Proven History of Success

Most of us are bombarded every day with advertisements and commercials that tell us Internet marketing is the newest, hottest way to market and sell products and services. And it’s true that many businesses ARE successful using the Internet.

But the tried and true marketing success story is still direct-mail marketing. Along with telephone marketing, direct mail is the most EFFECTIVE way to establish a one-to-one, personal relationship between you and your prospects/customers.

A direct mail package can be designed to make an INSTANT sale, open a dialogue between you and the reader, or simply inform prospects about your company’s products and/or services. Whatever you are looking for as the outcome of a direct mail effort, one fact remains:

Direct Mail is the PROVEN Way to Reach Customers!

According to a recent study, U.S. consumers who respond to direct marketing reflected a preference for mail by a four to one margin (74 percent for direct mail vs. 18.5 percent for telemarketing.) The study by International Communications Research interviewed 485 consumers by telephone in August 1999 that had ordered goods or services as a direct result of responding to mail, telemarketing or both.

"If businesses want to reach customers and develop a lasting relationship, mail should be the vehicle of choice. Compared to cold calls, consumers like mail better because it is much less intrusive and it gives them a feeling of being in control," said Tim Bates, vice president of marketing, Pitney Bowes Mailing Systems.

THE MAGIC FORMULA
After reading dozens of books on direct-mail marketing and testing letters, brochures and flyers of my own, I have discovered what works. And it starts with "The Formula."

What is The Formula? It’s very simple. A-I-D-A.

A ATTRACT the reader’s attention

I Arouse the reader’s INTEREST

D Stimulate the reader’s DESIRE to take the requested action.

A ASK the reader to take the action requested.

DIRECT MAIL TIPS

1. Use a P.S. in your letters. Research shows startling jumps in response when an offer is mentioned in the P.S.

2. Use short sentences. They are easier to read and understand.

3. Count the number of times the word "you" is used in your letter. Talk about the prospect, not yourself.

4. Be specific. It reassures people that you know what you are talking about and that they will get exactly what you have promised.

PRE-WRITTEN LETTERS
How many times have you thought about sending a direct mail marketing letter to a new prospect or current customer, but didn’t have the time to create the letter? If you are like most professionals, you are too busy making sales to compose letters. But the work has already been done for you. In "Proven $ales Builders" you’ll find letters, forms and proven successful, attention-getting marketing flyers for different sales and marketing opportunities, including:

Seven different introductory letters

Introductory letter worksheets

Four thank you letters

E-mail marketing letter

Follow-up letter after cold call

Letter to bring back the lost customer

Three Annual Agreement letters

Customer Survey Form

Fill-in-the-blanks opening statement examples

Attention-getting opening statements

Step-by-step worksheets

About the Author

Reprint with permission
(Copyright, 2000, Ann Barrs Selling Supplies.com) Reprint permission granted in part or whole when the following credit appears "Reprinted with permission from Ann Barrs Selling Supplies.com Weekly E-Mail Sales Tips. To subscribe free, E-mail to: annbarr@sellingsupplies.com with "subscribe" in the subject line."


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