For Postcard Direct Mail:

1. The Bigger The Better: Sure you can save a few pennies by sending out the little postcards like your grandma used to send you when she went on vacation... but why would you want to? Bigger postcards get seen easier and therefore get responded to better. Don't trip on pennies on your way to earning dollars. 6" x 11" is best; 5.5" x 8.5" is acceptable.
   
2. Headline Goes On The Address Side: Sometimes you'll see postcards with big splashy full color backs, and dull, dreary black and white fronts. Don't do that! Postcards always get delivered address side up (duh! Think about it) so you've got to make sure that your most powerful message (visually, headlines, etc.) goes on the address side. Imagine trying to make an impression on somebody by showing them a picture of your foot instead of your face--SAME THING!
    
3. Color Matters: Speaking of color, you've got to make something that captures some attention in that big stack of mail. Black and white just won't cut it. Make sure your colors are bold, vibrant, and reinforce the message you are communicating. For instance, pink wouldn't be a great color for the new bodybuilding gym... but it might be for your day spa. Use color. Use discretion. Use common sense.
   
4. Test Conservatively Before Rolling Out: What if you sent 10,000 postcards and just got 1 tenth of 1 percent to respond? How much money would you make? Before you answer that question, don't go there. Here's a better question: What if you sent out 100 postcards and nobody responded? Would it break your bank? What about 1,000? 10,000? Always start small and grow it from there. If you mess up small, it's easy to recover. If you mess up big, you just lost a lot of money.
   
5. Hit Em' Hard, Hit Em' Often: After testing, consider pounding. Pounding your prospects with postcard after postcard after postcard. They're cheap enough to use in heavy doses if your situation is right. Just make sure that you have a good offer so people can respond and take the next step.

Sales People

1. Duplicate Your Efforts:  Don't waste your time running around chasing down prospects. Times have changed. Don't even bother trying to see twenty prospects face to face every day. Instead, implement a marketing system that consistently educates your target market to the advantages of doing business with you. This allows you to be in more than one place at a time...which is good for business.

2. Make Extensive Use Of Marketing Tools:  Create paper reports, audio CDs, or DVDs that contain your perfect sales pitch. These reports will sell the prospect...because people are seven times more likely to believe what they see, hear and read than what you tell them. Plus, you don't have to worry about how you feel on a given day...just let the stuff sell for you.

3. Make Sure Every Contact Advances The Relationship:  If you call a prospect, make sure you're giving new, useful information... Don't become what I call "the annoying little voice on the other end of the phone..." You know, the one that says, "You ready to buy yet?" and nothing else. Instead have additional, educational information available or additional marketing tools that you can offer to the prospect. If you are selling windows, say to the prospect, "I just read an article in the Morning News about the local power company and their proposal to raise prices by 14%--AGAIN. I'm going to pop a copy in the mail to you... by the way, are you a customer of that power company?" See how that opens the door. Takes more time and effort, but like they say, "they don't hand out large trophies for small efforts!"

4. Show Up Armed With Evidence:  People believe what they see, not what they hear. And that's not necessarily because they think you're lying... its because they know that sales people will stretch the truth to get the sale if necessary. Sales people will highlight the good and ignore the bad. Salespeople will exaggerate capabilities and minimize problems. You may say, "well that's not me," and you very well may be right. But here's the key point: The prospect doesn't know you from Adam, and will assume the worst until you can prove otherwise. To compensate, don't rely solely on verbal pitches; back up everything you say with hard-core evidence presented in black and white (okay, color is fine too).

5. Look The Part: Wondering what the appropriate attire is for that big sales call? Here's a tip: if you're debating between one level of dress/attire and another that is "more formal," always go with the one that's more formal. It can't hurt to look a little BETTER than the prospect expected. A business suit is almost always appropriate unless you're selling hay to farmers, and even then the suit would get you remembered! Polo shirts are acceptable in many situations, but personally, I wouldn't take a chance on "acceptable."  Never forget the axiom that "You never get a second chance to make a first impression."

Sales People

1. Duplicate Your Efforts:  Don't waste your time running around chasing down prospects. Times have changed. Don't even bother trying to see twenty prospects face to face every day. Instead, implement a marketing system that consistently educates your target market to the advantages of doing business with you. This allows you to be in more than one place at a time...which is good for business.

2. Make Extensive Use Of Marketing Tools:  Create paper reports, audio CDs, or DVDs that contain your perfect sales pitch. These reports will sell the prospect...because people are seven times more likely to believe what they see, hear and read than what you tell them. Plus, you don't have to worry about how you feel on a given day...just let the stuff sell for you.

3. Make Sure Every Contact Advances The Relationship:  If you call a prospect, make sure you're giving new, useful information... Don't become what I call "the annoying little voice on the other end of the phone..." You know, the one that says, "You ready to buy yet?" and nothing else. Instead have additional, educational information available or additional marketing tools that you can offer to the prospect. If you are selling windows, say to the prospect, "I just read an article in the Morning News about the local power company and their proposal to raise prices by 14%--AGAIN. I'm going to pop a copy in the mail to you... by the way, are you a customer of that power company?" See how that opens the door. Takes more time and effort, but like they say, "they don't hand out large trophies for small efforts!"

4. Show Up Armed With Evidence:  People believe what they see, not what they hear. And that's not necessarily because they think you're lying... its because they know that sales people will stretch the truth to get the sale if necessary. Sales people will highlight the good and ignore the bad. Salespeople will exaggerate capabilities and minimize problems. You may say, "well that's not me," and you very well may be right. But here's the key point: The prospect doesn't know you from Adam, and will assume the worst until you can prove otherwise. To compensate, don't rely solely on verbal pitches; back up everything you say with hard-core evidence presented in black and white (okay, color is fine too).

5. Look The Part: Wondering what the appropriate attire is for that big sales call? Here's a tip: if you're debating between one level of dress/attire and another that is "more formal," always go with the one that's more formal. It can't hurt to look a little BETTER than the prospect expected. A business suit is almost always appropriate unless you're selling hay to farmers, and even then the suit would get you remembered! Polo shirts are acceptable in many situations, but personally, I wouldn't take a chance on "acceptable."  Never forget the axiom that "You never get a second chance to make a first impression."

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