Would you hire this guy?

The print salesman had called me six times for an appointment. His persistence finally paid off and he arrived at my office yesterday right at 10:00. My first impression was solid – his suit was Armani and his shoes appeared to be Italian. After a firm handshake he pulled a sample portfolio from his leather briefcase, handed it to me with his business card and said, “We’re giving a 20% discount to new print customers until the end of the month. Call me if you need anything.” He shook my hand again and left.

Would you even think of hiring this guy?

No? Then why use a direct mail piece that does exactly those things?

The lost art of the direct mail package.

My daily trip to the mailbox leaves me shaking my head. Where have the good direct mail packages gone? Have companies forgotten how to sell? Have they forgotten why you use direct mail in the first place?

Direct mail has only one objective – response – and response requires good salesmanship. Unlike the character in our story, you’ve got to get my attention, pique my interest, build my desire to own what you’re selling and then close the deal. Look at what you’re mailing and be honest – does your piece accomplish those tasks?

The envelope – to tease or not to tease.

The envelope has only one purpose – to get opened. There is a popular school of thought that says you should disguise your intent by looking as much like “business” mail as possible. That may get your piece opened but it will only take a few seconds before your reader realizes she was duped. Remember what advertising legend, David Ogilvy, said, “The consumer is not a moron, she is your wife.”

Frankly, if you’re too embarrassed to admit that you’re trying to sell your product – maybe you ought to get a new product.

Good envelope teasers start the selling process by getting your attention. The late, great direct mail copy writer, Bill Jayme, sold hundreds of thousands of subscriptions to Psychology Today with a package whose envelope asked:

“Do you close the bathroom door even when you’re the only one at home?”

The letter – the rules of the road to interest.

You don’t have to be a creative genius to write an effective letter – if you know the rules.

Use a headline.

Almost all of your readers will read the headline before deciding if she is interested enough to go on. Keep her attention by reaffirming your teaser copy while giving her a good reason to find out more about your offer and your product.

The offer – make it early and often.

What’s the deal? Don’t hide it – offer it proudly – and then repeat it later.

Sell with subheads.

Very few of your readers will start at the beginning of your letter and read straight through your copy. Research shows that most will scan your subheads before proceeding. Guide your reader through the sales process with them.

Oh, by the way.

Almost 80% of your readers will read the P.S. before they go on to your body copy. Use it to emphasize the value of your offer, add another benefit or offer an upsell.

It’s all about them.

Consumers don’t care about how fast your widget is or what color or how innovative. They only care about what’s in it for them. Sell benefits, benefits and more benefits.

You still can’t beat FREE!

“Buy one, get one FREE!” will out pull “50% off!” every time. If you’ve got a free offer say it as many ways as you can.

You’re a person talking to a person.

Write as if you’re sitting across the table face-to-face with your potential buyer. Convince her to buy.

Make it readable.

It’s pretty simple – she won’t buy if your letter is hard to read. Use serif fonts (not the case when writing for the internet) and avoid reverse type. If your reader is older use a large enough type size.

The letter – I must have that!

It’s emotion that turns a good letter into a great one. That’s how you turn interest into desire. Infuse your letter with one or more of the emotional motivators.

More money.

More sex.

More time.

Exclusivity.

Belonging.

Anger.

Salvation.

Fear.

Even after you push all of the right buttons your reader will remain skeptical. She wants to own your product, but she’s just not sure if you’re telling the whole truth. How do you answer that doubt? Testimonials and guarantees. BUT – if you use a guarantee, make it a real one – not something that requires an asterisk and two-paragraphs of legal mumbo-jumbo at the bottom of the page.

The brochure – time for the facts and figures (and the pretty pictures).

“The letter sells and the brochure tells.” I don’t remember where I first read that, but that adage has been around for years. You’ve almost got your reader sold, but now she needs to know things like speeds, or sizes, or colors – put that in the brochure.

The order form – close the deal!

A sale – this was your original goal. Confirm your offer and make it easy to order. I like to write the order form first and then check back when working on the other components. That prevents me from wandering away from the prime directive – selling the product.

A word about online ordering.

Your package should have an online ordering option – but only if you have a separate landing page for each campaign. The more pages you make your potential buyer click through – the less likely she is to complete the order. Sending her to your home page is the kiss of death. Let her go there after the order is complete.

Other stuff.

If you’re offering a mail order option (and why wouldn’t you?), you’ll need a reply envelope. Postage-paid will generate more orders than customer-applied postage, but may cut into your profits. You’ll have to test it both ways.

The lift note/buck slip typically increases response. Here again – you need to test to see if the additional orders justify the additional cost. If you have several testimonials on file you might want to put one or two in the letter and then create a lift note with four or five more.

NOW you have a top performer!

A poor sales person doesn’t last long – no matter how dapper or charming he might be. It’s only the results that matter. The next time you want to put a “salesman” in the mailbox – put a good one there.

How to kill your brand - and maybe your business

I need a new elecric drill. Yesterday I went to one of America's largest and oldest retailers to try to buy one. I selected the model I wanted and took it to the nearest register. No one was around. I waited. I went to the next nearest register. This one was manned - but - "I'm sorry, I'm closing this register. You'll have to take it to that one over there."

My response, "I was just there and nobody was around."

Her response, "Isn't that terrible?" With that she zipped her cash bag, locked the register and walked away.

I returned to the first register, which was still unmanned. After a few minutes I laid the drill on the counter and left. Today I will buy a drill elsewhere. Every dollar this particular retailer spends on branding will be lost on me. In my mind the brand will always be, "lousy, indifferent service".

So what does this have to do with direct marketing? Everything.

Establishing trust is the single largest challenge you face when you're creating a direct marketing effort. You're asking your reader to act without seeing, sampling or touching whatever it is you sell. She will generally make that leap of faith based on your reputation, your guarantees or your testimonials.

If you are Orvis, Victoria's Secret or Time you have an established reputation. Most of you will build your reputation - your brand - one transaction at a time.

Your sales letter will have a solid offer and will make promises - product quality, delivery turnaround, refund policies - for example. You MUST keep your word. Don't promise anything you can't deliver and deliver everything you promise. In direct marketing, how well you deliver on your promises becomes the most important element of your brand.

You must be prepared and you must be diligent - anyone can slip up. I recently failed to meet a client's expectations. She has made no comment about it, but I know that I fell short and I have to assume that the next time someone else approaches her and offers to manage a direct mail campaign she'll listen a little more intently. So what do you do when you've disappointed a customer? You work harder than ever and exceed expectations. You must OVER deliver.

Repeat business is your lifeblood and my mantra for new direct marketers has always been, "Make the second sale." You can't do that if you foul up the first sale.