Regain The Lost Millions

This piece is about millions of pounds that are wasted every year - needlessly.

It all starts with that wonderful word "strategy". There's a lot of hot air about it in marketing.

The word comes from the Greek for general. What does it mean?

Using your forces to achieve an objective as effectively as possible:

In business, that means getting the maximum profit with the minimum necessary effort and cost.

Or in the words of former Coca Cola marketing boss, Sergio Zyman, "Selling more stuff more often to more people at higher prices"

Most marketers spend prodigious time and effort looking for business, whilst ignoring money that's just waiting to be picked up - money we already have within our grasp, but don't realise it, or forget it.

The prime example: enquiries you have received, but don't try to convert with enough determination, intelligence or vigour.

Let me explain - and see if you agree.

Sounds sensible - but is crazy

Compare two communications.

One is a mailing or e-mail to people a marketer thinks might be prospects. "Cold" prospects.

The marketer has put an immense amount of effort into it. It's got every trick in the book, because getting a response from someone you don't know is hard. Makes sense, right?

The other is a reply to someone who's enquired about something. A brochure or other material and a letter thanking the respondent for the enquiry and suggesting they read the brochure and order now.

If it's being done on-line it will be a simple thank you and a suggestion to visit the website

This is a much easier task, as the respondent has already expressed interest. So that makes sense, right?

Wrong, wrong, wrong - a thousand times WRONG!

Because what seems to make sense is in fact senseless.

And that is where the vanishing millions are.

For though it is indeed true that selling cold is harder than selling to warm enquirers, it is even more true that the EASY money is amongst those warm enquiries.

So more effort, not less, should be applied to them. They really deserve every trick in the book. They have raised their hands and said, "I'm here! I'm interested! Come and get me!"

They are infinitely more likely to reply. Just consider: for one of our clients a cold mailing might get .1% response - and that would be a good result. If someone had enquired they might get five times that percentage

In fact I bet there is more money lying around waiting to be picked up because of this than anywhere else in your business. And not just because many take these enquiries for granted as "easy" sales and don't try hard enough.

But also because they don't follow them up enough - which you should do, as one of my favourite clients put it, "until they give in".

Because they will buy when they want to buy - not when it suits you.

To sum up:

If you want more than your fair share of the lost millions -

1. Put more effort into enquiry responses than into cold mailings


2. Follow up until it doesn't pay any more.

So there are two thoughts for you.

Best - and thanks to those who have sent kind messages.

Drayton

P.S.  This is the sixth of Drayton Bird’s 101 free helpful marketing ideas.  You can sign up on the link below for the rest.

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Website: http://www.draytonbird.com / www.eadim.com

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