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"Direct Mail
vs.
Advertising?"
[Which would you bet on if it were life or death?]
From:
Scott Palangi
Sunday, 10:21 p.m.
Dear friend and subscriber,
Unless you want to waste a couple of grand by trying to "get your name out there" ... you'd do well to listen to this message.
I've had a lot of people ask me about the value of CPI (cost per impression) of direct mail vs. traditional "print ads" (i.e. the local paper)
I will clear it
all up here in this newsletter.
Seems like Martial Arts is the only industry where people think the reason you
advertise is to sign people up.
It's not.
The only reason you advertise (in any business) at the very least, is to create "leads."
Now, "leads" fall into two categories:
Prospects and Suspects.
But before I get into what the difference of the two is, we must first define what a "lead" is...
Leads, as you may or may not know, are this:
A lead is someone who's "qualified" to take your classes.
And by "qualified" I mean, specifically, 3 things:
-
Proximity: They live close enough to your location to reasonably receive classes from you.
-
Age: They are in your A-typical "complexion" of membership, i.e. ages 5 to 55, have transportation, and have two legs and two arms (usually)
-
Income: They can afford to take classes. (this is where it gets tricky, of course)
The good news is, "Leads" (whether "hot", "cold", "qualified" or "unqualified") can be found, bought, and/or "procured", quite easily.
For instance, nowadays, you can pretty much just purchase most of the "potential" leads for a bricks n' mortar business like ours, from a mailing list company. Usually, when you do so, those of you who already have active students will be quite shocked to notice names of your existing student data base on the list that you purchase from a list "broker" (FYI: a list broker is a person whom you buy a mailing list of "leads" from.)
Now, I'm going to jump around a bit so as to help the uninitiated understand this whole thing and get caught up to you veterans, okay? So, bare with me in case your some sort of genius.
Basics: For the purpose of this discussion, a "lead" (as mentioned) is anyone who is old enough or young enough.... and who live within a reasonable distance from your location.... who has enough money to pay your schools initial enrollment fee.
That's it.
Anyone who falls into that category is, for all intents and purposes.... a
"LEAD"
Got it? Okay, Good.
Next thing you need to know is that there are two types of leads:
Prospects and Suspects.
A prospect is somebody who's "seeking you out".
For example, lets say you have some appointments on your calendar for trial lessons next week -- those people are considered "prospects".
Likewise, the people who walk into your school, or call your number and say, "How much is it"... "Where are you located".... or any other statement other than "Sorry, I got the wrong number" -- they, are also prospects. (I actually DO know of one individual who could "flip" a wrong number into an appointment for an intro -- but that's another story).
Now, most of you (the one's who are not complete idiots) actually DO an "okay" job with prospects -- the hot leads. Sadly, 99.99999 % of the tools available to you as a martial arts professional deal only with this "hot" aspect of prospecting.
The thing is, and, my contention is..... THIS
In most cases, YOU (meaning: your academy, program, and influence for that matter) usually have NOTHING to do with the factors that turn someone into a "prospect".
Okay, sure, maybe you did a demo... and they held onto your flyer.
Big deal.
And, sure, maybe you've been teaching since 1432 B.C. in the same location and somebody who saw your "high-energy classes" finally, DID decide to walk-in for more information before joining a gym, or moving away to another city, or getting hit by a bus... fine! Take all the credit you want for whatever "lead generation" you're doing.
So what?
What's even more important than you're occasional (and, may I be as bold to say, your "episodic") efforts at creating leads is this:
99% of the entire martial arts industry (this means YOU) has been "getting by" on personality, affordability, convenience and.... let's not forget (get ready to get REALLY insulted, okay?)....
The Sheer Momentum of the Industry!!
Hey, any moron can convert 9 out of 10 people who are beating a path to their door. Big deal!
Look, don't go and think you're a hot shot because you "overcame" some objections when some "karate mom" said, "I gotta talk to my husband".
I'm not impressed.
Go sell a "leer jet" to a guy who already has 4.... who also cheats on his wife... and desperately needs HER "okay", THEN I'll be impressed.
But a karate membership?
Please.
There is, however one way to impress me (and it also happens to be the same way you'll impress what I call "the ultimate consideration" UPON every prospect in your geographic area) and that is... to force... every living, breathing, warm-blooded person in your town to think THIS:
"I would have to be an absolute FOOL to take martial arts lessons with anyone else but you... REGARDLESS OF PRICE!"
Wanna learn how to do that?
Wanna discover how to "create" an unstoppable "flow" of people who want YOU and only YOU as the sole source for what martial arts is SUPPOSED to deliver for the so-called "hot prospects"?
You do?
Great.
All you gotta' do is learn how to slowly.... systematically... and "caringly" convert, convince, and cajole every "lead" from the state of being a "suspect" to that of a "prospect".
I know of no faster method of "converting"
a suspect into a prospect other than that of
Direct Mail!!
I know, I know, "but word of mouth is so powerful".
I've paid to see a lot more movies due to a well-crafted visual preview than I ever have from my pothead friends who say, "Man... you gotta see that movie, it rocks!"
Am I downplaying the power of "word of mouth" here? Yes. I'm downplaying it because I can't control it. I can control whether or not 300, 6" by 11" postcards go out in the mail. (And.... get this... If I do DO a great job at teaching my active students, maybe... just maybe... that well-crafted, hot-button loaded "peice of paper" will wind up in the same hands of the person who said, "Dude, that place rocks, you gotta go there!"
Is this getting through? I certainly hope so.
My point is, "Yes" referrals are paramount but you're a fool to think it's going to take you from where you are to where you want to be (especially in the minds of your prospects!)
Onward.
My point in this rant is this:
The fastest way to take a lead from suspect to prospect it to treat leads as if they were HOT PROSPECTS!
To do this, of course, you'll need the right "tools" or marketing messages.
Once you've got
that though... all you do, is treat them like Hot Leads and hit them with the
proper messages that take them along the educational spectrum of "becoming a
martial arts student".
Sure, you can "advertise" and maybe get a few more names to add to your
already-purchased list.
And, sure, "advertising" may (possibly) tell you which ones on your list are
already "hot" -- but at what cost?
Hey, "Tide"... "Pepsi"... and "Nissan" have a bigger market than you and me.
Of course they have to "advertise" -- heck, everyone is qualified (adults) to
buy Tide detergent; grandma's included. And for those big companies, it only
costs pennies per impression to reach millions of people!
But we're not selling a 5-dollar bucket of soap with a 4-dollar profit margin
to millions of people who NEED it and have purchased something like it in the
past -- NO!
We're selling a relationship that can generate between $1,000 and $4000
dollars. And we're selling it to a group of people that live in a
geographically confined area. Oh... AND... most importantly...we must PROVE
they "NEED IT".
Much different than a "seen on TV" product. Much different strategy, too.
That said, here's my 4 step program to instant success with DM (Direct Mail)
1) Buy a list.
2) Target 300 names on the list you buy.
3) Send one oversized (6 by 11) postcard (like the ones supplied in my
toolkit) to each name six times over the next 3 months (about once every 10 to
14 days.) I've even done this as frequently as once a week -- like a kid
screaming for attention!
4) Answer the phone.. make intro appointments.. teach a 15-minute intro... ask
for money... get new students. Yada, yada, yada.
For cryin out loud -- how much simpler can it get?
After all that... do it for another 300 names on the list!
Then another. And another. And so on!
Then, go back to the first 300 names (now less than 300 because some people
have called -- just like I said they would -- and enrolled) and then... you
guess it -- YOU DO IT AGAIN!
Why start with 300 names?
Because 1) it's "do-able" 2) it's "afford-able" and 3) it's "track-able".
As far as cost goes? Lets see:
1000 names (about $300 dollars; but you can use them over and over)
300 -- .37 cent first class stamps will set you back (currently) $111
300 Postcards,
printed one color (black), two sided, with two cuts will
cost you around $45 - $60.
Total out-of0the-gate expense?
$465
Now here's a question... for $465, how many calls would you expect to get from
an "ad"? Yeah, an ad running just once?
I say maybe one good lead (if your lucky) Remember, I said 1 "qualified"
inquiry, okay?
Now, guess what it costs to hit the same people AGAIN -- just a week to two
weeks later?
Only $160 dollars. (Now, you're making an investment in your list.)
Then, as you enroll new
students and conduct "in-house" events such as buddy-days.. your list begins
to GROW. Then, you keep on hitting your list with messages. (Messages that, by
the way, you couldn't possibly get across with a teensy-weensy ad for a couple
of hundred dollars! Get it?)
Hey, and here's
one more FACT about DM.
I call it "The Sandwich, Cigarette, Oprah Factor"
This means that, unlike when people are checking their mail... when people
read the Pennysaver, the local "Our Town" paper, and/or the newspaper...
chances are they got a SANDWICH in one hand; a CIGARETTE in the other; and
they might even be watching TV, too! (Maybe even Oprah)
Listen: You can't (at least, you don't want to) compete with all the other
stimulus associated with those things!
Heck no!
But when people are in "mail-checking" mode.. it is much, much different.
Especially if you've got a killer ad that hits their hot buttons and grabs
them by the eyeballs!
Please, please, please do us both a favor... TEST a mailing of 6 by 11
postcards. And instead of mailing 1000 people a single message, mail only 333
people a "series" of cards, and do it 3 times. The impact is greater. The
control is greater. And people will stand up and listen to your message.
Then they'll "submit" to you by responding with a phone call.
All the best,
Scott Palangi
