Using Direct Mail for Lead Generation
With over 50% of all new factoring clients being sourced through some type of direct marketing, all brokers should familiarize themselves with the many options available and one of the most commonly used direct marketing channels is direct mail marketing.
Direct mail is the perfect way to prepare targets for telephone marketing and can be a powerful lead generator in it’s own right. Though direct mail campaigns do have a significant cost factor attached to them, the residual commission income earned from a single client sourced through direct mail will more than pay for any direct mail campaign over and over and over. As you should already understand, the exceptional commissions paid by factors for qualified referrals that become clients is so lucrative, there is realistically no method of marketing and lead-generation that can be consider “too expensive”. Learn the opportunities available in direct mail and when to use it’s lead-generating power.
Using Direct Mail for Lead Generation
Direct Mail is unsolicited promotional material sent to an individual or company through the mail to elicit a response. Though the end purpose of all direct mail is to acquire a client, most direct mail is actually designed to generate a lead through response by the receiver who will subsequently be prospected (qualified).
Direct mail is just one of many tools available to you in your marketing arsenal. For consultants and brokers, it has a number of particularly unique and desirable attributes which make it the medium of choice in many situations: For generating leads:
- Direct mail creates an immediate and identifiable response. Few other marketing medium can match direct mail’s punch in its ability to generate suspect replies in volume.
- Direct mail can pay for itself rapidly. As a tool for lead generation, no other form of marketing can provide such a rapid return on investment. For brokers / consultants, a single client generated as the result of a 1,000 piece mailing will often pay for itself in one or two monthly commission checks.
- Direct mail can be tested. Direct mail campaigns can be tested with as little as 250 or 500 pieces. If your test mailing is successful, you can count on the income derived from much larger mailings to pay expenses, If the mailing is a flop, at least you have spent little time and money.
- Direct mail can be “rolled out”. After a direct mailing has proved successful in a small 250-500 piece test, it can be easily rolled out in greater numbers. The work involved in successful direct mail campaigns is in the design and refinement of the mailing piece. Once it has proven successful, rolling out is just a matter of printing more pieces and stuffing more envelopes.
- Direct mail is personal and selective. Unlike print media such as newspaper or magazine advertising, you can easily select only qualified suspects to receive your direct mail. It is a “personal invitation” you have sent in its own envelope only for your chosen suspects to view.
Writing a Direct Mail Cover Letter
In traditional mail order, there is an old saying that goes: “The more you tell, the more you sell.” In lead generation, however, things are different. As a broker / consultant, the goal of your lead generation package is to get the suspect business owner to raise his hand and say, “I think I need your financing services…. tell me more about them!”
By telling the whole story in your mailing, there is nothing left for the suspect to request or inquire about. The business owner may feel he/she knows everything that is necessary for right now and there is no reason to respond to your mailing at this time.
For this reason, copywriters of lead generation direct mail packages make certain that the whole story is never divulged. Rather, they provide just enough information to whet the suspect’s appetite. The suspect is invited through your offer to send for more details.
5 “BEs” To Better Lead-Generating Sales Letters
When writing sales letters, these are important things to keep in mind:
- Be Direct…You are providing a needed financial accommodation. Get to the point right away.
- Be Simple…Make certain you explain the benefits of your services in a way that the suspect will be sure to understand.
- Be Concise…Most business owners are pressed for time. Present your objective immediately. This does not mean your letter must be short, however.
- Be Clear…If the business owner has to struggle to understand your letter, it will probably get thrown away.
- Be Specific…Explain exactly what you provide and the benefits to the business. Don’t be vague.
Writing With Interactive Copy
In direct mail marketing, the use of interactive copy invites the reader into your world. We ultimately want the reader to act upon our solicitation through suggestion. Interactive copy includes phrases such as:
- Learn how your company can…..
- Discover how your business can….
- Explore the possibilities of….
Including “Power Words” in Your Direct Mail
Power words contained in your letter copy are words that relate to action and promote an urgency to respond to your offer right NOW! Below are a few typical examples.
- FREE…one of the most powerful words in direct marketing and should be used liberally throughout the body of your sales letter and always in caps.
- Success…everyone wants to be successful in business.
- Power(ful)…power over failure, power over your competition, financial power….all reference the ability to overcome stumbling blocks in business.
- Guaranteed…a necessity in all direct mail letters. Your service must be guaranteed to: assist the business owner in the growth of his/her company and solve a problem such as payroll, cash flow, etc.
- Easy…used to make life a little better for the business owner. Easy application….Easy to order.
- Now…connotes an immediate opportunity. You want the prospect to read your package and respond to your offer…NOW! Using the word “now” throughout the body of your letter or brochure helps the prospect to focus on your offer and sets up an atmosphere for immediate action.
