Residential Marketing Techniques

[NHB_MMA]

and I am sure NYL will give you a great deal on it also....sounds like the things that Met use to tell me.....

NYL has a store, but they don't offer any quantity discounts. I think they figure the agent on buying them for personal use and not mass distribution. They did not promote the idea. I actually figured on getting stuff printed up when I was leaning towards being an indy health agent. Anyway, I'll use an outside vendor and they have no problem with that, providing I get the design approved.

 

[James]

Residential? Okay if you must and this will vary depending upon what you are trying to market.
Print out 10,000 flyers or more depending upon your local paper circulation. Take those flyers down to the newspaper and pay them to place in the next days paper.

What kind of return do you get? 2%?

Yea in my dreams! I usually get about 50 apointments at best, out of that I get about 40 face to face, which I can usually get about 30 sales. A mix of Supplements/MA's and small Final Expense. Which the average sale nets me about 300 plus dollars each, a bit more yet that is still 30x300 or 9,000 which was pretty damn good I think. What would that be in % of 10,000 sent out? I guess we are talking a very small percentage, 0.25? Yet though the cost is about 600 dollars for the printing which I can do with my epson 7000 using cheap ink and paper but fantastic results! Okay it might be closer to 800 in printing cost, be cheaper maybe if I sent it out but they can't match my quality. Another 500 dollars or 800 depending upon what paper I use and my total cost is no more then 1600 dollars, still cheaper then a 1000 mugs or frig magnets.

Oh yes almost forgot! I add a replier card they can cut out to mail in. The cost of that was out of the 40-70 I recieved in the mail was right at $20 paid to the post office that I then call, some suggest just to knock with card in hand but I don't know about that, I suppose it does work better? Now you get a Replier through one of your carriers free of charge, I have one from AIG and John Hancock that I just print out their Reciept and take it down to my post office which then they supply me with the code I need to have art work done down at the local Office Store then I simply take the digital file and add it to my brochure.

Now the first two times I did this I think I botch the actual office work, last time I did it my return was better as I got better with contact and keeping up with the cards and calls coming in. Yet though, I'm beginning to think just starting a telecommunication office with about 2 employees maybe the best way to go!

Yet though doing B2B or just Cold Calling is cheaper, even if you have to do it yourself like most of us do.

 

[James]

and I am sure NYL will give you a great deal on it also....sounds like the things that Met use to tell me.....

NYL has a store, but they don't offer any quantity discounts. I think they figure the agent on buying them for personal use and not mass distribution. They did not promote the idea. I actually figured on getting stuff printed up when I was leaning towards being an indy health agent. Anyway, I'll use an outside vendor and they have no problem with that, providing I get the design approved.

Now please let us know how long NYL takes to "Approve" the design! Remember Compliance equals Sales Killer!

 

[NHB_MMA]

Now please let us know how long NYL takes to "Approve" the design! Remember Compliance equals Sales Killer!

I have been told that most sales pieces require about two weeks for a greenlight, but was told that my promo pieces should go quicker because it's going to be nothing but the logo, slogan, and my contact info.

The compliance official at my office seems to like me and made a call to the home office inquiring about it.

 

[NHB_MMA]

Yea in my dreams! I usually get about 50 apointments at best, out of that I get about 40 face to face, which I can usually get about 30 sales. A mix of Supplements/MA's and small Final Expense. Which the average sale nets me about 300 plus dollars each, a bit more yet that is still 30x300 or 9,000 which was pretty damn good I think. What would that be in % of 10,000 sent out? I guess we are talking a very small percentage, 0.25? Yet though the cost is about 600 dollars for the printing which I can do with my epson 7000 using cheap ink and paper but fantastic results! Okay it might be closer to 800 in printing cost, be cheaper maybe if I sent it out but they can't match my quality. Another 500 dollars or 800 depending upon what paper I use and my total cost is no more then 1600 dollars, still cheaper then a 1000 mugs or frig magnets.

Actually, fridge magnets are cheap. You can get them for about 30 cents in bulk and the glasses and mugs are somewhere around one dollar each. Yes, it is more expensive than flyer insert advertising, but I guarantee you the response rate is higher. You're at 1/2% appointment rate for the circulation, which isn't bad at all. In fact, I'm impressed. But I can guarantee you if I introduce myself to 200 people, I'm going to get more than 1 appointment. It might be 5, 10, or 20, but something is seriously wrong if it's only 1.

Does that mean the rate is higher? Who knows? How many people actually read your flyer insert? There is no way to know. Actually, the percentage is pretty high with insert advertisements. Unless a person never looks at that paper or just opens a section of it, it probably does fall out and get read. You can be certain if you took a printed ad out in the paper that the response would be FAR lower. For example, 1% is consider a good response in a direct mail campaign, but 1% actually sucks because a tremendous amount of it is pitched unopened as junk mail (sometimes by the postal service though they'll never admit it) unless it's designed to look like personal mail.

James, I don't know you, obviously, but you seem like a nice guy and your business seems to do well. If you are a likeable, knowledgeable guy, the personal casual introduction approach allows scores of prospects that would have pitched your ad to put a face and personality to you and say to themselves "he seems like a nice guy". Now, I have seen insurance agents that are living proof anyone CAN make it in this business if they find what works. I've seen guys talk down to me with their feet up on their desk, leaning back in the chair when I went to buy individual health right out of college. I had another guy right there with a massive wad of tobacco spitting in a clear cup right in front of me. I'll never figure out who would buy off those guys, but they're still in business, having paid the rent for many years now. If you're like those guys, you definitely must live off flyers, but I suspect you're not like them.

BTW, I'm just comparing the two methods, not suggesting you yourself change anything if your methods have worked to this point.

Yet though, I'm beginning to think just starting a telecommunication office with about 2 employees maybe the best way to go!

Yet though doing B2B or just Cold Calling is cheaper, even if you have to do it yourself like most of us do

It might be the way to go. Believe me, I'm thinking about the Sales Genie (or other qualifying/filtering service) and just making a couple hundred calls per day. I imagine there are times when you'll go through 50 calls without an appointment, referral or something to build on. I can't imagine saying hello to 50 residents and not finding someone really nice and uplifting.

 

[James]

Actually, fridge magnets are cheap. You can get them for about 30 cents in bulk and the glasses and mugs are somewhere around one dollar each. Yes, it is more expensive than flyer insert advertising, but I guarantee you the response rate is higher. You're at 1/2% appointment rate for the circulation, which isn't bad at all. In fact, I'm impressed. But I can guarantee you if I introduce myself to 200 people, I'm going to get more than 1 appointment. It might be 5, 10, or 20, but something is seriously wrong if it's only 1.

0.5% was the best I achieved using this method in any one type of response, that I think is key, you have too add more then one type of return. Such as telephone number, mail replier and I suppose I should add a website but I never thought if pushing Senior products that would add much. Yet thought todays senior is more in tune too the digital age, not the ones I see but others say they are out there!

Yet though, how long does it take you to knock on 200 doors and how many of those knocks are actually answered? I guess to get your response you would need 200 answer door knocks, so how many houses to you have to knock on too get 200 answers? So I suggest you add in your time cost in R2R knocking, and I believe your cost is going to jump significantly higher more then likely equalling the cost of using letters, inserts, postcards etc etc... I'm just not sure how many houses you can hit in a hour, never done that so I have no basic idea. I'm thinking about 10 answered knocks an hour but I really don't know? So I see you spending one a two whole days to get how many leads? I think you might if lucky hit 5 good leads. Yet though I imagine its good exercise so that is a big plus!

Ps excuse and goof ups on typing, went to a early celebration of election victory as a Republican, its gonna be close so we decided to celebrate early, hopefully it'll be a late night tonight!

 

[NHB_MMA]

0.5% was the best I achieved using this method in any one type of response, that I think is key, you have too add more then one type of return. Such as telephone number, mail replier and I suppose I should add a website but I never thought if pushing Senior products that would add much. Yet thought todays senior is more in tune too the digital age, not the ones I see but others say they are out there!

It can't hurt. It shouldn't cost much to maintain a web site.

Yet though, how long does it take you to knock on 200 doors and how many of those knocks are actually answered? I guess to get your response you would need 200 answer door knocks, so how many houses to you have to knock on too get 200 answers? So I suggest you add in your time cost in R2R knocking, and I believe your cost is going to jump significantly higher more then likely equalling the cost of using letters, inserts, postcards etc etc... I'm just not sure how many houses you can hit in a hour, never done that so I have no basic idea. I'm thinking about 10 answered knocks an hour but I really don't know? So I see you spending one a two whole days to get how many leads? I think you might if lucky hit 5 good leads. Yet though I imagine its good exercise so that is a big plus!

It's like anything else--the later return will be impossible to measure. I am sure if I put enough mugs and fridge magnets out there will be people I met months or years ago that will say "Gee, we really should put a little money back to prepare for retirement/college. That guy whose card we have on the refridgerator seemed like a nice guy." and call. Do I expect a lot of that? No, and it will be very spread out, but it will amount to something over time. If you develop a reputation in a community, you're phone will ring now and then, after some time. I don't think it will ever get to the point when you can just kickback and wait for the phone to ring. But when somebody does want to talk insurance or financial products, they're probably more likely to call you. As for the people not home, you can't even count them for recording purposes. Unless you're calculating calories burned, knocking on a home and getting no one home means nothing. It's all about how many responses you get from faces you see.

You brought up an interesting point about the time factor. Such marketing will be time consuming, but I look at it differently. I think it's a time saver, long-term. It allows me to completely saturate a community, getting the "NHB MMA" name into a large percentage of the homes in the town. With any printed ad, those that are interested (a small percentage) will respond and everyone else will pitch the ad. People love fridge magnets and they'll keep them even if they have no interest at that time. I would probably rather have my image and name all over one town in most households than have it thrown out in a Sunday paper in six towns. I want my client base close to where I live so I save on driving time, have referrals close to home, etc. I would rather be the guy in the community than one of many guys in surrounding communities. And it's not as if I won't expand into the next town in due time, but I'm just explaining my concentrated marketing theory. If somebody doesn't have some products placed with NHB MMA, I want to make sure it's not because they're not aware of me.

Ps excuse and goof ups on typing, went to a early celebration of election victory as a Republican, its gonna be close so we decided to celebrate early, hopefully it'll be a late night tonight!

James, you're hitting the crack pipe. :lol: For better or worse, the GOP is going to see a bloodbath today.

 

[James]

James, you're hitting the crack pipe. :lol: For better or worse, the GOP is going to see a bloodbath today.

I don't think so.

 

[James]

It's like anything else--the later return will be impossible to measure. I am sure if I put enough mugs and fridge magnets out there will be people I met months or years ago that will say "Gee, we really should put a little money back to prepare for retirement/college. That guy whose card we have on the refridgerator seemed like a nice guy." and call. Do I expect a lot of that? No, and it will be very spread out, but it will amount to something over time. If you develop a reputation in a community, you're phone will ring now and then, after some time. I don't think it will ever get to the point when you can just kickback and wait for the phone to ring. But when somebody does want to talk insurance or financial products, they're probably more likely to call you. As for the people not home, you can't even count them for recording purposes. Unless you're calculating calories burned, knocking on a home and getting no one home means nothing. It's all about how many responses you get from faces you see.

You brought up an interesting point about the time factor. Such marketing will be time consuming, but I look at it differently. I think it's a time saver, long-term. It allows me to completely saturate a community, getting the "NHB MMA" name into a large percentage of the homes in the town. With any printed ad, those that are interested (a small percentage) will respond and everyone else will pitch the ad. People love fridge magnets and they'll keep them even if they have no interest at that time. I would probably rather have my image and name all over one town in most households than have it thrown out in a Sunday paper in six towns. I want my client base close to where I live so I save on driving time, have referrals close to home, etc. I would rather be the guy in the community than one of many guys in surrounding communities. And it's not as if I won't expand into the next town in due time, but I'm just explaining my concentrated marketing theory. If somebody doesn't have some products placed with NHB MMA, I want to make sure it's not because they're not aware of me.

And you accuse me of smoking crack! Lets see, so far you have done nothing and now you want not to Market but Brand your Name, yet you work for NYL that has excellent Branding within the Industry with great name presense!

Lets face it, if you go R2R, 80-90% of the people you will actually say Hi too will not be interested in your product! In other words you will effectively be donating 80-90% your time, energy and money towards people that have no use for your product. What I think is that you are seriously looking at this completely wrong! What you are describing is Branding, if you was running a Cereal Company like Kellogs I would say great idea! Yet you are not, you sell Insurance so go out and prospect!

Market to people that have the need and ability to pay for the product you wish to sell too. Around here most gated communities do not allow R2R, most upper scaled neighborhoods will have the cops checking/running you out if you start door to door. Basically leaving you (at least around here) to middle to lower middle class neighborhoods. NYL=WL, that is not a product for those that are living under 50 grand but likely buyers will be those that have a need and make more then 100 grand in general. So I would highly suggest figuring out the best way to identify these people and how to approach them in the most favorable light. So now explain to me when are they home? What time is best to hit them when they are at home?

Ps, I just want you to know in my house and alot of others the Frig is prime realstate! In other words in my house, who should I piss off my wife or son as I would have to take something down of thiers too place your magnet.

 

[MIBizInsurance]

James your reply drove home some good points.

My community is middle class and we require a $200 fee and city council approval to pass out flyers. Bit steep in my eyes but has cut down drasticaly on trash and a constant flow of people knocking on our door.