3 True Life Stories

Here are the 3 quick true stories I told you about last week. They may give you a bit of insight.

Story #1: Years ago, I was working a booth at a business show, showing off my books and tapes. About 500 people came through that booth over two days. About 400 took catalogs furtively and scurried off hastily, lest I grab them and sell them something. About 99 made small purchases. One guy handed over his credit card and said, “Ship me one of everything you’ve got.” I didn’t know him from Adam’s housecat.

But a few weeks later, I was watching a national TV program, and there he was being interviewed. Seems he was one of the most successful chiropractors in America, retiring from having built 3 $1 million a year practices, one right after the other, and now was head of a consulting firm with 600 clients each paying about $3,000 a month for his advice. That’s $1.8 million a month for those of you short on fingers and toes.

Story #2: Many years ago, a kid (too young to drive) walked a few miles from his house to a riding stable and pestered the owner for a job, and got hired to clean saddles and scrub buckets and mostly do the real grubby stuff nobody else wanted to do after school for $20 a week. The kids used the $20 to buy a used set of Earl Nightingale self-improvement tapes. The kid was Dan Kennedy.

Story #3: A guy at a garage sale found a set of my tapes (at the time) and bought them for $5.00. The fellow selling them told the buyer he guessed they were all right, but they hadn’t done anything for him. In fact, he’d just shut down his business, was selling off all his stuff, and moving to another city to take a job at a relative’s company.

He said, “The free enterprise system just didn’t work for little guys anymore.” He said, “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer and that’s all there is to it. The guy that bought my tapes for $5.00 listened to them, used them, worked with them, and started his own business. When he wrote to me two years later to tell me of making over $200,000 that year in his business, he said, “Funny thing. I was concerned about it at the time, but now I understand – you see, the business I started is exactly the same kind of business that guy I bought your tapes from got out of.”

Now let me finish this long-winded, gas-baggy diatribe with one psychic prediction: some people reading this will say to themselves, “Does Travis think I fell off a turnip truck yesterday? Heck, I can see through this as clear as day. This is just a clever ploy to separate me from my coins the next time he gets around me or mails me some literature. I’m not going to fall for it, no sir. I’m keeping my coins.” Some other folks will get it. It’s all kind of fun to watch.

"Rich people have big libraries, poor people have big TVs."

I recently purchased a brand new, very nice book case for my home office. That’s because the other walls of bookshelves are all full of books, but I want to buy more ‘because I’m always looking’ for the next good idea.

A great speaker I've head several times, Jim Rohn, says he’s never visited a wealthy person’s home that didn’t have a big library, and that ought to tell you something. He didn’t say it, but I sure have visited a lot of poor people’s homes where you couldn’t find a book at all. Of course, it’s easy to invest in education now; I’ve got the money to justify it. But you see, I behaved this way when I was younger and had much less money coming in. That’s why I didn’t stay that way. To once more quote Jim, he says, “Miss a meal if you must, but don’t miss a book.”

So when I’m out speaking, and I start giving a little commercial about my educational materials, these days I kind of smile and chuckle to myself about how very predictable folks are. Many think, “Uh-oh, he’s about to try and sell me something and take my money, so I’ll close my ears or duck out the back and save my coins.

Others think, “Oh, by, he’s about to offer me something I can get to multiply my coins. Bring it on, man, bring it on.”

Then I think, “Terrific – that wonderful self-selecting process, the cutting of the herd. The dumb ones who are just trying to hang on and keep the few coins they’ve got, will go away. The smart ones, who are committed to multiplying their pennies and who I’ll enjoy having a relationship with, they’ll become my customers. Couldn’t work out better if I’d designed human behavior myself.

I'll finish off this 'soap box' moment in a couple days with 3 stories that really illustrate how this works out in the real world.

www.3DMailResults.com

Your Beharior Matters

Last week I left you with a story about shiny Mercedes and old, dusty Chevy's and how their behavior was different I was that was.

Its simply really, because their behavior reflected their attitudes, and their attitudes controlled their lifestyles, as well as their practice’s level of success or lack thereof.

You see, the successful person loves being sold and tries to learn something from that by itself; then he loves to buy, because his experience has been and always is that every time he invests in education, he finds at least one good idea, acts on it, and recoups his investment plus more.

The unsuccessful person hates being sold, buys reluctantly, because his experience has been and is that every time he invests in education, he gets nothing out of it and has fewer coins in his pocket afterwards.

How can two people in the exact same business in the exact same town experience such dramatically different results? Clue: the education being sold and bought is the same, so it’s not the causative factor. Clue: in this picture, there is only one difference.

Very early, when I was starting out doing what I do, I got some very, very good advice from a friend of mine, with considerable experience selling how-to “stuff” to sales managers and sales professionals. He told me, “If you want to make money at this, ignore the people who obviously need your information the most and focus on selling to individuals who are already quite successful but eager to do even better.”

Here’s what I found out: winners live what’s called THE PRINCIPLE OF THE SLIGHT EDGE; they know that teeny adjustments and refinements yield disproportionately big improvements, so they are always hunting for even one idea that can tweak what they’re doing a smidgen to the good. They’re looking hard, every day, for some information to invest in that might give them a slight edge.

Not only don’t they mind being sold, they’re eager to buy. Losers stay losers for three basic reasons:

1. They do not learn from information.
2. They do not act on ideas; so
3. They don’t want more information.

I have a couple more thoughts on this subject, but I'll save those for next time. Until then, keep on marketing!

How To Keep Yourself And Your Hard-Earned Money Safe From Us Smooth-Talkin’ Salesmen, Selling “Success Stuff”

This is not an article about selling carpet cleaning. This is an article about the often unnoticed truth about what separates the winners from the Mediocre Majority in business, in any business, and in life.

I’ve been at “this” a long time; via speaking, giving seminars, and otherwise trying to inform, inspire and ignite people into action on principles, strategies, ideas and behaviors likely to lead to success in business and in life in general. And I long ago stopped trying to figure out why some people alertly and eagerly grab opportunities and ideas while others are asleep at the switch.

But I can tell you a few things I’ve learned about “reading people.” For example, in a seminar setting, the ones who are first up to invest in something designed to help them be more successful are usually the people in the group who need help the least. The ones who sit, arms folded, cynical, mumbling “heard that before” and grumbling about being sold to, are the ones who need help the most.

Over the years I have held several seminars. When I met them before the start of the seminar, I used to ask for their present gross and their goal. Virtually without exception, the first few people to rush back to buy the business-building materials already had the highest grosses in the room – and they took their armload of goodies out to Mercedes, Cadillacs, Lincolns and the like to drive home. The last few to ever-so-slowly wobble back to buy had lower grosses, except for the few who didn’t buy at all – they had the lowest grosses of all, and drove home in old Chevys.

Why was this?? Well, you'll have to wait for my next post in a few days.

www.3dmailresults.com

Life and Limb

Going back to the person who invests life and limb in creating her course on parenting. If she’s given any thought to parenting at all, she has statistics. She’ll say, “There are x-# parents of kids between a and b.”

Great. Unfortunately, an overwhelmingly majority of those parents don’t give a rat’s behind about being better parents. Some think they know it all. Some think their kids are screwed up, but they’re okay. Most don’t think at all. Some are dead broke. Some are functionally illiterate. And I could go on.
Somewhere in all that, there is a miniscule percentage who are literate, open-minded, concerned, self-improvement oriented, and have already demonstrated their willingness to invest time and money in being better parents. But if you have to wade through all the muck to find them, you will run out of gas long before you get there.

“But there are millions who NEED my product.” Terrific. Want to get me excited? Show me how many have previously, preferably repetitively, demonstrated their ability and willingness to invest in their desire for products or services like yours. Then, show me that we can find them and reach them. Now, we got something. Now I can help you.

A Buyer is a buyer is a buyer...

Before investing a year of your life putting together a whiz-bang course on parenting, how about finding out whether anybody has ever sold an audio-course, a video, a newsletter or a seminar on parenting to parents - other than in bookstores, and if so, who, how many, at what price, and how.

Now, what do these buyers “look like”? What are they willing to spend? How can they be reached? Let me tell you something about blazing an entire new trail; you get eaten up by the lions, fall off a cliff, or killed by Inguns.

Here’s yet another powerful marketing lesson:

“A BUYER IS A BUYER IS A
BUYER, BUT SOMEONE WHO
WON’T BUY, WON’T BUY.”

If you want to sell your “soap”, find an economically sensible way to reach other people who have bought different kinds repetitively.

OK, YOU’VE IGNORED ALL THE ADVICE AND BUILT SOME DARNED PRODUCT YOU’RE IN LOVE WITH, MARRIED TO AND IN DEBT WITH. NOW WHAT?

You’ve just got to find buyers. When you find one, you’ve got to learn as much as possible about that creature, so you can try and find more like them.

The buyer of a Mercedes is every different than the buyer of a Chevy. This industry idiotically talks to everybody about their products. But if you’re starting from scratch, with little resources, you’d better not do THAT. If you’ve got a “Mercedes”, you’d better find out exactly who will buy it.

Then find out where people just like him are. Do they all live in one place? Do they all read one magazine? Do they all go to a particular restaurant? Do they all shop at the same mall? You see, you can ONLY afford to communicate with these people who are precisely matched to and already proven likely to buy a Mercedes.

www.3dmailresults.com

Who's Your Who

You cannot imagine how many people arrive with their “soap” and no money left to promote it. “But I spent all my money making it,” they cry, “I thought somebody else would jump at the chance to put up all the money to sell it.” Please let me dis-abuse that idea.

If I wanted to sell “soap”, I wouldn’t invest my money in selling your “soap” and make you rich; I’d hire some “soap-maker” for a pittance to make “soap” for me. If I wanted to sell a course on parenting, I’d run a little ad in Writer’s Digest, Psychology Today, the National Writers Club newsletter, etc., have my choice of a zillion experts and writers, and pay one a few thousand bucks, at the most, and maybe a teeny royalty to create that course just for me. And that applies to anything and everything.

“Hey, that means he’ll steal my idea.” Nuts to you. That’s not the point. The point is that I don’t need to steal your idea for “soap”; I’ve already heard it 100 times before you got here.

The person who DOES get his “soap” promoted in a big way brings marketing assets to the table with the soap. The skin care product maker shows up with Victoria Principal in her pocket. The author with the course on parenting comes in with a nationally syndicated radio show, a contact at Sally Jesse Rapheal. The guy with the golfing thingamajig has access to a list of 135,000 golf newsletter subscribers, etc.

At the very least, the smart entrepreneur does research and builds a case for the successful marketing of “soap” BEFORE making “soap”.

Any Fool can Make Soap

earlier in the week I left you with this quote:

“ANY FOOL CAN MAKE SOAP. IT TAKES A CLEVER MAN TO SELL IT.”

It’s so hard to accept. The lady psychologist sends me the audio program she’s lovingly, painstakingly put together about successful parenting, and she does not want to think of that as “soap”.

She believes, maybe rightly so, that it is different and better than any book, tape, and anything else that has ever been put together about parenting. But there are two things she doesn’t want to get: one, I’ve got 11 other products just like hers piled up in a corner in my office, from 11 other people who believe just as passionately that their’s is the only/best doohickey on parenting ever invented. And over in Palm Desert, Cindi Anderson at Guthy-Renker has nine more. And down in Key West, in Gary Halbert’s office, there are 14 others. And on and on and on. Darn it, it is “soap”.

Second and more importantly, even if it is the best, most innovative, most technologically advanced, best researched, most incredible, etc. none of that matters if no one will buy the damned thing.

They will only appreciate all that if and after they buy it. And the truth is any psychologist, many other authors, coaches, teachers, ministers and parents can “make” this particular “soap”. It takes a clever person to sell it.

Now, the next tough idea to accept: the time to think about who it will be sold to and how it will be sold to them is BEFORE you build it, not afterward. We'll discuss that next week.

How To Make A Great Deal Of Money With As Little Pain As Possible

Now I will wax philosophic about absolutely essential business knowledge:

The biggest, single misunderstanding people have about business success is that the “wrong path” is so remarkably easy to wander down.

As you know, I talk to a huge number of entrepreneurs and daily, they’re most eager to regale me with every nitty-bitty detail of their incredible product or product idea. Sometimes I listen patiently.

And I groan inwardly as I listen to these people so into their particular product, so enthused with their product, so convinced that it’s one of a kind, so profoundly committed to its unique ability to stand out in the marketplace.

Because all of that is incidental to the issues we should be talking about. Like: Who was it built for? What evidence is there that they will spend money for it? What media and marketing method lends itself to the situation? Because:

An associate called me at 9 p.m. the other night, understandably excited by the succint way to explain this to people which he had just found in an old advertising book he had bought in an antique store. The quote said:

“ANY FOOL CAN MAKE SOAP. IT TAKES A CLEVER MAN TO SELL IT.”

There is the wisdom of the ages. There is a million dollar quote. We'll contine a little later this week on this same subject. In the mean time, really think about 'who's your who.' Until then.

www.3dmailresults.com

The Power of Mastery

I am about to tell you how to add $25,000.00, $50,000.00, maybe $100,00.00 a year to your yearly income - without spending even a penny more on advertising or marketing.
But first a little background. Years ago, Michael was one of about 100 folks who attended a seminar. He participated as an expert panelist, of course, but also as a ‘student’ - proving that “school is never out for the pro.”

Anyway, one of the featured guest speakers was Michael Vance, who worked side-by-side with Walt Disney for a number of years. It reminded me of a great quote that Walt used for marketing and customer service. Walt said:

“Do what you do so well that people can’t resist telling others about you.”

This is so important to our company that we had the quoted penned on 6 walls throughout the office. You can see the quote at least once from every place in the office.

In every field, there are “masters”. People just so darned good at what they do that people are compelled to tell others about them. Mike Vance is that kind of speaker, and there are darned few in that category. Actors like Paul Newman, Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro. There are a couple chiropractors I know who put on such a great “report of findings” (their equivalent of the Printing Audit) that they enjoy 100% conversions and can easily sell large dollar “pre-pays.”

So, here’s a very simple, very practical question to ponder before the next post: after you finish a client’s first job, do they - without any prodding from you - rush to the phone, call an associate, and tell them about the amazing print job they just had done? Are the first words out of their mouth to the next person they see about you? Is your presentation that good?

The Hyper-Responsive List

Last week I left you off with how you can create your own hyper-responsive list with prospects drooling over what you've got to offer. This may seem too simply, but its drastically over-looked and under used by almost all marketers.

ITS YOUR OWN IN-HOUSE LIST!

Yes, that's right. Almost everybody misses the boat when using your own list. People who have previously raised their hands, ID'ed themselves as wanting what you sell, and even parting with their hard-earned dollars at some point.

I want to encourage you to use your own customer list, more often and more effectively. Most business people “miss the boat” by failing to maintain frequent contact with their customers. For one thing, it’s important to remember that someone who has purchased from you once, and been satisfied, is then predisposed to purchase from you again.

Second, you do have competition to be concerned about, so there is a need to stay on the top of your customer’s consciousness - after all, out of sight; out of mind. Third, frequently communicating with customers is an appreciated form of “extra mile service.”

Here are a few ideas for communicating with customers:

For Almost Any Business:

• A News-And-Idea Letter
• Seasonal Greetings
• Thank You Letters

For Retailers:

• New Product Letters
• Preferred Customer Sale Fliers

For Service Professionals:

• Reminder Notices of Service Dates
• Informative Booklets/Reports

The grand Pooh-Bah of staying in touch for any business is a monthly newsletter. I know, I know, you don't have time for it. Well, you either need to make time, or find someone that will do it for you.

I use Jim Palmer out of Philadelphia for a couple of my newsletters. For information on Done-For-You Newsletter program follow this link.

It’s been my experience that most businesses’ repeat sales can be doubled simply by making additional, more frequent contact and offers to established customers!

www.3DMailResults.com

Find the Right List: A Real World Example

Alright, I left you hanging on the last post. I told you I would have a real world example waiting for you when I got back. So with any further ado, here it is.

You might discover that the majority of your customers live within an x-mile radius of your business. Or, you might discover that the majority of your customers drive late-model compact cars...have Mastercards and Visa cards...subscribe to a certain magazine...are between the ages of 25 and 40...are married.

Armed with this information, you can obtain a mailing list, or compile a mailing list, of prospects who closely match the characteristics shared by the majority of your customers.

You might, for example, get a mailing list of all the subscribers to FAMILY CIRCLE MAGAZINE, who are between the ages of 25 and 40 and who live within a 50-mile radius of your business. Is such a list available? You bet!

You might get another list of Mastercard and Visa cardholders, who are married and live within a 50-mile radius of your business. This is generally called LIST SELECTION and many direct mail experts believe it to be the single, most important factor in success or failure with a direct marketing campaign.

I happen to agree, and firmly believe that money spent in obtaining the best possible list is more than recovered via savings on printing quantities (in direct mail) and via improved response.

If you are unfamiliar with the availability of mailing lists and with list selection, you should begin your education with a visit to the main public library in your area, to study a huge directory: Standard Rate And Data Service (SRDS).

This directory provides detailed information on tens of thousands of available mailing lists and list suppliers. In your local Yellow Pages, you’ll also find list brokers under the category “Mailing List.” You should meet with several of these people before choosing to do business with one of them. You may also want to deal with national list brokers. There are a number of long-established, reputable list brokers and many of them publish catalogs of the lists they own and/or represent.

As we discussed, getting the proper list should be your #1 priority when starting a new direct mail campaign. You’re in-house list should be your most profitable one.

But what if you’re ready to move to cold prospects? How should you start? I’ve teamed up with a list company to make that quick and easy for you. Just give me a call at 888-250-1834 and we'll find the right list for you!

Next week I've got a great discussion on how you can create your own hyper-responsive list with prospects drooling over what you've got to offer.

Successful Marketing Strategies For Any Business

Genius is sometimes defined as the ability to make the complex simple. Certainly, “marketing” is a complex subject; so complex it’s very difficult for many business people to ever get a handle on it. Its complexity is intimidating. After years in “marketing”, I’ve finally found a definition of “marketing” that reflects the genius of simplicity. Marketing is simply making the right presentation of the right message to the right people.

With that simple definition as a guide, just about every businessperson can clearly see his past errors, and do a more effective job of marketing in the future.

Let’s talk about the right people first. Many salespeople and business owners have dramatically unsuccessful experiences with direct-mail and with telemarketing for this simple reason: they’re mailing to or calling the wrong people! Who are the right people? Prospects who most closely match the demographics of your good, established customers and/or your desirable customers. “Demographics” refers to statistical, lifestyle and preference information about people.

The best way to explain it is through example, that you'll have to wait for later in the week, until then.

www.3DMailResults.com

Change how you Think of Testing

Let me switch gears and talk briefly about another aspect of “testing”. This is actually how all highly successful entrepreneurs view everything they do...as testing. They do NOT see things in the context of “success” or “failure” like ordinary people do, and as a result they do not become “de-motivated” like most people do. See, most people drain all the vitality, courage, optimism and git-up-n-go out of themselves by focusing on all the things they do that don’t work out well, as a compilation of failures.

But successful people understand the powerful impact of that negative reinforcement on their own self-image (somewhat akin to the impact of pouring a gallon of toxic waste into a pint of clear water, drinking the result, and wondering why the stomach backs up into the esophagus).

Instead, they carefully organize the things they do into a series or sequence of experiments, testing options, and focusing on the ones they find that work. And they fully expect to go through any number of experiments that don’t pan out before walking away from the lab with a winner.

This not only has practical relevance, it has profound psychological ramifications. Just like a little tweak in thinking can make a big difference in the results of say, an ad or a flyer, a little tweak in thinking can make a giant difference in the life results experienced by an individual.

Edison said it perfectly when he was asked about his failings in creating the light bulb, "I did not fail a thousand times, I just found a thousand ways not to build a light bulb.”

Testing Your Mails Hot Buttons

If I’m trying to beat a control, here are the “hot” variables I’ll look at closely, to see if there’s room for improvement:

1. The offer
2. The guarantee(s)
3. The urgency of response
4. The big idea or big promise
5. The overcoming of skepticism ie. credibility and believability
6. The style or tone of the writing itself
7. The look of the piece

By the way, little, very testable things DO sometimes make very big differences. Recently I saw an example in a marketing newsletter of a guy who just added four rubber-stamped words to the outside of his envelope, and beat his control by 300%.

I've also seen a TV infomercial come back from the dead by raising the price of the product. Gary Halbert saved the Pearl Cream advertising by adding a particular bonus. A dentist in Sacramento changed five words on his Val-Pak coupon and went from getting two or three new patients a month to 15 to 20. This is the sort of thing that makes direct-response advertising as frustrating as golf.

Obviously, you can’t test if you can’t, won’t or don’t collect accurate data. You have to code every offer, and track where every ounce of business comes from. If you have employees who are lax about this, you must educate them about the importance, discipline them if they goof it up, and ultimately can’em if they won’t do it right 100% of the time.

I confess that I fly by the seat of my pants in my business more than I should, but I can’t fire me, God knows there are days I should. Anyway, I can assure you: the clients I have with the best profits and incomes possess the best information about where their business comes from.

Next week I've got a doozie of a post. It will change the way you think about direct mail forever. I'll see you next time.

www.3DMailResults.com

Test to Grow Rich - Part 2

Last week we introduced the idea of testing your sales letters. We'll pick up that conversation with the 3 ways you can and should test your sales letters for maximum profits.

First, there’s non-testing testing - huh? Well, in Dan Kennedy’s book ‘The Ultimate Sales Letter,’ he talks about the steps to take with a finished sales letter before you actually mail it. (Get Dan's book here)

Second, there’s split testing, which is the fastest way to test and get to a reasonable conclusion. Let’s assume you have a postcard and you want to leave everything the same but test four different headlines, and you have 4,000 similar addresses to mail to. You do “nth name testing”; that means Headline #A goes to every 4th name, Headline #B to every 5th name, Headline #C to every 5th name, etc. So you evenly divide the list without bias among the headlines being tested. Some media (like Val-Pak or MoneyMailer) will let you split test within a single buy.

Third, there’s testing against a control. A “control” is a marketing strategy that already works well and you’re using it on a continuing basis - maybe it’s a series of letters you mail every month. You have been using it long enough you know what it produces. You have a “known” to measure against. Now you can start trying to improve that control, ideally one step or variable at a time.

Next post I'll cover the 'hot buttons' you should investigate before you try and 'beat your control.' Until then.

www.3dmailresults.com

Test And Grow Rich

I'm going to start a topic now for about 2 weeks that is CRITICAL to any successful marketing campaign, but is of utmost importance when it comes to 3D mail.

“Testing” is an ugly topic. Why? Because testing variables in advertising direct mail, phone scripts and sales presentations requires discipline, diligence and patience. To get it right, you can only test one variable at a time. This means that if you change a headline, you can’t change anything else. Plus you have to make sure all other variables remain the same, like the mailing day or a war breaking out that has everybody watching CNN day and night or the current economic crisis, or a hurricane hitting, or a... you get the idea.

Frankly, most business people will just not go through the “detailitis” required to test - which is why it’s a very good idea to model proven promotions. And in some cases where you’re only going to use something once or twice or you’re dealing with a very small number, it’s just not worth testing; instead, you take your best shot. But let’s assume you’re working on something you intend to use over and over and over again in some significant quantity, so that it’s worth real effort to fine-tune it.

Later in the week I'll discuss the different ways you can test your next 3D mailing. Until then.

www.3DMailResults.com

The Secret Of Getting Referrals

There has never been any argument in advertising circles that the most effective business advertising is word-of-mouth advertising.

That’s why direct selling is so dramatically successful as a method of marketing every imaginable product and service, and why direct selling is such a great business in which to be. As a direct salesperson conversationally telling another person why you like a particular product, you are much more convincing advertisement than any TV commercial or magazine ad.

The tremendous persuasiveness of your personal endorsement of a product is what word-of-mouth advertising is all about. Much to the chagrin of professional ad agencies, such word-of-mouth advertising cannot be purchased. But you, as a direct salesperson, can put this special type of advertising power to work for your business.

Because you are fortunate to be on friendly, personal terms with your customers, you can enlist their aid in promoting your services. You can actually turn your present customers into a personal advertising department. All you need to do is master the right way to ask for their help.

Develop Personal Relations

If you learn how to properly ask for their help, your customers will enthusiastically go to work advertising your business. This will help promote your services, lead you to scores of new services, and give you all the valuable benefits of word-of-mouth advertising. There are two types:

1. The customer actually becomes an advertising agent and tells others about you and the service you provide.
2. The customer gives you referrals to people who may be good prospects and allows you to use their name as an endorsement.

Either type can be extremely valuable in multiplying your customer list.

Avoid Pressure

The most important thing to remember is that this kind of help cannot be bought from your customers. It must never seem like you are offering a bribe in exchange for a list of names. As a rule, people will not “sell” their friends to you. Offering an “inducement” also might raise doubts about the quality of your services. If they are as good as you say they are, why should you bribe people for their recommendations?

Remember two very important things about human nature: first, people usually enjoy telling others about products they try and like. Second, people like to be appreciated. One way they get appreciated is by being helpful to others.
In short, offer an incentive for help without appearing to be paying for it.

Show Appreciation

In this way, you’re thanking the person, not bribing them. They’ll be pleased, won’t feel guilty, and will be more willing the next time you ask.

The next time you call on that customer you should remember to again thank them for their help. Report to them on the reactions of the prospects they suggested. Let the person you know you did call on them, that Mrs. Jones did become a customer and purchased such and such, and that Mrs. Walters was interested but wished to purchase at a later date.
In many cases, after reporting these results, you can obtain a couple of additional prospects from them.

Prospects are the lifeblood of your business. Your greatest asset in direct sales is your inventory of prospective new customers. And there is no better way to maintain that inventory, converting prospects to customers, than by using the power of word-of-mouth advertising ...with recommendations from your present, satisfied customers. Put this power to work now and watch your profits and your list of customers multiply.

We Interrupt this Broadcast

Send Us Your Mail and I’ll Send You on a Cruise!

Yes, you really did read that headline right. If you send me you’re 3D direct mail pieces I’ll send you on a cruise. Let me explain.

I’m always on the look-out for new, creative and clutter busting 3D mail. Most marketers are cheap or lazy, and most of the time both. So I get very little good direct mail in my mailbox each day.

Here’s where you come in and how you could win a cruise to either Mexico or the Bahamas. I want to see your new, creative and, most importantly, UNBORING direct mail.

When you send me your 3D Mail I’ll do two things. First, I’ll send you a written critique of the letter. A complete, written critique of what you did well, what needs improvement and what you should add.

Second, for each 3D Mailing you send me, I’ll enter you into our drawing for a 3-Day cruise to either Mexico (leaving from Los Angeles) or the Bahamas (leaving from Miami), plus $250 towards your airfare to and from the port city. If you send me one mailing, you'll get one entry. Two mailings will get you two entries, etc.

The drawing will take place in May 1, 2009. So be sure I receive your 3D mail before then.

Here’s all you’ve got to do. Just add the address below to your seed list and do your 3D mailing. About a month later I’ll send you my personal critique, plus confirmation of your entry into our drawing. It’s that easy. Simply add my name and my address that’s listed in the return address portion of this newsletter.

Travis Lee
3D Mail Results
6205 S. 231st St.
Kent, WA 98032

I can't wait to see all the great 3D mailing I get!

How To Increase The 3 R’s Of Good Salesmanship

Last week I started a discussion on increasing the 3 R's of sales; Retention, Referrals and repeat sales. I'm going to wrap it up below, plus 4 ways to implement them into your markeitng campaigns.

You cannot match all this competition blow for blow, dollar for dollar. The secret is to do things to stay on top of your customers’ consciousness. Being remembered and well-thought of is half the battle!

You’ve probably heard this adage: out of sight, out of mind. If you’re out of the customer’s mind at the moment he needs something you sell or at the moment a competing salesperson contacts him, you’ll lose out on repeat business from that customer.

Another old adage also applies. It is: what you take for granted, you lose. If your customer feels ignored or neglected and thinks your only interest is the dollars your earn from his orders, you’re likely to lose him to someone else.

Your objective, then, is to mount a planned campaign to let the customer know that you care about him, value the relationship and are eager to be of service.

Here are a few ideas for your campaign:
1. Organize your customers on a mailing list. Send mailings to those on the list at least six times a year. This contact program might include a Christmas card, mailings about new products and services, news about special offers and thank you notes for orders you have gotten. You can use letters, flyers, and postcards. The important thing is that the customer is periodically reminded that you are ready to be of service, and that you are eager to keep him posted on special opportunities.

2. In most businesses, you’ll sell more and increase your value to the customer by teaching proper, most effective usage of what you sell. Some salespeople collect new product use ideas and tips from their customers, put them together in tip-sheets and occasionally mail these out to all their customers. This kind of information can even form the basis for a newsletter that can be sent to customers several times a year.

3. Advertising specialties such as pens, calendars, scratch pads and items useful to your customers, imprinted with your name and identification information, frequently remind your customers to do business with you. Choose items appropriate for your customers and your business. Visual reminders are a good investment.

4. Develop special opportunities to contact clients. One salesman, for example, keeps a ticker file of his clients and their wedding anniversary dates. He calls each one a week a ahead of time to remind them of their anniversary. Special strategies like this can create tremendous goodwill and loyalty.

The salesperson who survives on the basis of one sale at a time is constantly in search of the next new customer. He cheats himself with his shortsightedness. Because of his lack of planning, he is constantly under pressure and stress.

Choose, instead, to build a reliable customer base that will provide you with repeat business and referrals. Like other professionals, your success depends on the relationships you establish and the reputation you build for yourself. If you do your job properly, you can build a business that will be rewarding...one that will provide a secure financial future for you and your family.

www.3dmailresults.com

How To Increase The 3 R’s Of Good Salesmanship

We're going to touch on the 3 R's of salesmanship here: Retention, referrals and repeat sales. Below is the start of my discussion. I'll pick it up early next week so be sure to come back and check it out.

Getting a new customer is a very small part of selling. One-shot sales, however, don’t help you to build a predictable, secure and growing business. It takes more than glib talk, a big smile, shined shoes and a few glowing promises to build customer loyalty and repeat business.

The key to a consistent income in selling is the development of clientele. The salesperson who carefully develops positive relationships with his customers builds a strong foundation for his future. When enough customers are firmly established, you can expect repeat business and an assured income that provides a firm foundation for your livelihood. That’s what professionals call a “customer base”.

The salesperson can go back to these customers with new products or services with the knowledge that they will get a favorable reception. It’s also likely that the positive attitudes that have been established will make it easier to get referrals.

The building of relationships with customers is the key to keeping them, getting repeat business from them, and acquiring referrals. It can be the difference between worrying about your next meal and having a reliable income base.

Why don’t salespeople make it a priority to build strong relationships with their clients? One reason is simple laziness. It takes time and effort. Consequently, many salespeople ignore this part of their job.

Another reason is competition. This competition takes many forms. It’s not only other salespeople selling similar products. It’s an enormous amount of competition from innumerable sources for your customer’s interest, attention and dollars.

www.3dmailresults.com

Using your list for maximum success

The past couple posts we've talked about the ways to go about getting a list for your business. Below are two things you MUST consider when purchasing lists for a list broker.

Compiled vs Respondent

A Compiled List is, for example, New residents, or Auto License Registrants, or Yellow Pages Advertisers. A plethora of these types of lists, all compiled from public information, is available. We sometimes use Yellow Pages Advertisers lists, for example, in marketing our products and seminars.

Usually, Respondent Lists are more valuable. These type of lists include subscribers, clients, buyers or inquirers. For example, if you have a computer supply store, you might be able to use lists of subscribers to computer-related magazines, people who’ve bought computers by mail from a catalog company, or people who’ve responded to Apple’s advertising, to get a free video tape about computers.

Choose Prospects That Match Your Clients

Generally speaking, if you can define who you want to reach, by their age, sex, income, magazines they read, credit cards they carry, other products they’ve bought, etc., you can get a list of people that match that description. These characteristics are called “Demographics”. You may have heard me refer to “Geo-Demographic Selection” in other articles. That means a geographic area, by city, state, zip code, matched with certain demographic criteria.

I'll finish up my post of lists later in the week. Stayed tuned. Also, if you need a list for your business, just let me know. We're an authorized reseller of commercially available lists. We can find virtually any list you need. Just email me at travis@3dmailresults.com or give me a call at 888-250-1834.

www.3DMailResults.com

Choosing a Commercially Available List

We're going to pick up our discussion on lists today. Here's a short discussion on commercially available lists and how to select them.

First, understand you will be RENTING these lists for one-time use. The list owners will often want to see and approve the material you will be mailing. And the lists will be “seeded” with false names and addresses that deliver your mail to the list owners, so they can police the use of their lists.

Second, you’ll probably wind up working with a List Broker, hopefully located in your own city, but not necessarily. A good List Broker can be of great help to you and is paid by the list owners, not by you. You’ll find the List Brokers in your own area in your Yellow Pages, under MAILING LISTS and LIST BROKERS or similar categories.

Brokers are, unfortunately, reluctant to work with very small mailers, so you may have to talk with a number of them before finding one you can work with.

You can also deal with Brokers or Lists Managers/Owners anywhere in the country, by phone and FAX. You are NOT limited to Brokers who reside in your town.

Third, you will need to educate yourself about available lists, in order to clarify your ideas about what you want BEFORE meeting with or talking with List Brokers. You can start at your nearest major city, main public library, where you’ll find a current or one-year-old copy of a huge directory called “SRDS”, for ‘Standard Rate And Data Service’. While at the library, you should also read some back issues of trade magazines like Direct Marketing, DM News, and Target and Zip. In a couple of hours, you can become conversant in the terminology, the language of the list business, so you can ask smart questions and deal with List Brokers.
If you are a real “novice” in this area, I suggest getting a copy of the book: A SMALL BUSINESS GUIDE TO DIRECT MAIL by Lin Grensing, published by Self-Counsel Press, available in bookstores.

Next post I'll dive deeper into the questions you need to ask and the pit-falls you need to avoid. See you next week!

www.3DmailResults.com

The truth with mailing lists

We're going to talk about lists here for a while. Lists are absolutely essential for a 3D mail campaign. The best copy in the world sent to the wrong list will not get the ROI you expect. Even with 3D mail, having a highly targeted list is essential to direct mail success.

A recent study (by Pitney-Bowes) revealed that 60 percent of small business owners do not use direct mail; but, of the 40 percent who do, 90 percent say it is the most productive means of marketing they employ. This shows you how using direct mail effectively gives you an instant, significant advantage over all your competitors. The much-maligned USPS, deserving of much of its criticism, is still a bargain as a marketing force.

LISTS are an integral part of direct mail use. In fact, even pro copywriters like myself will admit the list accounts for more than half the success (or failure) of each campaign or project. This means that list selection is one of the most important things you can do. It deserves whatever time and attention is needed to get the job done right.

Most people fail at list selection and acquisition simply because they do not understand the basics and do not do their homework. This article provides a crash-course in the vocabulary of the list business and process of renting and using lists.

Mailing Lists Basics

The mailing list is the most important part of a direct-mail program. Basically, there are three ways to get a list:

1. Your own client and prospect lists. Yes, you SHOULD compile a mailing list of your own clients. The business owner with a list of all his past and active clients has a very important, valuable asset.

2. Build a list through lead-generation advertising. For example, let’s say you own a pet store. You might run a classified ad, continually, in certain sections of your newspaper that reads something like this:

BEFORE YOU BUY A PET, GET THE FREE REPORT: “21 MONEYSAVING TIPS FOR NEW PET OWNERS” CALL 000-0000 OR WRITE: BOX 2, XYZ CITY, 00000

Everyone who responds goes on a mailing list of key, qualified prospects for your pet store.

Next pot I'll discuss how to rent commercially available lists and the questions you must ask to avoid any mistakes. Until then, keep on marketing!

www.3DMailResults.com

Help! – I Can’t Get Out Of The Box I Put Myself In!

Here's a great article I just read by Dan Kennedy. He's given me permission to reprint it here. I hope you enjoy it.

The fast food industry got the idea for drive-in windows from banks. I guess there was a McDonalds executive sitting at the bank drive-through one day who thought, “I don’t think we can fit the milk¬shakes in these tubes, but...” Netjets, the leader in fractional jet ownership, now owned by Warren Buffet, owes its birth to the vacation time-share industry. The microwave in your kitchen was not originally intended to go there; its original manufacturer, Litton, believed no consumer would buy it and built them only for restaurants. When was the last time you heard of Litton?

What does this tell you? That successful businesses live or die by cross-industry ‘borrowing’ of ideas, that inspiration more often comes from outside the box than from within. Ordinary businesses stay ordinary, their owners eking out only ordinary incomes – and working too hard for them – as long as those owners foolishly and stubbornly, mentally stay in their own tiny backyard. Breakthroughs come from bringing fresh ideas found outside one’s own business in and applying them in new ways. You choose to limit or expand your income by the way you reject or embrace ideas found far afield from your present modus operandi and industry norms.

The vast majority of ordinary businesspeople with ordi¬nary incomes and never-ending ordinary complaints about how hard they work but how little they gain, about being unable to compete with the bigger and cheaper... have this in common: they get their hands on powerful information like that in this very publication and waste their time and energy in the non-creative activity of finding all the ways it can’t and doesn’t apply to them. Some people have such teeny, tiny, calcified, crippled imaginations they can only appreciate an example precisely matched to them – oh, that won’t work for me because her place sells pizza and I sell Chinese food, and hers is in a medium sized city and I’m in a small town, and it rains a lot where she is but it’s sunny here; you have to show me an example from a Chinese restaurant in a small town where it’s hot and dry. Fools stay stuck in the very limiting “But My Business Is Different” box, thereby negating the value of 99% of every successful strategy, example, model they see or are presented with.

My client list is, fortunately, chock full of people who think in very opposite ways. They get rich by finding the non-obvious opportunities. Living creatively. Adapting tried-and-true winning strategies from somewhere else to where they are.

They attack each issue of my newsletter, each book I suggest to them, with yellow hi-liter and bias for action, not closed mind. They are willing, even eager to “re-imagine” their businesses while others have Bilbo Baggins’ (The Hobbit) attitude: not interested in adventures – they make you late for dinner. Space here does not permit telling you such client stories, but I’d invite you to get a peek, viewing the half-hour TV show at http://in12months.com, free of charge.

One of the most successful marketing strategies of all time is called ‘gift with appointment.’ Today, it brings new patients into dentists’ offices, affluent investors to financial advisors’ seminars, new home buyers to developments and resort communities, and is in play in hundreds of fields, helping to create millions of sales appointments every week.

To the best of my knowledge, it came from a woman named Estee Lauder. I wonder how many people from how many different fields ignored it for how long, because: “Nothing having to do with selling lipsticks and perfumes could possibly apply to MY business. MY business is different.”

WE HAVE ARRANGED A SPECIAL FREE GIFT FROM DAN FOR YOU including a 2-Month Free Membership in Glazer-Kennedy Insider’s Circle, newsletters, audio CD’s and more: for information and to register, visit: www.DanKennedy.com

Marketing Lessons Learned from Kona

Since this is the first time installment of this monthly article, I’ll explain this section of the blog this month. Next month, we’ll really dive into our Marketing Lesson from Kona.

As most of you know, my wife (Jen) and I got a new Gold Retriever puppy in June. Each month I host a monthly Marketing Power Lunch, and starting in June I showed pictures to start off the meeting. (Hey, I don’t have kids to brag about yet, so I’ve gotta show you someting!).

In August, I figured they were probably sick of just seeing picture of Kona. But I still had to do my bragging for the month. So I decided I could get away with showing Kona’s latest picture if I tied it into direct response marketing.

It was a smash hit! So, stay tuned and starting next week you’ll get a real marketing lesson that my 6 month old puppy has taught me. Until then, you’ll just have to be happy with the picture this month!

www.3DMailResults.com

It is the fourth quarter - are you ready to end the year strong?

OK everyone, summer is over, Labor Day has passed, and the fourth quarter is now here. The question is, are you where you wanted to be at this point when you were planning 2007? Are you ready to finish strong or will it be a sprint just to stay even with last year? I don't know about you, but for me this year has absolutely flown by and there is still so much that I want to accomplish.

I often get questions from 3d mail clients and others about about information marketing. Many of you who are readers and followers of Dan Kennedy and Bill Glazer know what the term means and have read many stories about people who have created enormous piles of money by selling what they know. The actual products or the methods of distributing information include CDs, books (printed and e-books), special reports, coaching groups and more. The opportunity to make money is limited usually only by your imagination!

There are some good books and CDs that you can read to learn more about information marketing, but if you listen to me on anything this year, hear me on this - you need to attend the GKIC Info-SUMMIT. In addition to the great speakers that Dan and Bill have lined up, the bigger and more important reason (in my opinion) to attend is that you will get a chance to rub elbows with and talk to other people who are in the business, at all levels. I attend many seminars and events and I always come home brimming, not only with enthusiasm but also with ideas and concrete ways that I can take immediate action.

I read a couple of good books that I want to recommend. The first one is Online Marketing Success Stories by Rene V. Richards and the second one is The E-Code by Joe Vitale and Jo Han Mok. Online Marketing Success Stories is not only a collection of stories from experts who are already making millions using the Internet, but also has some great advice and suggestions. The other book, The E-Code, is another compilation (see a pattern?) that includes 43 ways to make money online, as told by 33 Internet superstars. They are both quick reads and I encourage you to a have a note pad and highlighter handy when you read them.

I know I ventured off the 3D mail trail here a bit, but that's ok. I recently wrote this article for my newsletter, and I just it was so good I'd share it with you, too.

www.3DMailResults.com

3D Mail Making the Internet Rounds

I just came across a great topic at a internet forum I frequent, Michel Fortin's Copywriter's Board. This is a great website that I visit often and it has some great discussions on copywriting and direct response marketing in general.

There's a thread going on right now on 3D mail. See it right here. Of course, being the The 3D Mail expert I had to weigh in my thoughts. The question was raised, "At what point do you send the 3D mail item in your mailing sequence? The beginning? The end? Somewhere in between? You'll have to click over to the thread to get my thoughts on the subject.

As a side note, one other blog I read daily and try to never miss is Clayton Makepeace's Total Package Blog. Just a couple resources for you all today!

www.3DMailresults.com

Our Custom Service Promise

I just got off the phone today with a potential new client. He had been working with one of our competitors on the mini trash can mailing. After about 4 weeks of getting the run-around, the competitor finally said, "Sorry, can fulfill." and left him hanging. (Tory White had a similar posting over on Clayton Makepeace's Total Package Blog about crummy customer service as well)

Thankfully, he was able to find us on via a search engine and he gave me a call today. By Monday we'll have his order processed and the trash cans will be in his hands by Friday.

I don't mean to toot my own horn, but we are fanatical about customer service. If we say something going to happen, we move hell and earth to make sure what we promise happens.

I know some of you may not be too familiar with our new division, 3D Mail Results, but the core company (American Retail Supply) has been in business for nearly 40 years. In fact, we were ranked best small business to work for in the State of Washington.

So this division's name may be different, but you'll still get the Make-You-Happy service that is the trade-mark of American Retail Supply.

That's all for this Friday afternoon rant. We'll pick up next week with some great 3D mail examples!

4 Tips for Creating a Successful 3D Mail Program

There are 8 great questions you must ask yourself before implementing 3D mail in your business. Here are the first 4. The next 4 will be posted later this week.

1. Does 3D mail work for your business?
3Dmail has many uses in both consumer and B2B businesses. However you do need to ask yourself if this is the right promotion to use. If you are in the B2B marketing with products/services that sell for a few thousands dollars (or totaling that after one year) or in an affluent type of consumer product/service, then 3D mail is for you.

If you have a product or service that sells for a lower dollar value, then the incremental cost of running a 3D mail program may not be the right fit. However, if that product or service is consumable (like bags that retailers use for us at American Retail Supply), and being sold over and over again to the same client (in either B2B or consumer marketplace), then it is appropriate for you.

2. What are your goals for your 3D mail campaign?
What do you want to achieve with this 3D direct mail campaign? Is this a one-step sale or lead generation? Do you want to set up a phone call, face-to-face meeting, a website visit etc?

What are you monetary goals? What kind of sales and responses do you need to make the mailing successful? Have you put yourself in a situation where an average response will reap huge rewards? You never want to put yourself in a situation where amazing results are required for you to make a good return on your investment.

3. It’s about ROI, not cost, or even response rates!
It is very important to think of 3D mail sequence and campaigns in terms of ROI and not cost or even response rate. 3D mail can cost more than regular flat mail packages. But it’s not a standard style package that gets regular results. Some will base their budgets on the cost to acquire a new customer.

Do the math to see if you feel you can hit the optimal ROI for your business. Remember, we put money in the bank, not response rates. The slightly higher cost of 3D mail almost always warrants the use of it when measuring ROI.

4. Targeting and segmenting your list.
This is a key aspect of any marketing effort, especially 3D mail. Average copywriting sent to an extremely targeted, well picked list can get your incredible results. Superior copywriting to an inferior list, with little or no targeting will get you inferior results. This is true whether you use 3D mail or flat mail. Segment your list to find biases, either demographically or psycho-graphically. Know your targets and know them well!

Stay tuned later this week and we'll discuss 4 other tips you must consider before doing your first (or 100th) 3D mailing.

www.3DMailResults.com

3 More Ways to Use 3D Mail

For the past couple weeks we've been counting down just 8 of the unique ways that 3D mail can be used in your marketing. Here are the final three.

Stimulate referrals
Remember when we talked about 3D mail having sticking power? Meaning that people who receive unique 3D mail usually show others the cool mailing they received. Before you know it, you’re getting leads and sales from people you never even sent the mailing to!

Another great way to stimulate referrals with 3D mailing is to your current clients. One that I really like is a small boomerang inside an envelope with the headline, “Most of Our Business Comes Back to Us From Great Customers like You.” You may want to consider offering a premium (free gift) for those clients who do refer new clients.

Get more business with current clients
There is one big problem all businesses face when trying to get more business from existing clients. Even though they (ought to) know you and trust you, it’s very hard to get their attention and get them to act, even though they’ve ordered from you in the past.

You need to use 3D mail that demands attention. It must cut the clutter and get though to the client. A bank bag, message-in-a-bottle, or small item stuffed in an envelope all invoke curiosity that will get your client’s attention. It gets them involved and interacting with the mailing. This gives you a much better opportunity to sell to them again.

Find qualified prospects at a trade show
Trade show attendees are often bombarded with pre and post show advertising. It comes from the show organizers themselves, your company, and your competitors. It can get downright overwhelming for some prospects.

This is a time when you have to be out-of-the-box, unique and be willing to stand out from the crowd. A simple, standard size postcard probably won’t cut it. Be daring and stand out.

For pre-show advertising, be creative. Use 3D mail to cut the clutter and give them a reason to stop by your booth, like a free gift or show specials. If you’re doing either, try to tie the promotion in with your 3D grabber.

For instance, if you’re doing a drawing for a free trip, try sending a small toy airplane with the headline, “We’ll send you anywhere in North America just for stopping by and saying ‘Hi.”

The puzzle piece mailer and treasure chest key discussed above is another great way to drive traffic to your booth for pre-show advertising.

For post-show advertising, it’s just as important to stand out. Again, you may want to tie in your promotion from the show. But most importantly, you want to remind that they had stopped by your booth, and now it’s time to get the sale.

We've wrapped up our segment on 8 ways to use 3D mail in your marketing. Starting next week we'll review some tips you can use today for your next 3D mailing.

See you then!

www.3DMailResults.com

Drive Traffic to a Location

Here's one of my favorite ways to use 3D mail in really ANY business.

3D mail can be very effective is getting your clients or prospects to come to your store, restaurant or other retail location. One of the best ones we’ve seen in driving traffic to your location is what we call a “puzzle piece mailer.”

In this mailing, you attach a puzzle piece to the top of your letter to your clients or prospects with the headline, “Is This the Winning Piece.” In the letter, its tells the client to bring this puzzle piece in to your location to see if it is the missing piece to complete the puzzle you’ve assembled in your business. If the piece matches, they win!

In restaurants the winner often receives a free meal for that visit, or in a retail store they’ll receive some type of Gift Certificate to redeem in the store.

Here’s another hint. Make sure everyone is a winner, even if their piece doesn’t fit. Have some inexpensive free gifts to give anyone with a puzzle piece who visits your location. We’ve also seen this work well when you send a key in the mailing. They bring in their key to see if it unlocks the treasure chest. If it does, they win again!

Next post I'll discuss 3 other ways to use 3D mail in your business. Be sure to check back in a couple days!

www.3DMailResuls.com

2 More ways to use 3D Mail

We left you with 4 ways to use 3D mail last post, here's an additional two ways to use 3D mail.

Reduce Returns
One problem any business runs into is return rates. This is also called buyers remorse. After the initial purchase you can send follow up 3D mailings (often called a ‘stick’ campaign) to reinforce the purchase your client has just made.

But why would you send 3D mail when you can send regular mail? For all the reasons we’ve already outlined. Remember, if a mailing doesn’t get opened, it can’t be read or acted upon. It is every bit as important, if not more so, for your follow up marketing to be open, read and acted upon, as your initial mailing to get the order.

Reactivate Lost Clients
This is where 3D mail can really get fun, and profitable! Lost clients are those clients who made a purchase from you at some point, but have not bought again over a defined period of time. This period of time of course varies by industry. If you’re a car salesman, it may be 2-3 years. A real estate agent, it may be 5-10 years. If you own a restaurant, it may be 30-60 days!

It is often reported that it is anywhere from 10 times to 100 times more costly to get a new client, than it is to sell again to an existing client. I believe that a ‘lost’ client is probably the second easiest client to sell to (behind those clients who are continually buying from you).

A very successful 3D mail 3-step campaign we’ve seen done by our clients includes a Boomerang with a headline “We Want You Back.” A compass with the headline “Are you Lost?” The third step, a small plastic bug is inserted into the envelope with the headline, “This is the last time I’m going to bug you!” A lost client campaign is only limited by your imagination.

Next post we'll cover a doozie. Driving traffic to your physical retail or business location. Stay tuned.

www.3dmailresults.com

8 Ways go Grow Your Business With 3D Mail

There are 8 distinct ways that 3D mail can be used to grow your business. Below are the first 3. We'll tackle a couple each day for the next week or two.

Increase The Size of an Order
As we talked about earlier, 3D mail can often be used as a freemium, a gift you give the prospect with no obligation on their part. However, this inexpensive free gift can be used to give wafflers or fence sitters the last little push to take you up on your offer.

Here’s another tip to increase the size of your order. Offer another free gift that complements the freemium you previously sent when they place their order of a certain dollar amount. This will give many new clients the added reason to increase their order size!

Generate Leads
We all know how hard it is to get new clients through a cold mailing. As Bill has pointed out in this book, it’s extremely important to stand out with your advertising. 3D Mail does that. It is not unusual for your prospects to be so amazed with your mailing that they actually call to find out where you got the idea! Talk about cutting the clutter!

Reduce Returns
One problem any business runs into is return rates. This is also called buyers remorse. After the initial purchase you can send follow up 3D mailings (often called a ‘stick’ campaign) to reinforce the purchase your client has just made.

But why would you send 3D mail when you can send regular mail? For all the reasons we’ve already outlined. Remember, if a mailing doesn’t get opened, it can’t be read or acted upon. It is every bit as important, if not more so, for your follow up marketing to be open, read and acted upon, as your initial mailing to get the order.

www.3dmailresults.com

3D Mail Can Also Be Used As A Freemium

A freemium is a 3D premium gift that is delivered FREE, in the mail, up front with no obligation. (Example: FREE pen enclosed).

When you send somebody something of value for free, their human instincts kick in. They feel obligated to at least give your mailing their time. They feel obligated to take you up on your offer. They feel obligated to respond. Sending a ‘freemium’ cuts the clutter, motivates the prospect to respond, actively involves the reader. It has staying power.

Now, with all that being said, here’s one caveat. No matter how great your 3D mailing, or your copywriting abilities, or your offer is, they all mean nothing without the proper list. If you don’t have a good list, you don’t have a good mailing. If you’re trying to sell sandals in Nome, Alaska in February, you’re probably not going to do well because it’s the wrong offer to the wrong group.

Next post we'll start a discussion on the 6 ways 3D mail has a direct impact on specific marketing aspects of your business.

www.3DMailResults.com

Doesn't 3D Mail Cost More?

Sure, 3D Mail will normally cost more than a mailing that is not 3D, but not all of the time. But are you really interested in what the mailing costs or what your return on the mailing is verses the cost? If I need to convince you of that, you really should be interested in the results rather than just the cost (Your Return on Investment), you might as well go do something else right now.

In almost every instance, the results from 3D Mail are a better Return on Investment than the same mailing without the 3D item.

In addition, we highly recommend that you send laser targeted, clutter busting mailings, multiple times, rather than sending out more pieces of untargeted, non-3D mail. In this case, less truly is more

If you’re on a marketing budget (and who besides Nike, McDonald’s and Microsoft aren’t on a marketing budget), we’ve never seen a case in which multiple 3D mails to a smaller list hasn’t outperformed one boring, same-as-everybody-else mailing to a large list.

Later in the week we'll discuss how 3D mail can actually work like a premium (free gift) to boost your response, and more importantly, you're Return on Investment.

www.3Dmailresults.com

3D Mail Has Sticking Power

Let’s face it, most days; nothing different, nothing worth talking about happens either at work or at home. So a mailing that is different, innovative, and maybe a little humorous ends up being talked about. 3D Mail has sticking power. People show it to their spouse, neighbor, friend or coworker. And... Shhhhhh……………………….. Don’t Tell Anyone this Secret…Two or Three or Four is Lots Better Than One!

Those of us who produce conferences, boot camps, seminars, and conventions have a secret we don’t tell you.

Shhhhhhhhhh…. Sales go up when more people from one organization hear about your offer. That’s why when you get invited to a conference or seminar there is always a discount for the second person.

It happens all the time. When two people see an offer, one may decide to not to take advantage of it. But the other person sees the possibilities. So they start talking about all of the things they and you could do…. SALE!!!

The same thing happens with 3D Mail. The recipient shows it to their coworker, or spouse, or friend just to show them how cute it is and the other person starts talking about the actual offer and your sales increase.

Another Reason That Two or Three or Four is Lots Better Than One

But what if the recipient shows it to another person and they don’t talk about and brainstorm ideas. You know it’s not too bad to send out one mailing and have 2, 3 or 4 people read it.

Next post we'll discuss the idea that 3D Mail always costs more (it doesn't) and why cost is the last thing you should be looking at when starting your 3D Mail campaign.

www.3DMailResults.com

3D Mail in Business to Business Marketing

Why Does 3D Mail Work So Well In Business-to-Business Campaigns?

Again, direct mail professionals really don’t care why something works; we just want to know if it does. And, 3D Mail works incredibly well in Business-to-Business environments. With that said, 3D Mail works great in Business-to-Business campaigns because people are people and buyers are buyers.

Businesses don’t buy anything! People in businesses buy things! And, as we said, people like to be entertained. People like to be singled out. 3D Mail is different. It stands out and it creates curiosity. 3D Mail Simply Needs To Be Opened and Read.

It Cuts Through the Clutter

Because people are overwhelmed with amount of advertising and marketing they see today, it is absolutely imperative that you cut through the clutter and boredom and give your prospects or clients something interesting and out of the ordinary.

People are so overwhelmed, that they often spend 3.5 seconds or less with information they’ve requested! If you can’t keep your message in front of your prospect, you’re done. If you think that’s bad, some studies show that business recipients throw out 48% of their unsolicited mail without opening it!

Any message that isn’t opened can never be acted on! When an envelope shows up with something inside - 3D - your client or prospect MUST open it. They simply have to know what’s inside.

The huge majority of direct mail ends up in the “B” or “C” pile (see this post on A-Pile Mail) and then the trash. It lacks the power and ability to break though the clutter. It doesn’t offer a strong incentive to act, and it doesn’t have staying power. Your mailing must have an impact!

If a Stack Doesn’t Stack, It Can’t Be a Stack

Whether at home or at the office, we all get a stack of mail every day. One sure fire way to cut through the clutter is to make sure your mailing piece ends up on the top of the stack.

If your mailing is in a regular envelope it can end up anywhere in the stack. But what if your mailing piece is in a box? Or, what if your mail piece is in a mini-trash can? Or what if your mailing is in a real Vinyl Bank Bag? Or what if you mail a plastic ‘Message in a Bottle.’ Or what if you mailing is in an envelope with a bag of shredded money inside so if it gets put anywhere other than on the top of the stack the stack will fall over?

3D Mail has to be on the top of the stack or the stack will fall over! Neither the mail man, nor the mail room, nor the receptionist can stack a stack that doesn’t stack.

In my next post I'll explain to you how 3D mail can actually increase referrals and increase your average transaction size!

www.3DMailResults.com

People Are Bored and Overwhelmed

We left off last week with how and why you need to turn your 'junk' mail in to 'A-Pile' mail. Today we'll touch on a few basic human psychological reasons why 3D Mail works.

First and foremost, people are bored with the marketing and advertising they see. And they see a lot of it these days. It’s estimated that most people see over 3,100 advertising messages each day, and that number is only going up.

People love to be entertained. 3D Mail is entertaining and it gets your prospect or customer involved! When you actively involve your prospects, they’ll stay with your mailing longer. Any good salesman knows the more time you spend with your prospect, the more of your story you can tell, and the more you can sell! When you tie your sales message to 3D mail you’ll entertain your prospects and customer and keep them involved and sell more.

People are eager for a ‘personal’ approach to selling. They don’t want to part of the masses. They want to be singled out amongst the throng and 3D mail does that.

People are People and Buyers are Buyers!
Some people will say that “my clients are too sophisticated for such gimmicks”, or “my clients are too smart for that kind thing”, or “that might work with Business-to-Consumer marketing, but it won’t work in Business-to- Business”… Hogwash!

I actually started 3D Mail Results because I have a business-to-business distribution company where I use 3D-Mail. I was tired of running around looking for 3D Mail products. I have one 3D letter that has produced well over $10,000,000.00 in business – Yes that’s 10 Million Dollars.

I have another 3D Mailing that was used to sell a $10,000.00 product in a Business-to-Business environment that produced a 3,333% Return-on-Investment! Some of the most successful 3D Mail campaigns have been sent to multi-millionaires for investment opportunities.

Later in the week I'll post on how and why 3D mail works in both the Business-to-Consumer and Business-to-Business sector equally as well. Stay tuned.

www.3DMailResults.com

Turn Your Mail into 'A-Plie' Mail

We'll pick up our discussion from Monday on how 3D mail will turn your regular mail from "Junk Mail" to "A-Pile' mail.

Good housekeeping did a survey to find out what’s the first thing people do when they get home from work. They found that the first thing they do is open their mail! And guess what? They open it over their trash can!

You, and Me, and Everyone Else, Opens Their Mail the Same Way... They put their mail into piles… at least in their mind.

The first pile is the “C” pile. You don’t want your mail to end up in the “C” pile. The “C” pile screams to the recipient, “I’m Junk Mail. I’m from someone you don’t know, trying to sell you something you don’t want.” Often “C” pile mail ends up in the trash can without even being opened. If it does get opened most of the time your message never even gets out of the envelope.

The “B” pile is the “Well I guess I ought to open it pile”. The best you can say for “B” pile mail is that it’s better than being in the “C” pile. But you still have a huge obstacle to overcome. No one is excited, eager, curious or inquisitive when they open “B” pile mail. If you’re mail is in the “B” pile and you have a great headline you might have a chance of getting a response.

The “A” pile is where you want you’re mail.
That’s mail that says to the recipient “YOU GOTTA OPEN ME!”

Let’s say you went to the doctor he said he wanted you to have a biopsy on some skin tissue and let’s assume one of your parents died from skin cancer. So the doctor tells you that you’ll get the results in the mail in a couple days.

Now, you come home from work and get your mail from the mail box and you see a big manila envelope from “Skin Test Laboratories”. Do you even get into the house before you open it? Probably not. That’s the kind of response you want your mailing to have. You want your client, customer, patient, member, or prospect to be so curious that they can’t wait to rip your mailing piece open right away.

Check back in a couple days and we'll discuss a couple basic human instincts on why 3D mail gets such great results.

www.3DMailResults.com

Why 3D Mail Gets Such Great Results

I've been getting a lot of emails and phone calls the past couple weeks about the basic elements of 3D mail. Why to send it, how to send it etc, what should I send, etc. So I've written a series of articles that will touch on these subjects. Feel free to let me know what you think. Here's the first installment.

What is 3D Mail?
When it comes to 3D Mail, 3D says it all. A regular envelope has length and width, but very little depth. 3D Mail has length, width and depth. It can be an envelope with something in it that makes it 3 Dimensional. It can be a box, or a mini garbage can, or a bank bag, a message in a bottle, a treasure chest, or one any one of thousands of items.

Why Does 3D Mail Get Such Huge Returns??
What would you do if you HAD to make your next mailing work? What if you could only mail ONE letter and if you didn’t get a response you would, quite literally, be beheaded?
- Gary Halbert

Why does 3D Mail get such huge returns for those who use it? First and foremost, do you really care why it does? Every great direct mail guru will tell you it really doesn’t matter why anything you test works, what matters is testing one scenario verses another and using the one that perform better… and we’ve never heard of a direct mail expert who doesn’t advocate at least testing 3D Mail.

If Your Mail Doesn’t Get Opened and Read It Can’t Be Successful
One of the biggest advantages of direct mail is how easy it is to measure and test one campaign verses another and measure your response rate and your ROI. The fact is we’ve never seen a single test in which 3D Mail didn’t increase the response rate. The question then becomes, does the improved response warrant the extra expense. With that said, let’s continue with our discussion of why 3D mail outperforms the same mailing without the 3D item.

In my next tip I'll continue our discussion with how to turn your 'junk' mail into 'A-pile' mail.

www.3DMailResults.com

Even Microsoft Gets it (somewhat)

You see, even big dumb companies sometime get it right (well, somewhat right). I received a box in the mail not too long ago. When I opened it, this is what I saw:

WOW!! Microsoft using 3D mail! I was impressed. They had obviously spent some major time and money on this. It was a great little die cast car. Complete with copy and teaser all around the box, and on the car itself. What a great way to use 3D mail.

However, my amazement stopped there. After admiring the 3d mail, I turned to their sales letter. You can see a copy of it here, for your amusement.

This breaks just about any very rule in the Direct Mail marketing book. Company logo as a headline, no personalization, no offer... I could go on and on.

So, what does this mean for Microsoft? Simple. They spend a ton of money on this cleaver, clutter busting car, then sent horrible copy. And you know what they exec's at Microsoft will say?? "Well, 3D mail obviously doesn't work!"

No matter how cleaver the 3D mail object, or how much you spend, a 3D Mailing simply will not pass the test with horrible copywriting. It's that simple. It won't pass the test unless you have the right list, too. But that's another email all together.

You don't need to be the world's greatest copywriter to sell. Hell, you can even pay someone to do it! But you gotta know good copy when you see it.

(Here are a couple great resources on copywriting. Whether you want to learn it yourself, or just be able to ID good copy when you seen it. ( Dan Kennedy No B.S. Marketing Newsletter, 2 free months)

The bottom line... Even this 3D Mail Guru says 3D mail isn't worth it if you send it with crappy copy.

www.3DMailresults.com

So, can you mail it for me??

That's a question I hear just about daily here at 3D Mail Results. And the answer is, "Absolutely!" We've teamed up with a couple fulfillment houses around the country to help get your 3D Mail items out the door with no effort on your part.

We'll coordinate everything from the printing of the sales letter, envelopes, labels, fulfillment of the mailing, even drop it in the mail for you. Or pack it all up and FedEx to you so you can drop it in you local post office mailbox to get your local imprint so your clients think you did all the work yourself.

We know this direct mail business inside and out, so you'll know it will be done right! Give me a call at 888-250-1834 and let's talk about your next stress free mailing.

www.3DMailResults.com

You Scratch My Back, we'll Scratch Yours

We've just recently launched our new affiliate program for 3D Mail! (Thus the reason for the back scratchers) If you're a coach, consultant, a GKIC independent Business Advisor, or you just have a herd that is interested in unique direct mail, and you want to make some referral money, sign up below. We pay 5% on all 3D mail items ordered through your affililate link forever!

Here's the link: http://www.3dmailresults.com/AffiliateWiz/join.aspx

Also, if you're looking for a guest on a tele-coaching call that you host, Keith or I will be more than happy to offer our servies. We can talk about direct mail and the value of 'cutting the clutter' using unique 3D mail as grabbers, freemuims etc.

Thick skin

I just spoke with a client of ours today, the one who did the x-ray mailing below. The golf course where he teaches his lessons had gotten wind that he had been sending out letters as a DDS (Doctor of the Dreaded Slice), and told him (I'm paraphrasing) "You can't do that, we'll report you to the National Dentists Association."

When you use outrageous 3D Mail, you've got to be thick skinned. Someone, somewhere is going to tell you that your marketing is bad, dishonest, or otherwise tell you 'you can't do that.'

Its important to remember that no one's opinion matters except for those who ultimately give you money. (And, if you're like me, maybe your wife. But she also doesn't mind the fun stuff that outrageous 3D Mail Marketing has provided us.)

www.3DMailResults.com

At yet another marketing seminar...

I'm at an Internet marketing seminar today in Bothell, WA (about 30 miles north of our offices in Kent) hosted by our ISP providor, www.eporia.com. Don't worry, I'm not ignoring the presentation to post, just on a break. There hasn't been a ton of new, groundbreaking information, but its nice to hear a lot of the things I already know be reinforced.

I'd have to total it up, but I'm willing to bet between keith and I, we spend over $20,000 a year in continuing education. It's really amazing, but we are both constantly learning new things. Even Keith who's been at this direct response marketing stuff for over 20 years now.

One thing I find interesting is this whole 'social media' and Web 2.0 thing. Although I am fairly young, I've got to admit I have not embraced this whole new realm of the Internet. Just when I think I got this internet marketing figured out, they come out with this whole new beast.

Hopefully I'll find that one big Gem that will make this all worth while. I'll keep you posted. I'm here for two full days!

http://www.3dmailresults.com/

It's Survey Time!

People who ask confidently get more than those who are hesitant and uncertain. When you've figured out what you want to ask for, do it with certainty, boldness and confidence.
- Jack Canfield

With that said, we want to know what you think. I've just posted our first 3D Mail Results Survey. And of course, I'll bribe you for your time. The survey will take about 3 minutes, and at the end you'll get your choice of five (5) different $10 gift certificates. They're good, too. You'll want them, your spouse will want them, somebody will want them, guaranteed.

Click Here to take survey and I'll make it worth your time.

3D Mail Results

Holiday Promotions

As you know, Dan and Bill teach using holidays and important dates in your business and niche as ways to cut the clutter and increase the results of your direct mail. They even spend over an hour talking about it at the Super Conference last month.

The first 'major' holiday here in the U.S. we plan to gear up for is the 4th of July (sorry we're too late for Mother's Day, and probably Memorial Day). That gives us enough time to do a little purchasing research and get the items ordered in time for you to get them and implement.

Here's a couple of ideas we've thought of so far. These are great for use as an envelope stuffer, or even a give-away.

Here's a cool American Flag lapel pin.





An American Flag Pen.






A stylish inflatable hat. Great for those 4th of July BBQ's.







And a Glider (Headline: Your Profits Will Soar When...)






What I'd like to hear from you is, what other holidays/events would you like to see some specific items? We're obviously going to be all over Thanksgiving, Halloween, Christmas and the other biggies. Are there any 'minor' ones that you've used in the past, or would like to use?

Comment away below or shoot me an email, we'd love to hear what you have to say!

3D Mail Results

Links fixed

Yeah! The links below to the X-Ray letters have been fixed! Let me know if you have any question on them.

Wild, Wild West

We're trying to get out the word to y'all that we can source just about anything you can think of to use in your 3D mail campaigns. Here's a great example of that.

I've been working with a client on his Wild West Themed boot camp he's putting on in June. If you've visited our website or thumbed through the guide yet, you'll see there's nothing that strictly relates to cowboys, or the wild west.

However, within a few hours, we were able to find about 12 different 3D mail items and 'knick-knacks' for him to give away at his boot camp such as sheriff badges, cowboy hat key chains, small 'cowboy and Indian' themed figurines, cowboy rubber duck (somebody can use this headline: "Get Your Ducks in a Row When You...")

I'll be sure to post some examples of these once we finalize the ones we're going to use for his 3D mail pieces, 'knick-knack' give-aways and bag stuffers.

As you can see, you're really only limited by your imagination with these.

Stupid easy, ethical S&D

I wanted to bring a great job of ethical S&D'ing from a client of ours. I spoke with Scott Seifferlein at the Super Conference about the now famous x-ray letter. Within a couple of hours once we returned from the Super Conference, he had done an excellent job of S&D'ing my original letter. We had his own x-ray letter created, printed and mailed off in just a few short days.

Here you can see my original letter. Here's Scott's letter. Along with his customized X-Ray. See how easy this is!

Here's some more information on the X-Ray letter you saw at the Super Conference.

Now, had I not given permission to Scott to use my letter, this may have been borderline unethical S&D. However, since I was working with Scott and he was getting the x-ray material through us, I of course gave him permission to do this.

If you're using our 3D mail products (or any 3D mail for that matter), put us on your list. We'd love to see what you're doing. And, if we like it and use it either on this blog or on our site, we'll give you a $50.00 credit towards your next 3D mail purchase with us (YES, I will shamelessly bribe you!).

For a great conversation on ethical S&D, read this months Outrageous Advertising article by Bill Glazer in the Dan Kennedy No B.S. Marketing Newsletter.

Don't have the newsletter?? Well, you should. It to, is Stupid Easy. Here's a free gift from Dan and Bill.