself through the trenches of cold calling for the first year will only pay off in spades every subsequent year. Not only will you get better at it and make it easier, but the more appointments you get out of cold calling, the fewer cold calls you will have to make. As you grow your business, you can start tapping into those free leads called referrals. That is, of course all dependent on your customer service ability. Don't sit there and think for one second that once you close a sale, you are going to be getting flooded with golden referrals. You have to provide the service now. You have only made the sale, just like everyone else that is selling something. You have to be there for them, be patient with them, and solve their problems. Trust me when I say that when you do this, not only will you get referrals, you will get referrals that are ready to sign up. At this point, cold calling will be there to supplement your business, not to be the business.