1. business and industrial

By
Peter Sun
How To
Increase Your
Profits In Any
Economic
Climate
58 Proven, Do-It-Yourself Marketing Strategies.
With 103 ads, letters and promotions you can use
to make more money in your business
How To Increase
Your Profits In Any
Economic Climate
By
Peter Sun
Foreword by
Winston Marsh
The Marketing Strategies in this Manual work. However you have to test how
they’ll work for you and your business. If you wish to follow the publisher’s advice
and strategies please test them on a small scale before committing your business
future and your money to them. See chapter 16 on page 67 for more details.
Since conditions change you may have to experiment to find out what will work
for you.
A word on
Testing
A lot of business people and companies would dearly love to own the world - so
that they could rent it out.
I believe it is far more important to focus on how to serve better, improve myself
and help others to share any good fortune I may have.
In your own business, look at how you can keep improving, instead of worrying
about your “competition” (you are your greatest competition). Don’t think about
who is going to steal your ideas.
A word on
Copyright
Just think how to give your customers even better service, greet them with an
even bigger smile and show them that you really care about them. That way
they’ll never want to leave you, no matter what anyone else does. After all, being
successful in your business is about being happy and constantly improving what
you do, because it is also your life...
Remember: - Everyone comes into this world with nothing and leaves with nothing.
I have never seen houses, cars or bank accounts following a hearse.
So make sure you enjoy every moment of your business and your life.
Published by Peter Sun Direct Marketing, P.O. Box 18 Bond University, 4229
Phone (075) 96 3822 Fax: (075) 96 5126
First Published February 1993
Second Edition August 1993
American Edition June 1997
This Edition 2001
HPSI
956 S. Bartlett Rd. Ste. 264
Bartlett, IL 60103
Phone (630) 736-1237
3
Can you really increase your sales from an advertisement by
206%, get 980% more response to your yellow pages ad, or
sell $26,900 worth of products in less than 4 hours?
Read what others are saying...
1. A music retail store sells $26,900 worth of products in 4 hours.
Ian Cook mailed 1,290 old customers with a letter idea from our marketing manual. In the first
15 minutes 90 people came in the door. He had to post two “guards” to let people in and
manage the line outside the store. Almost 500 people came in during four hours.
The $27,000 worth of sales was at a good profit and compares to $32,000 sold during the
whole month last year...
Ian Cook, Owner Brown’s Music World
2. A Yellow Page Ad gets over 1100% better result than opposition’s same size ad on
the same page.
A carpet cleaning company gets ten jobs in two weeks from a Yellow Pages ad written by Peter
Sun. This is worth $550 in sales. Their opposition has a same size ad on the same page and
gets two calls and no sales for the same period.
Peter Critchley, the owner said, “People commented on how the ad made them want to use
me. The ad gave them confidence to use me and no one else. My conversion rate of enquiries
is over 90%. This compares to the 25% to 60% that is common in my industry.”
Peter Critchley, PriceCut Carpet Cleaning
3. $195,000 worth of business at a cost of $1,025...
A Gold Coast Glamour Studio got 500 bookings from five ads costing $275 each. This result
booked out their two studios three months in advance. Five bookings at $390 each from one
ad was the average result before they used our
services...
4. A portrait Photographer Increases sales from a $200 advertisement by 206%. That’s
$2975 more sales per week - at no extra cost.
Wayne had the Marketing Audit and One Hour consultation with Peter Sun. He said, “I tested
an advertisement with a different headline and lots of written information instead of photos in it,
as you suggested.
Before these changes I was getting seven bookings at $550 from two ads costing $200 each.
A total of $1,925 in sales per ad. After using the new ad as you suggested, I got 10 bookings
at about $590. For a total of $5,900 in sales from one ad costing just $200.
4
That’s a 206% increase in sales and even bigger increase in profits.”
Wayne Radford Photography
5. Cleaning Products supplier increases new customers by 50% per week with a new
Yellow Page Ad.
Robert said: “I’ve had about 50% increase in new customers since your ad came out. Each of
these could be worth $3,000 to $4,000 per month to me.
I was a bit skeptical. Changing from my usual ad with my products and major supplier brand
names in it, to your ad with lots of information on why people should buy from me was a big
decision. However, your ad worked much better.
The new customers also commented that they liked the ad. The information in it gave them
confidence to call me rather than the other suppliers.
Robert Letizia, Jay & Jay Industries
5
When most people go into business they know all about the product or service
they are going to sell. Trouble is they don’t know much about getting it sold.
You see a plumber knows all about plumbing: a restaurateur knows about
restaurants: and an engineer knows about engineering. But what do they know
about attracting the attention of clients and customers as buyers? The answer is
very little.
There aren’t too many courses, whether they teach, plumbing, restauranting,
engineering or whatever that teach people how to create an avalanche of
customers. The sorry truth is that most people in business don’t know much
about getting people into their business.
Peter Sun has created a readily readable and highly informative manual to answer
the need. To help people who are good at their business to be good in business.
And being good in business is all about having heaps and heaps of delighted
customers buying what you’ve got.
Foreword
This manual contains the good oil on literally thousands of concepts and ideas
that will help anyone in business to be better providers of their business.
By literally taking the great big ideas, the fantastic little ideas and lots and lots of
in between ideas, Peter Sun has created a treasure trove of information for people
who want to know how to successfully capture customers.
It’s a manual that ought to be compulsory reading for anybody who is in business
or thinking about going into business. And once you start reading it, you can’t
put it down.
Reading this manual will probably mark a turning point in the lives of thousands
of business people, large and small. A turning point not only because of vastly
increased profitability but also because it will take out the uncertainty of survival
for so many business people. It’s simply a guarantee for success.
On a personal note, the Author, Peter Sun, lives, eats, breaths and sleeps what
he proposes. His enthusiasm, vibrancy and dynamic approach to business and
life come blasting out of every page. You’ll be so positively affected by his
philosophy and practical approach. You will never be the same again.
Winston Marsh
International Business Speaker, National President of
National Speakers Association of Australia
6
With this Marketing Manual, you will learn how to get better results in your business
and have more time to enjoy your family, friends and some of the other things
that a profitable business can give you.
I’ll show you step by step, how to create your own winning marketing strategies
and advertisements. All aimed at increasing the sales and the profits in your
business.
Everyone markets himself or herself...either well or badly. Marketing is about
people. It’s about knowing human nature and using this knowledge to benefit
yourself and others.
If you are in business, then you are also a marketing company - whether you
think of yourself as such or not. That’s because every business is in the business
of getting customers and selling products or services to them.
That’s why the methods in this manual will apply to you, no matter what business
you are in. The proven principles you are about to learn work just as well for a tiny
comer store as they do for a large, hi-tech, multinational company.
Most companies do not close down because of too much business and too
many happy customers. They close for lack of sales and not enough customers.
How this
Manual will
benefit
you...
There are only three ways your business can increase sales 1.. You get more new customers.
2.. You have your existing customers come back more often.
3.. You get more sales from each customer’s visit.
You’ll learn exactly how to maximize all three areas, to prosper and thrive in any
economic climate. Plus you’ll get practical, easy to use strategies that you can
apply to any business.
You’ll see the marketing strategies applied in over 103 ads, letters and promotions
that worked. Plus in Part 2 of the Manual, you’ll see these strategies applied in
41 individual businesses. Even if your business is not amongst them, you can
adapt the strategies from the examples given in this section to your business.
Best of all, it’ll make your business life more enjoyable and fun.
Enjoy it and good reading,
Peter Sun
P.S. I do not wish to claim that I “discovered” all the ideas I present to you in this
Manual. I got lots of inspiration from The Results Corporation, from Jay Abraham
and other people’s philosophies. What I’ve attempted to do is apply them in my
business and put them into a package that will make it easy for you to understand and
apply in your business.
7
Table of Contents
A word on Copyright ...................................................................................................................................... 3
A word on Testing .......................................................................................................................................... 3
Foreword ........................................................................................................................................................ 6
How this Manual will benefit you... ................................................................................................................. 7
Part 1:
58 Marketing Strategies To Increase Your Profits...
Why marketing is the easiest way to make more money in your business... ............................................. 11
The 6 Marketing Principles you must know to make your sales soar... ...................................................... 14
How you can be a top Marketer. The “Secret Method” every successful Marketing Expert uses... ........... 18
How to collect your customers’ names, use them to make extra profits, and turn them into a saleable
asset... .................................................................................................................................................... 21
Your Yellow Pages Ad: A simple technique to get you up to 980% better result - at no extra cost... ........ 28
How to make powerful offers ........................................................................................................................ 36
to instantly attract new customers to your business... ................................................................................ 36
How to write headlines that get you up to 19 times greater response to all your Ads, letters and
brochures... ............................................................................................................................................ 44
How to use Direct Mail to quickly increase your sales and profits... ........................................................... 50
How to increase your profits – by giving money back to your customers... ................................................ 60
How to write newspaper and magazine “ads” that are 600% more profitable than “standard” ads... ........ 66
How to get FREE products money and marketing support from your suppliers... ..................................... 73
Eleven tested methods to increase the selling power of your ads, letters and promotions... ..................... 79
How to get 10%, 25%...or 50% more sales by asking a simple question... ............................................... 85
How to use U.S. Post Office and Ma Bell to triple the inquiries and sales in your business... ................... 89
How to get your customers to tell you what you should be selling to them - and to thank you for asking.. 92
Six ways to monitor and test all your marketing efforts - to generate maximum results from every
Marketing Dollar you spend... ................................................................................................................ 97
Nine quick ways to raise cash for your business - NOW... ....................................................................... 103
How to make lots of money and be happy... ............................................................................................. 115
Part 2:
The Most Effective Ways to Make More Money in 41 Businesses
Accountants: ............................................................................................................................................. 119
Beauty Salons: ........................................................................................................................................... 121
Bakeries: .................................................................................................................................................... 121
Bike shops: ................................................................................................................................................ 124
Builders: ..................................................................................................................................................... 125
Car Dealers: ............................................................................................................................................... 127
Car Servicing: ............................................................................................................................................ 129
Carpet ........................................................................................................................................................ 132
Retailers: .................................................................................................................................................... 132
Carpet Cleaners: ........................................................................................................................................ 134
Children’s Clothing..................................................................................................................................... 134
Stores: ........................................................................................................................................................ 134
Clothing ...................................................................................................................................................... 136
Retailers: .................................................................................................................................................... 136
Computers: ................................................................................................................................................ 139
Dentists: ..................................................................................................................................................... 140
8
Computer Software: ................................................................................................................................... 140
Dry Cleaners: ............................................................................................................................................. 141
Fast Foods, Carry-outs: ............................................................................................................................. 143
Florists: ....................................................................................................................................................... 144
Franchising: ............................................................................................................................................... 145
Fruit Shops: ............................................................................................................................................... 145
Furniture Store: .......................................................................................................................................... 147
Gyms - Health Clubs: ................................................................................................................................ 149
Hairdressers: .............................................................................................................................................. 152
Hardware Stores: ....................................................................................................................................... 155
Health Foods: ............................................................................................................................................. 155
Hotels: ........................................................................................................................................................ 157
Insurance/ Financial Advisors: .................................................................................................................. 159
Newspapers and Magazines: .................................................................................................................... 161
Jewelers: .................................................................................................................................................... 161
Newsagents: .............................................................................................................................................. 163
Plumbers: ................................................................................................................................................... 163
Plant Nurseries: ......................................................................................................................................... 163
Petrol (Gas) Stations/ Car Wash: .............................................................................................................. 165
Printers: ...................................................................................................................................................... 166
Real Estate: ............................................................................................................................................... 169
Restaurants:............................................................................................................................................... 172
Shoe Stores: .............................................................................................................................................. 175
Solicitors (Lawyers): ................................................................................................................................... 176
Supermarkets / Food Stores: .................................................................................................................... 177
Travel Agents: ............................................................................................................................................ 179
Video Stores: ............................................................................................................................................. 181
Wholesalers/ Manufacturers: ..................................................................................................................... 183
Whitegoods (Electronics): ......................................................................................................................... 183
BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................................ 185
9
Part 1:
58 Marketing Strategies To
Increase Your Profits...
10
Used correctly, marketing can be the single biggest profit-making tool,
that you as a businessperson has, to boost your business and profits.
Consider this...
You can put your money in the bank, in shares or buy some real estate. You’ll get
a return on investment of 10%, 20% or if your borrow money against the house
you may even get 30 or 40% return.
On the other hand, money invested in marketing of your business will without
doubt give you - your biggest single return on investment - greater than any
other form of financial investment.
How come?? Well, simply because a single advertisement, properly targeted,
with the right headline and offer, costing say $200, can bring returns of perhaps
1,000% or more within days.
Calculate that increase over a year. Can you see why marketing is the easiest
way to make more money in your business?
Let us say you are already running an advertisement and getting five calls a
week from it. You change a headline and now you get eight calls a week. What if
you raise your number of sales from two out of the five people who call, by just
one more sale. That is 52 more sales in one year, plus the extra sale from the
other three calls and now you have 104 more sales over a year. How much extra
profit did you just make with the same cash outlay?
That’s leverage and you can do it in your business...
All you have to do is experiment, test different offers, headlines and target the
right groups of people.
A restaurant called The Elephant Rock Cafe sent there
customers a letter with the offer of a FREE dessert. Only three people out of 100
came in on that offer.
1
Why
marketing
is the
easiest way
to make
more
money in
your
business...
The next month they sent another letter offering new customers $10 credit for
the next month only. (See Figure 2)
The response - 18.8% at an average sale of $52.20. That’s $991 for every 100
letters sent.
Better than leaving your money in the bank, isn’t it?
In the early days of my marketing career I placed an advertisement with the
headline “Spa Bath” under the For Sale column in the classifieds. The result was
two calls and no sale. The next week I tried the headline “Sex is Free” and
described the fun of having a spa with the ending...’and what you do in it is your
business.’ The result - 11 calls the same day and it sold at 8 a.m. the morning it
ran. That’s a 550% increase in response. (See Figure 1)
I am not saying to use sex is free in your advertising, it’s just an example of what
a difference in results you can get with one approach over another.
11
Another advertiser running an advertisement for a Do-It-Yourself hair treatment product headlined, “New
Home Permanent - Conditions As It Curls” received 100 replies. The second headline was titled “Girls...Want
a Fast Permanent.” This one received nearly 300 replies. That’s almost 200% more. This advertisement ran
every month for years. By changing the headline the business received 2,400 more replies in a year.
And that was just in one magazine!
Can you use leverage in your business? Of course you can. It works for every kind of product or service. All
you have to do is keep testing, experimenting, leveraging...
...And, banking more money every day.
Figure 1 - This little ad cost $30 and received 550%
more response than a conventional For Sale
advertisement. Eleven people called and it sold at 8
a.m.
Figure 2 - The letter on the next page got 18.8% response. First time customers filled out a Win $40
FREE Dinner competition coupon and customer survey (see page 13). One hundred people were
mailed to, and 18.8% responded and spent $52.20 on average, per letter back. That’s $991 for every
100 letters.
12
Currumbin
1st May, 1992
Friday 4:25 p.m.
Dear Bill & Patricia
Thank you for taking the time to enter our draw for a dinner for two and for your
suggestions and comments.
The dinner was won by Peter Wildman from Currumbin. Don’t despair if you weren’t
the lucky winner. We have some good news for you. As a thank you for entering
our draw, we’re offering you a consolation prize.
Bring this
time you come
be worth
letter with you next
for dinner and it will
$10 off your meal.
You can come any Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or Saturday evening until the end
of May.
Incidentally, Wednesday and Thursday evenings are a great time to come in.
You’ll be entertained by the mellow music of Tony Drouyn and his guitar. Keep
in mind that this month the full moon will be on the 17th of May...
Since Autumn has arrived, we’ve moved our wood fired heater back into the
restaurant. With the sails unfurled you will enjoy cosy fire-side dining.
You’ll love the warming winter treats included on the menu.
And what about a hot, frothing cappucino from our new Espresso Machine?? You can
enjoy a free one at the Elephant Rock Cafe (just bring in the enclosed voucher).
It is delicious!!
Thank you again for taking part in our draw and for your suggestions. You’ll see
some changes over the next few months that will make your dining with us even
more enjoyable. We’re looking forward to seeing you soon.
Leonie
P.S. Please book by calling 98 2133. We’ll make sure you’ll enjoy your meal with
that special Elephant Rock
13
Out of every ten businesses we look at, nine will not be following at least four of
these principles. Put these money-making principles into action and your business
profits will instantly increase.
Marketing Principle No. 1: Monitor the response to all your marketing and
advertising efforts.
Most business owners I speak to have no idea whether their advertisements,
letters and other promotions are working or not. They spend $100, $500 or $1,000
on a particular advertisement or promotion every week just because they feel
they should.
This is absolute lunacy.
As a business owner you should NEVER, I repeat NEVER run any promotion
unless you have a way to monitor the results.
Let me ask you - would you place an order with any supplier and pay for it without
having any idea whether you got the goods or not?? I bet you wouldn’t. Well,
believe it or not, it is no different to placing an advertisement or sending a sales
letter. You should know exactly what you get for your money.
Anyone who says to you, “Just keep your name out there and you’ll get results
somewhere down the line,” is simply wasting your money. And yet that’s exactly
what most of all the advertisements I see do. At best they get deferred results. At
worst - and that’s in 95% of the ads I look at - they achieve no purpose whatsoever.
You must monitor everything you do. This is the backbone of all your successful
marketing.
Marketing Principle No. 2: Find and develop your Unique Selling Advantage.
2
The 6
Marketing
Principles
you must
know to
make your
sales
soar...
Why should I buy from you? What can you offer that the fellow down the road
can’t? Remarkably nine out of ten people in businesses I consult with cannot
answer that question clearly and convincingly.
Most businesses make the “me-too, I am here and that’s why you should give me
your money” appeal to their customers. If you want your business to grow you
must first determine what you can offer that the others can’t.
A bamboo-furniture store on the Gold Coast offers to let his customers try and
see a lounge or dining suite at home for a week...before they buy it. No obligation.
Does it work? You bet it does, nine out of ten items that go out on that basis are
sold. It’s his Unique Selling Advantage.
What’s yours? It can be lower price, longer warranty, you are quicker, smarter,
you have a wider range...and so on. Your Unique Selling Advantage should be
used in all your headlines, and letters to your customers.
You must tell everyone what makes you so special and why they should shop
with you.
Marketing Principle No. 3: Test different strategies, advertisements and
14
prices.
How do you decide what products you sell and what strategy and price you will use? It is amazing how
business owners simply “know” what will work and what won’t. Instead of letting the marketplace and customers
tell them by testing a number of strategies on a small scale.
You can make a whole heap more money by testing.
If you want to maximize the return from your business you have an obligation to conservatively test and let
the market tell you what it wants.
If you have salesmen in the field or you are running an advertisement or sending a sales letter, you owe it to
yourself to try different approaches, sales pitches, offers and headlines in your ads.
Why? Because a different approach used by one of your salespeople may be getting 30-50% better result
than the others. Wouldn’t it make sense to have every one of your people use this new approach? And then
have one of your people test yet other ways to increase this new level of results? Of course it would.
You should test price. Let us say you are getting ten calls a week. Out of those ten calls you sell four items
for $400. What would happen if for one week you tried to sell them for $350? How many would you sell and
would you make more profit? Another week you should test $500 and monitor what that sales-price does to
your sales and profits.
Doesn’t it make sense? That change in price could double your profit.
Rather than deciding what you think the price should be, let the market tell you!
Marketing Principle No. 4: Ask your customers what they want.
What need, want or desire are you filling in your customer’s mind? Have you ever asked yourself what your
customers really want or need in the product or service you offer?
Most businesses have no idea. When I ask them, in 90% of cases they say: “All the customer wants is price
- and sometimes service.” This is laughable. If people only wanted the ‘best price,’ there would be no
Mercedes cars, no better quality clothes or bigger houses.
As for service, most businesses cannot define what this service they offer consists of.
How do you find out what your customers really want and what is important to them?...ASK THEM!!
The answers may surprise you. For a supermarket it may be home-delivery and easy parking rather than
“price.” A wholesale garden center’s customers wanted delivery on time, plants that would last in the sun
and availability. Price was the last thing on their list. Why is that? Well, imagine this. You are a landscaper
and you have five men, two trucks and a crane on site. All you need is the plants. Every hour’s delay costs
you about $350. You’re tearing your hair out.
Next time, what’ll be more important, saving $50 on your plants, or reliable delivery? And if the plants die in
two month’s time who is the customer going to blame? That’s right. YOU!
Cheap plants? No thank you, I want plants that will last.
In a tile and paint shop the customers wanted color coordination help for choosing the tiles and ease of
application for the paint.
15
What do your customers really want from you? Why don’t you go and ask them. They will love to tell you!!
Marketing Principle No. 5: Tell your customers the “Reasons Why.”
Whenever you make an offer, ask for a sale, reduce your price or make any other proposition to your customer
- always tell them the reason why.
Why is your price cheaper than your competitors? Is it because you have a lower overhead or because it is
a line you no longer carry? Will you still give me good service? Is there something wrong with the product?
Your customers want to know why. Tell them.
Why should I give you my business instead of your competitor? Please tell me. I am a customer and I want
to know.
If your price is higher tell me why? Is your product twice as strong, does your suit have triple the stitching, do
your plants really last in the sun?
The more factual, credible and believable are the reasons you give me for dealing with you, the more likely I am to give you my business.
Please, please tell me. I am a customer.
Marketing Principle No. 6: Mail your existing customers.
Most people make a sale to a customer and then go out looking to find a new one.
It is five times, yes five times easier to sell something else to an existing customer, than to convert a new one.
The first sale is just a start. There is no business that cannot benefit by direct mailing and making new offers
to their existing customers.
What if you have a once only product?? Well for a start not many products are once only. You will buy 35-45
pairs of shoes, 6-7 cars, 3-4 houses, and probably paint, carpet and renovate another 5-6 times in your life.
How much does it cost to send a few letters to someone who has just spent a few thousand dollars with you?
If you don’t have another product to sell, find another business with a product or service that your customer
will want - a logical add-on if you like.
For a 4WD car, it could be a roll bar, a caravan or camping gear. For a house, it is carpets, curtains, alarm.
For a dress shop, it’s shoes, accessories, handbags, etc.
If you have a repeat product such as shoes, why not take the customers’ size, favorite color and mail them
with advance notice of new lines? Or with first notice on specials in their size?
A mens-wear shop sells more in his “Customer Only” four-day sale than in a month of normal trading.
Every business can profit from add-on sales. If you do it consistently and test a few approaches, you will
make more money with this method than in the original sale!!
16
1. Am I monitoring my marketing? If not, how am I going to monitor it in the
future?
2. Testing - What can I test and how? (price, guarantee, headlines, etc.)
3. Am I mailing my customers? If not, when can I start and what offer can I make
to them?
Your
Action
Plan
4. My Unique Selling Advantage is... (you can have more than one)
5. Have I ever done a customer survey? If not, see chapter 15 for ideas on how to
ask the right questions. What questions can I ask my customers?
My first mailing will be on..
I’ll offer..
Other Action & Ideas
17
How did every marketing expert start? In fact how did anyone who becomes
great in their chosen business or personal field begin? What is their “Secret?”
Every successful ‘Marketing Expert’ started by emulating someone else. Emulating
is a fancy word for OBSERVE, STUDY and LEARN FROM.
You are surprised? We learn to walk, to talk, to write, and even to love from the
people around us. You started a business because you saw others doing it. You
learned to drive a car by seeing someone else first and then doing it yourself.
Even Michelangelo began by copying someone else’s painting style.
I decided to learn about marketing after losing everything in my first business. I
had no idea how to start. Then I read something very interesting written by Gary
Halbert. He is a ‘Guru’ of direct mail and has probably written more successful
direct response advertisements and promotions than anyone else living today.
Gary said that the way to write great letter and advertisements was to sit down
and copy out - in your own handwriting - the best ads and letters you can find.
The ones that made the most money.
What happens is that the writer’s way of thinking actually imprints on your mind
after you have done it a few (hundred) times. Let me tell you - IT WORKS.
If you want to be good at anything,
find the most successful people or businesses and learn from them...
Ask them how they got to be so successful. People love to talk about their
successes. You can get 20 years of experience in half an hour if you ask the right
people the right questions. Try the words...
“I have a problem and I need your help.”
People want to help others. Remember when you were lost and asked for
directions? How helpful most people are. You just have to ASK...
Use this approach and remember...the way to repay someone for helping you, is
for you to help someone else in the future. Make the good deeds go around and
share your knowledge to help others.
3
How you
can be a
top
Marketer.
The “Secret
Method”
every
successful
Marketing
Expert
uses...
Start a marketing ideas file for your business. Every time you see an advertisement,
a direct mail letter, or a flyer that attracts you, keep it. Record good TV commercials.
Ask yourself, what advertisement or sales approach did I respond to. What
business do I like to go to, and why? Become a marketing “Sleuth.”
Observe others - when something irritates you - write it down. I hate it when they
ask me to open my bag when I am walking out of a supermarket. Why? Probably
because on an unconscious level it seems as if they are saying, “We don’t trust
you.” I have even avoided walking into some stores for that reason.
They don’t do it at Marshal Field’s, or Nordstrom or in the successful franchise
stores. Why do they have to do it? Why punish the 97 people who are honest, for
the three who are not? That seems like bad business to me. What would happen
if they focused on giving better service instead? I’ll bet their profits would increase...
18
Please DO IT - observe, learn and apply it in your business.
Ask others in your business to come up with ideas and reward them. People like to be acknowledged. That
is the reason for the success of some of the MLM companies. Their Rah-Rah meetings with their gold,
silver and diamond pins being given to achievers are good examples of people recognition that works.
The same thing happens in sports. People get excited when they score a goal. Can you apply that knowledge
in your business? Do you have goals for you and your team?
There is a new and very successful department store called Nordstrom. In their shoe department, the sales
are up to nine times greater per square meter, compared to shoe stores in Australia.
Why is that? Well, for a start, the staff always brings back three pairs of shoes from the stock room when
serving a customer.
“The style and color requested; a different color of the same style; and a selection made by the employee.”
They also take note of your shoe size and the style of shoe you like. They mail you with special offers. They
have special sales for ‘your shoe size’ and customer only previews of new styles. All this gives you the
message, “We care about you: our customer.”
How can you apply that to your business? In a video store you could always bring another two selections
with each customer request. A fashion store can do the same when you ask for a particular size. A car
dealer can offer to test drive two cars that he picks, based on your first selection. A restaurant can give you
a sample-taste of other dishes on their menu, and so on...
Start asking yourself, “If it works for them, why not for
me?” Find out, test it. Do it for a week or a month. What have you got to lose?
And, most importantly...
Talk with your customers. Ask them what
they want and give it to them.
Your customers will always tell you exactly what you should be selling, how you should be selling it and how
much you should sell it for. They tell you by their willingness or failure to spend their money with you.
Start being a “Marketing Expert,” NOW. It’s easier than you think.
19
1. Do I have a marketing ideas file or scrapbook?
2. What are my favorite businesses and why?
3. Have I ever asked my staff how we can improve our business?
4. Do I know any other business with a great service, excellent phone manner, or
anything else my business could use?
Business no 1...
Your
Action
Plan
Business no 2...
What is unique about their service or product?
Other action and ideas.
20
It is five times easier to sell something to an existing customer than to win a new
customer. You must capture all your customer’s names and details. Here’s how
to do it...
The simplest way to capture all your customers’ names is to ask them. You will be
surprised how happy most people are when you ask them to be on your “Special
Customer List” or on your “Customer Club.” You can have a pad on your counter
with something like this on top of it...
Special Customer Club
To receive first notice of new product arrivals, customer only sales,
and product information please write your name and details below.
Name
Address
Phone
Any other information you want
Then you simply ask your customers...
“Would you like to go on our Special Customer list?” They’ll love you for it!
I saw this method used at a Brisbane market. The name collection pad was just
lying on the table and the people were lining up to put their name down.
A health food storeowner in Nowra, south of Sydney, said his customers thank
him and feel honored for the opportunity.
Another way to collect names, is to make an offer on a sign in the store. Something
like - “WIN $100 Worth of Products”, “A $50 Wardrobe Consultation,” “A
Subscription to a magazine,” - or anything else that your customer is likely to find
useful and attractive. Have a name collection slip on the counter for them to fill in.
And always tell your customers why you are collecting their name. They probably
know you are going to mail things to them. Tell them anyway. That way they’ll look
forward to it.
The third way to collect names is to have a section on your warranty card or on
your cashier receipts. Either you or your customers can fill them in. Make sure
you get all the relevant details you’ll need - their birthday, shoe size if shoe store,
hair type and color if you are a hairdresser, the age of child if children’s store - in
fact anything you will need to serve them better and make them feel more
important. Plus you may want to add a “How can we improve our service to you?”
with a space for their comments.
4
How to
collect
your
customers’
names,
use them
to make
extra
profits,
and turn
them into
a saleable
asset...
Now that you have collected all your customers’ names I am going to tell you...
How to make extra profits
with your own customer list.
First thing you should do is to thank your customers for shopping with you. At the
same time, this will reassure them in their decision to shop with you.
This letter will be enough to send a large percentage of them into shock and
disbelief...
When is the last time YOU received a thank you letter for spending your money
with someone?
21
I DID!! About eight years ago I had some shirts and trousers made in Hong Kong. I got a HUGE surprise
when a Christmas Card arrived in my mailbox from the tailor. Guess where I went to buy more shirts when I
visited Hong Kong some four years later? That’s right, the same tailor.
I wonder how many tourist businesses in Australia send “Thank You” notes and Christmas Cards to their
customers?
What else can you do with your customer list? Well, you can ask them what you can do for them in the
future, and at the same time, how you can improve your service to them. Just by asking you show your
customers that you care more about them than Jack does down the road.
An accountant asked his clients what they wanted. He discovered his clients needed help in managing and
marketing their businesses. He was able to get business which otherwise would have gone to someone
else...
Even if you haven’t got what your customers want, you can always find someone who has and promote their
products for a percentage of the profits.
Once your customers tell what they want, you can start to make all sorts of offers based on that
information.
You can have “Customer Only Specials” not available to the general public. Give them first choice on new
items. You can even pre-sell products or services to them.
A children’s storeowner calls her best 20 customers when the new season’s clothes come in. Almost every
customer comes in and buys something. If it works for the top 20 customers, wouldn’t it work for the others?
It’s easy to test. You don’t have to mail or phone all your customers at once. Mail 100, 500 or 1,000 and see
if they respond. If they do, then you mail the others.
Another way to make extra sales is to keep educating your customers about your products, your service, and
your field of expertise and how they can benefit from them.
A builder in Clayton, Victoria, has a brochure called “A Survival Guide...How to Avoid the Pitfalls of Extending
Your Home.” A furniture company sends a report on “15 things you must know about designing and decorating
your office.”
A restaurant can send special cooking tips. An accountant can give “7 Little-known secrets to reduce your
tax bill this year.”
What can you offer? Find out and start mailing NOW!!
How often?? Well, it’s highly unlikely that you will mail to your customers too much. Every three months
should be a minimum. You should mail something every two months or so. Again - TEST what will work for
your business.
Let me review the benefits of having a list of your customers...
You have collected your customer names, asked them what they want, and designed all sorts of offers and
information based on their feedback.
You have determined the mailing frequency that works for you and you have monitored the results from each
mailing.
Now you have a SALEABLE ASSET. How come?? Well for a start - you can offer to do mailings for other
22
people’s products - for a share of the profits. You can “rent” your customer list through a broker. You’ll get
anywhere from $150 to $500 for a thousand names every time someone rents your customer list. However...
The biggest benefit of having a mailing list of your customers’ names comeswWhen you want to
sell your business.
With your mailing list and proven results of mailings, you can prove to any prospective purchaser the amount
of money they will continue to make. Mail order businesses are easy to sell because you can tell exactly what
the business is worth by the size of the customer list and the response to past promotions. You now have the
same advantage.
Your goodwill is no longer some imaginary, intangible, airy-fairy figure. It’s a proven and tested customer
base that you can show to purchasers. OR, you can sell the business and keep the rights to your customerlist.
Then you can continue to find new products to mail to it
23
5 ways I can collect my customers’ names and details
Are...
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
other action and ideas
Your
Action
Plan
24
Figure 3 - This sign with name collection slips next to it, was used by a health
food store to collect names. Most customers are delighted to write their name on
your mailing list
Figure 4 - This name collection slip was used with the Win $100
store sign (see Figure 3) to collect names.
25
Figure 5 – This appeared in the newspapers. The store
is collecting names by using a customer club theme.
26
Figure 6 - This is the name collection method used by a restaurant.
It was given to customers after they finished their dinner. It also
gives the restaurant suggestions on service, food and decor
improvements.
27
87% of the people who open Yellow Pages have already decided to buy. They
just aren’t sure whom from. Your Yellow Pages advertisement must focus on the
reasons why they should buy from YOU.
What is the thing that strikes you when you open the Yellow Pages? Go on, have
a look. You’ll notice that 99% of all the ads look pretty much the same. Name of
company at the top, products or services supplied below, plus a pretty drawing
or a photo of whatever they are selling. You probably think: “It must work and
that’s why they are all the same...”
Actually, the reason the ads are all the same is because they all copy from each
other. It’s a lot easier for the person designing the ad to make your ad look just
like the others. It actually takes at least four times as long to create an ad like the
ones at the end of this chapter. You have to spend the time and find out what
unique advantage you can offer to the prospective customers.
So, how do you write an effective Yellow Pages ad? Before I tell you, let me give
you something you must remember not only for Yellow Pages but for all your
other advertising as well.
Tests of monitored ads prove that people are five times more likely to read what
is, (or looks like) an editorial article, than that which is obviously an ad.
And the other thing to remember is that when people open the Yellow Pages
book, they are looking for a “solution.”
For example. Imagine you have a legal problem. You don’t just want a lawyer.
You want someone who is going to listen to you. Someone who will care about
you and your problems. Someone who will be available and return all your calls
and do your work on time and correctly.
If you are a bride, you wouldn’t want just any bridal dress, you’d want to look
beautiful. You’d want your dress to be special.
Likewise, if your car engine breaks down, you don’t just want it fixed. You want to
make sure it is fixed properly and quickly - the first time. Because you’ll be without
a car while it’s getting fixed, a loaner car will be just great.
5
Your
Yellow
Pages Ad:
A simple
technique
to get you
up to 980%
better
result - at
no extra
cost...
Remember that the people looking at your ad have already selected the
classification relating to your business. You don’t need to sell them on the need
to buy your product or service. They look in the Yellow Pages because they don’t
know who to call. That’s why...
You need to sell them on the “reasons why” they should choose you over
another business.
Get the reader’s attention with a strong headline, and give them reasons why
they should choose your company as against your competitors in the Yellow
Pages. Ask them to call you to get a free report, make an appointment or to get
some free advice.
The way to test what will appeal about your company is to run the same ad you
want to place in the Yellow Pages in other media and test your headlines and
28
different approaches to get the best result. Find the most successful version and place that ad in the Yellow
Pages. Since it only comes out once a year it is far too costly and time consuming to test these different
versions in the Yellow Pages themselves.
Here are four things you must do to increase
the results from your Yellow Pages ad.
Offer something extra to the reader in the headline. It can be advice, a report, a sample of the product or a
guarantee. And please, your company name is not a headline that will get you sales from new customers.
Tell the reader exactly why they should call you rather than someone else.
Be specific in your claims.
Offer a strong guarantee.
Let’s say you are selling tiles. To say you have good service, great prices and largest range of tiles means
nothing. Everybody makes those general claims. Give specific information such as...
We have 3456 different colors and styles to choose
from, same day Free delivery and prices 24% lower because we import directly - saving you the agent’s
commissions. Or, if for any reason you are not satisfied, we’ll give you a refund. Now that’s specific.
Specific information simply gives a much stronger and believable reason to call your company.
Another way that may increase the response to your Yellow Pages advertisement is to put your
picture in it.
Photos catch the eye first. Newspaper stories always have a picture of the people and we are attracted to
looking at faces of people. Put a smile on your face and a caption under your photo! Captions get read
almost as much as headlines.
Go through the Yellow Pages and make note of the ads with a benefit headline and lots of copy. Call them
and ask them if their advertisement is getting results for them. Most will be happy to tell you if their
advertisements worked or not. Use these magic words... “I have a problem and l need your help.” They
work!
The basic principle in writing your ad is - The more information you give, the more you sell.
Use the principles I’ve given you and make sure you do get your Yellow Pages ad working as effectively as
possible.
You must monitor all your phone-calls, and if your investment in the Yellow Pages is large, consider installing
a separate phone-line with only the Yellow Pages number. This will tell you exactly how many calls you get
from your advertisement.
GO ON - put in the time and follow the tips I have given you.
It will bring you results to make it worth your while.
If you want help with your Yellow Pages ad
Call me (630) 736-1237
29
Figure 7 - This Yellow Pages Ad has an attention getting headline, plus lots of reasons why you should choose
this particular firm of lawyers (solicitors). They offer a FREE 1 hour consultation and a booklet. This is always an
attractive proposition. This sort of ad will attract you if you are looking to choose a lawyer.
Figure 8 - The benefit headline in the ad on the left plus good information in the ad will always work better.
Compare it with the ad on the right. It tells you virtually nothing to make you want to call them.
Figure 9 - This ad received ten, yes ten times
the response compared to the “standard” ad
placed last year - 10 calls per week resulting
in 2 to 3 jobs worth $3,200 per week. That’s
an extra $136,000 a year. That’s 980% of
leverage for only a slightly higher investment.
30
Test Yourself:
Which ad got better result?
These two ads appeared in the 1993 Gold Coast
Yellow Pages. They are on same page and are both
the same size. Have a good look at them.
The answer appears on the next page.
31
Which ad worked best:
The answer from the previous page.
Over 86% of people I ask pick the top ad. Were you one of those??
Here’s the answer based on actual results. During a two-week period, the top ad with the headline - VIP
CHEMDRY - received just two calls. The bottom ad, with the headline - HOME OWNERS: How to have
clean, fresh smelling, ready to walk on carpets, in less than an hour - resulted in over 11 jobs.
That’s over 1,100% better result. Why?
As a rule of thumb, “the more you say in your ads the more you sell.” In opinion tests people will often say, “I
wouldn’t read all that writing.” They are telling the truth, since they are not interested in carpet cleaning at the
time, they wouldn’t read it.
However, the potential buyers of carpet cleaning will and did read the ad.
Peter Critchley, the owner of the bottom ad said: “People commented how the ad influenced them to only call
me. I had over 90% conversion from enquiries to jobs from the ad. Customers said it gave them confidence
to deal with me.”
50% increase in new customers.
Figure 10 - This ad is another proof of the power of this style of ad. Robert Letizia said: “From day one our
new customer business went up by around 50%. Since each new customer can be worth up to $3,000 per
month, this is a substantial increase. I was skeptical at first. Last year we had all our major brands and
products listed. The customers commented on the ad, saying that it made them call me because they knew
what they were going to get.”
32
Figure 11 - This Yellow Pages Ad will work for the chemist. All the other ads offer nothing. He offers a
Guarantee and a FREE Trial. A FREE consultation or fitness assessment in this case is always an attractive
proposition.
33
1. Am I monitoring the results I get from my Yellow Pages ad? If not, how will I
monitor the results I get?
2. How many calls from Yellow Pages am I getting per week at present?
3. How many calls am I getting from my new ad?
4. From the ten (or 100) calls I get from the Yellow Pages, how many are new
customers? (most businesses say 85 to 100%)
5. How many do I convert into a sale?
6. What is the average sale worth to me in $$?
7. Who is my target market - describe your typical customer - this is the person
you want to call you from your Yellow Pages ad.
8. What will be my headline in the ad? Write three headlines you think will work
and ask other people to tell you which one would attract them.
Action
Plan to
make
your
Yellow
Pages Ad
work
better for
you.
Six headlines you can use are: “5 Reasons why you should call (your company
name)” - “You can talk to the experts about your (your product or service)” ”Don’t phone another (printer, carpet cleaner, etc) until you read this.” - “FREE
trial” - “House owners: (your target market) Get expert advice before you
buy
call us now.” etc.
34
10 reasons why I should buy
from you - be specific.
(See chapter 12 on how to increase the selling power of your ads.) Use only the best reasons for your final
ad.
1. Details of your free trial/consultation/analysis etc:
2. Your guarantee:
3. Your range of products:
4. Any free booklets or report you have:
5. Special equipment you use and it’s $ value:
6. Training and experience of your staff:
7. Price value/saving and why:
8. Service and back up:
9. Other reasons:
35
Would you like to start a new business or double your existing one? If you know
the “Lifetime Value” of your customer - you can do it almost overnight. It’s the
“Marketing Edge” that will help your business skyrocket and get lots of new
customers coming through your door.
No matter how large or small your business, no matter what product or service
you sell, you must know the Lifetime Value of your customer. Once you know it,
you can decide exactly what you can afford to spend to bring in a new customer.
Let me explain what the Lifetime Value of a customer is...
Lifetime Value of a customer is the average purchase value, multiplied by the
number of times they buy from you in a year, multiplied by the number of years
they remain your customer.
For example: You own a restaurant and your regular customer spends $30 on
average, of which $20 is profit. Let’s say they come to eat 12 times per year and
stay with you for two years on average.
This makes your regular customer is worth $20 x 12 x 2 = $480 in profit to your
business. (see Figure 12 on page 23 for a form to help you calculate the Lifetime
Profit Value of your customer).
Use the same method of calculation for a hairdresser, a supermarket, a car
service centre, an accountant, a doctor, clothing and shoe stores...
It works the same for any business.
You may sell high value items such as refrigerators, cars, machinery, office furniture
or other seemingly ‘one off sale’ items. You will have service contracts, other
products and customer referrals. They all add up to extra sales and profits over
a period of time.
Even if you just approximate the extra sales, you will start to get some idea of
what every customer is really worth to your business.
6
How to
make
powerful
offers
to
instantly
attract
new
customers
to your
business...
Why is it so important to know this? Well, knowing the Lifetime Value of your
customers gives you a HUGE “Marketing Edge” and I am going to show you...
How to use Lifetime Value to instantly
increase your business.
Most business promotions consist of ads in the papers and magazines, beautiful
brochures, signs and mail-outs telling the world about their wonderful products,
service and themselves. Usually an opening-special discount is offered, something
like 10% off or a $20 discount every time you spend $100. Unless you have
some marvelous contraption that everybody wants, such as the only water stand
on the edge of the Sahara desert, this creates about as much excitement as a
dead jellyfish.
Oh, sure. It will increase your business. However, it will expand it v-e-r-y s-l-o-wl-y. In the meantime, the rent has to be paid, you have to live and the ads are
costing you a fortune. In a year or two or three you may have a business. Or
36
YOU ARE BROKE.
There must be a better way... And there is!
You are about to learn how to create a
situation resembling a shark feeding
frenzy in your place of business.
Let me tell you about a friend of mine who built a business from scratch using this approach. His name is
Warren Woodcock. He spent $1 million on building three tennis courts, swimming pools, games room and
barbeque facilities. The place was magnificent. There was one trouble: He had no customers.
Here is what he did.
For one month he advertised in the local newspapers: FREE Tennis Lessons, FREE Court Hire, FREE
Barbeques and Swimming Pool Parties.
Guess what happened? That’s right!! The place was packed out from 7 a.m. till 10 p.m. every day that
month. He gave away lots of tennis lessons, sausages and court hire. It cost him a few thousand dollars. The
interesting part is that at the end of the month, he had a business. The courts were booked solid and have
been ever since.
Why is that? People got used to playing at his courts instead of someone else’s. His complex was magnificent
and he charged more than the others. But the customers got extra value with the swimming pool and
barbeque facilities.
Warren knew the Lifetime Value of a customer.
He knew a regular weekly booking of two hours means $20 per week x 52 = $1,040 per year, plus coaching
at $25 per half hour each week plus sales of tennis balls, clothes, etc. etc. This meant he could well afford to
give all those FREE games, coaching and food to attract new customers.
Another example is a restaurant called the Alley Deli. The owner, Norman Gordon, sent a letter to all the
V.I.P.’s in the community, to the main panners in law firms and the executive heads of all the companies
located in buildings just a few blocks away from his restaurant (the letter is reproduced on page 27). Altogether
he mailed 100 letters. They were addressed by name to all the people on his list and included a menu.
His offer was simple:
A FREE Lunch!!
The result? Out of 120 people, 100 accepted the lunch. Half of them ordered another lunch at the same
time. Most of those people became steady - regular - customers. Norman Gordon said:
“It would have taken me six months to bring in the kind of business direct mail brought me in six days. I
couldn’t afford to wait six months...”
He tripled his business since using only similar direct mail approaches to qualified prospects.
The letter was written by Murray Raphel, a famous marketing and advertising expert. He also owns a very
successful shopping center. (He promotes it only by direct mail).
Are you excited by the possibilities for your business? Wait. There is more.
37
Who is Australia’s best known hairdresser?? His name is Stefan. His picture is in most shopping centers in
the form of a life size cut out next to the hairdressing salons that bear his name.
Stefan started out by offering Free Stylecuts.
He knew the average person comes in ten times a year and spends $30 giving him $300 in turnover and
perhaps $200 in profit in just one year. If his stylists do a great job on the FREE Haircut, which they do, over
50% of people may become regulars. The costs in labor and products for the FREE Haircut? Around $8!!
With the $200 in profit at the end of the year, he knew he could give away the $8 Stylecut to get a new
customer.
Is he the biggest in Australia? Yes, he is!! Because he understands that to give is to get??
You don’t have a restaurant (see page 26), hairdressing salon or a tennis complex? Here are more examples
of who else can do exactly the same. Accountants, lawyers and doctors (see page 84) can give away a
FREE consultation worth $150; bowling centers - FREE games; supermarkets - coupons for FREE food
items (see page 131), car service centers - FREE first service or FREE brake checks (see page 91); muffler
shops - FREE muffler checks, landscapers and nurseries - FREE lawn reports. Any business such as
clothing or any retailer can simply have no strings attached FREE gift vouchers of $10, $20, $50 or whatever
amount will work for you.
A gas station can give $30 off the first month’s bill for new accounts. This method was used successfully by
a company in Indianapolis called Bowen Petroleum. An equipment rental company can offer $100 of FREE
rental for each new account opened.
What you are doing is “buying” a new customer. You do it because you know how much a regular
customer will spend with you over their lifetime.
“Buying” new customers with an irresistible offer really works, and it works amazingly well almost every time.
It works because human beings are creatures of habit. We keep doing the same old comfortable things
we’ve always done. To get a customer to break their habit of going to another business, you must give them
a very strong reason to try you.
Because they don’t know you, they will not be confident to try you and that’s why a FREE offer is a risk free
way for them to get to know you.
There is one exception when this approach won’t work! It won’t work when your product and/or service is
lousy. When you don’t follow up your customers with “Thank You” notes, letters and other forms of personal
communication. And in that case you deserve it. Because good business is about developing relationships
with your customers.
Turn your customers into friends by showing them you care and keep in touch with them on a
regular basis by mail or phone.
A word of caution.
Before you rush out and start making free offers to the world...
Work out the Lifetime Value of YOUR customer and test all your offers and ideas on a small scale.
Analyze the results, adjust your approach if needed, and only then go all out.
YOU WILL knock the socks of your competitors every single time with this approach because they’ll still be
38
offering 10% off.
Figure 12 - Use this form to calculate the Lifetime Value of your customer. It will help you determine how
much you can spend up-front to “buy” a new customer.
39
1. Based on the Lifetime Value of my customers (use the form on the previous
page to work out what it is) what sort of offers can I test in my promotions to attract
new customers?
2. Why am I making this offer? (remember you must give the reasons why in all
your ads)
3. What suppliers can I get to help me with making these offers? See chapter 11
for approaching your suppliers.
Action
Plan for
my
business
4. What sort of offers attract me to other businesses and what have I responded
to?
5. How will I monitor the response to my offers?
Other action and ideas from this chapter:
40
Figure 13 - This FREE offer worked well for
me. You may have even responded to it
yourself. It gave people the opportunity to see
what I had to offer at no risk to them. Thirtythree people called for a cost of $103.
Figure 14 - Make this offer and start a chain of
hairdressing salons. Target this offer to people who can
afford to come back. Give them great service and haircut.
Follow it up with a letter or phone call. You should convert
30 to 70% of people to regular customers.
41
Figure 15 - These offers were delivered to
10,000 homes around the shop. FREE
photo album and other gifts were a great
incentive for new customers - 187 people
came in. The $2,520 in sales made this a
profitable promotion and got lots of new
picture-framing customers who will return
many times in the future.
Figure 16 - What a great way to “buy” new customers and
build a business. This FREE pizza offer resulted in 491
customers coming in during the three weeks. Of these, 223
were new customers trying out the pizzas for the first time. And
they’ll be back because their pizzas have one-inch thick
toppings and taste great. The extra sales of $6,474 covered
the cost of the giveaway.
Figure 17 - A $10 of FREE food
value used by a restaurant. It
was given to four health food
stores to hand out to their
customers with purchases over
$20. From 2,000 vouchers given
out, 86 vouchers were presented
to the restaurant with an average
sale of $41.25 per voucher. A
great way for a restaurant to
attract new customers.
42
Figure 18 - This letter was sent by a small restaurant to influential people in the community: elected officials,
prominent businessmen, and professionals For 100 letters sent the reaction was excellent. More than half
took advantage of the FREE sandwich And about half (25 people) ordered at least one more sandwich
Within a month 25% were steady regular customers This letter was written by Murray Raphael, author of
many excellent books on retail marketing (see Bibliography)
43
Please get a copy of today’s newspaper.
Look at the front cover and tell me what you read...
Let me guess, it probably says something like this -Cold Blooded Murder, Sex
Scandal, Corruption Charges Laid, Innocent Victims Sued or something equally
grizzly and sensational.
Do you know why most of the main articles in newspapers start with headlines
relating to disasters, murders, sex and corruption? Well, I am going to tell you
anyway. It’s because that’s what sells newspapers. It attracts people who read
newspapers (and sometimes even those who don’t) and they buy it.
The only purpose of a headline is to target the person you want to reach and to
sell them on wanting to know more.
If you want proof, look at the magazine racks in the newsagents. Magazines
aimed at young women such as Cleo have articles headlined, “What You Always
Wanted To Know About Men,” “4 Signs To Look For If He’s Cheating On You,” or
“8 Tips On Looking Great This Summer.”
Magazines for homeowners have articles headlined, “12 Tips To Help You Renovate
On A Budget,” “New Fashion Colors For Your Bathroom...”
None of the successful magazines have on their covers or as headlines for their
articles the publishers or the article writer’s names. Let’s face it: Who would buy
a magazine or a newspaper with “Efficient Publishing Company” as the feature
story followed by the Ron Smedley and Sarah Bushwhacker reports?
So why is it that most businesses keep sticking the company’s name and logo on
top of their advertisements or in the first paragraph of everything they do?? Or
the other kind of headline that is a favorite with advertising agencies and many
so-called experts. This is the “Guess what I am all about - see if I can trick you
headline.”
These headlines are aimed at testing the reader’s intelligence and ability to guess.
They are usually the result of endless corporate meetings and advertising agency
think tanks.
7
How to
write
headlines
that get
you up to
19 times
greater
response
to all your
Ads, letters
and
brochures...
Here are a few samples of confusing headlines. Guess what they are trying to
sell...
“Go for the Gong” - subtitled - “your face will be red if you don’t” Any ideas what
it’s selling?? No, you lose. It’s not a TV game show, a story on sexual and mating
habits or a tale about a steep mountain climb to reach the sacred Chinese gong...
It’s a full-page advertisement trying to get you to advertise in a suburban
newspaper. Here are a couple of better alternatives...
“Would you like to double your business?... ...48 of the companies that advertise
in our paper have!”
OR
44
“FREE report - How to reach customers spending 1.9 billion dollars with effective newspaper advertising.”
Another clever headline I have come across recently is this one. See if you can guess what they are selling...
“JUST WHAT A SLAB OF SEASONED WOOD NEEDS. A LITTLE MORE SEASONING.” This could be
selling anything from a wood stain or preservative to a new recipe. It’s confusing and written in hard to read
upper case typestyle. Some better alternatives...
“At XYZ furniture we don’t use glues, nails, screws, hinges, stains or paints...That’s why the rugged, natural
looks will last you a lifetime.”
OR
“Every piece of XYZ furniture is made from salvaged timber...and is guaranteed for life by its makers.”
In both the previous examples the writers assume -wrongly - that the readers will continue to read into the
rest of the ad to find out what it is they are trying to say. What they don’t realize is that, five times as many
people read headlines as read the rest of the advertisement, article or letter
A change in a headline has been tested to increase the response to an advertisement by up to 19, yes
nineteen times.
The best headlines are usually those that tell the reader the largest benefit they will get from using your
product or service. What your product or service will do for them. This basic rule is overlooked by 95% of all
the ads and selling letters I come across.
How do you write a good headline? What are the rules to follow?
John Caples, head of the third largest advertising agency in the USA for 40 years, analyzed the most
commonly used words in 100 successful headlines. Headlines that made money. Headlines which were
repeated over and over by advertisers who measured the response from every advertisement.
Here is a list of the ten most frequently used words - in the most effective 100 headlines ever written.
Next to each word you will find a figure showing you the number of times the word was used...
You
31
Your 14
How 12
New 10
Who 8
Money 6
Now 4
People 4
Want 4
Why 4
The most common words used were you and your. They are the most frequently used words in all successful
advertising and marketing materials. This is because every advertisement, promotion or letter should be
aimed at the person reading it.
You should never aim at the masses when writing. Imagine you are sitting across from the person you want
to reach and write to them and them alone.
45
Here are 5 rules for writing
effective headlines
1... Headlines should appeal to the reader’s self interest by promising a benefit. Will it save them time, make
them money, will it make the reader more beautiful or healthy, give them more miles per gallon, or a whiter
wash. What will it do for them??
2... Don’t worry about the length. A 14-word headline gets almost as much readership as a three-word
headline. It is more important to get your message across than worry about the length of the headline.
3... Put news into the headline. The news can be an improvement of an old product, the announcement of
a new product, or a new way to use an old product. We are always on the lookout for something “new” something that will benefit us.
4... Never use headlines that are tricky, confusing or incomplete in their message. You are competing with
an average of 350 other headlines in a newspaper or magazine. And most people are busy and read too fast
to figure out what you are trying to say. They will simply move on.
5... Never use headlines that need readership of the rest of the advertisement to be understood. You will lose
four out of five readers at that point. Most people are too busy and read too quickly to be bothered to keep on
reading to find out what you are trying to say.
What it all boils down to is simply this...
The main purpose of a headline is to pick out the people who will be most interested in your product or
service.
Any other approach is wasting your money. Prove it to yourself.
Run your usual headline. Follow it up with a new one along the lines I have been talking about. Test several
different headlines to get the best response. Count the difference in orders...and thank me for making you all
that extra cash!!
Whenever I have to write any promotion for myself or for a client, the headline is always the part that takes
me the most time and effort. I usually write 10, 20 or 30 headlines. I ask someone else to look at four or five
of the best ones and pick the one that appeals to them. If the person asks me, “Sounds great Peter, but what
is it you are selling?” I know I have a problem. However if they say, “Gee, that sounds interesting, tell me
more, “I know I may have a winner.
How do you become good
at writing headlines and
opening paragraphs to letters??
Well, for a start be on the lookout for headlines that attract you. Anytime you get an idea for a headline you
could use for your business, write it down and file it under ‘headlines’ in your filing cabinet. That way, the next
time you need a headline, you’ll have something to work with.
Ask other people to read your openings and have them pick the one they like out of the three or four you give
them.
The world’s biggest selling magazine, Reader’s Digest, selects cover stories by placing advertisements in
other publications. They ask you to choose three out of about 30 articles listed in their next issues and they
will send them to you in advance.
46
The most popular request is used as the article featured on the front cover. Because that is the “Headline”
that sells the magazine.
Pretty neat trick isn’t it?? That’s how they got so big!!
Read these 23 headlines and use
them to inspire you in creating
your own headlines...
1... 9 good reasons to choose Country Curtains quality Sun Blinds and beat the scorching heat this summer.
(Vertical blinds)
2... If your bathroom isn’t ready in 8 days I’ll give you $100 cash for every day we go over time. (bathroom
renovation)
3... If your home doesn’t have an alarm, he’ll break-in in just 10 seconds. With a Wormaid back to-base
alarm he won’t even try! (house protection)
4... How to have a cool quiet bedroom. Even on hot summer nights. (air-conditioners)
5... Free 1 month gym membership worth $79 with every pair of Reebok Cross-Trainer shoes. This weekend
only.
6...10 easy ways to meet people, have fun and lose some weight at the same time. (gymnasium)
7... Here is a way to become tight, lean, attractive and remarkably healthy in just 45 minutes, three times a
week. (aerobics classes)
8...How to beat tension without pills? (vitamins)
9... Some straight talk about vitamins and your sex life. (zinc, vitamin supplement)
10... How to own a $139,000 investment home from only $35 per week and no deposit.
11... Have a house you’ll be proud of...With ColorMakers range of 362 tiles and new easy-to apply house
paint.
12... The most comfortable shoes you have ever worn or your money back.
13... How to avoid having your car stolen this summer on the Gold Coast. (car alarms)
14... How to raise your child’s IQ before it is even born. (educational tapes)
15... Free Giant Cookie. (food sampling promotion)
16... Look great with our FREE Stylecut. (hairdresser)
17... How to turn $5,000 into $5,436 in just 12 months. (bank deposit account)
18... FREE Report - “How to increase your profits in a recession.” (Potential customer’s name generating ad
for this book)
19... How to double your income in just 60 days. (personal-development goal program)
47
20... Which of these 5 skin problems do you have? (cosmetics range)
21... Vita-Mix Makes Juice 12 Times Faster Than Other Juicers - And 400% More Nutritious. (fruit juicer)
22... Why are we giving you these $18.50 delicious Macadamia Nut Chocolates - for FREE? (Candy mail
order offer.)
23... Brighten up your dark rooms in less than 1 hour. (skylight)
As with all the other concepts and strategies, the golden rule for writing and using headlines is to TEST,
TEST and TEST some more.
One headline will always give you a much better result than the others.
Maybe up to 19 times better result.
48
Am I testing different headlines in my ads and promotions? If not, what three
headlines from the ones I have written below will I test first?
10 Headlines I can use in my business...
1. “FREE Report: How to...”
2. “7 Facts you should know before you...”
3. “How I (benefit of what you offer)...
with (your product or service)...”
4.
5.
Action
Plan for
getting
better
results
with my
headlines
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
49
If you learn how to use Direct Mail properly, the results can be so amazing, it may
take your breath away.
There is no business that cannot benefit from using Direct Mail. Yet, 95% of
business owners have never sent a “Thank You” letter (see page 34), let alone a
sales letter to their customers. These two types of letters will keep your customers
coming back. Customers want a friendly personal service and regular contact or
communication from you.
After all, if you don’t write or call your friends, you’ll lose contact with them after a
while.
A friendly, personalized letter is the next best thing to personally visiting your
customers with products in your hand. It will give your business a big advantage
over your competitors, no matter what their size or how many more stores they
have.
Read the next three lines very carefully...
It costs five times as much to gain a new customer as it does to sell something
else to your existing customer.
And yet, most business owners spend all their time, money and effort chasing
new customers.
Why is that? Probably because they have never really used Direct Mail properly.
Once you have seen just how well Direct Mail works, you’ll never go back to
anything else.
8
How to use
Direct Mail
to quickly
increase
your sales
and
profits...
The reason why Direct Mail works so well is because it shows your customers
that you care about them, and care about them enough to send them a
PERSONAL letter - the sort of letter they get from a friend.
Your customers will like getting letters from you. After all, they have given you
their trust and money in the first place.
A letter tells them you care about them. It can also tell them about something
special, such as a “Customer
Only Sale,” a new product or service you now offer, some helpful information...
Your customers will love it.
By using Direct Mail, you can make your message as long or as short as you like.
You can send as many or as few of the “little white sales people” as you like. And,
you can test different offers, guarantees, prices and products without telling the
whole world you are doing
Best of all, you can pre-sell the wonders of what your product and service will do
for your customers. To the point where your customer behavior resembles shark
feeding frenzy! You’ll have them rushing to your place of business, mobbing your
sales staff and burning out your cash registers from too much use!
50
A restaurant and a health food shop started mailing to their existing customers. They had an increase
of 39% and 35.5% respectively, in their sales after three months. A Pizza Restaurant increased its
takings by 235% in two weeks.
These increases happened at a time when other businesses in their area recorded their slowest months
ever.
Direct Mail really works.
Why is Direct Mail so effective and does it always work? Well of course it doesn’t. Sometimes what you send
through the mail doesn’t work. But that is not the Direct Mail’s fault. Rather, it lies with the message, offer and
target to which it’s sent.
The beauty of Direct Mail is that you can test different messages, offers and targets in small quantities. When
a letter works, it works like crazy, because you mail it to everybody on your list.
And none of your competitors will know about what offers and ideas you are testing.
Here are some basic rules of Direct Mail. In fact this is true for any marketing promotions you do...
1... The best results always come from mailing to your own customers.
After all, they already know you. They have already had a good experience with you. They will be most likely
to come back again.
Compare this to a situation in your personal life. (If you don’t have time for such pleasures now, you will when
you start applying these methods.)
Imagine wanting to call someone to go out to dinner with. Would you ring people randomly from the phone
book? I doubt it. You’ll get a much better result if you go to your list of friends and call the people you have
already been out with before: people who know you.
2... The next best result you’ll get is from a letter of recommendation by another business to their
customers.
This works because those customers are being told by someone they trust, “This person and his business
are good people to see. You should at least try his product or service.”
This would be as if a good friend of yours arranged for a person to go out to dinner with you - because this
person has the same interests, likes the same food, is the same age as you, or whatever.
Not as good as No. 1, but it’ll have to do.
3... The next best result is from a letter to a well-targeted prospective customer list.
Mailed to people who are similar to your own customers. Similar in what they buy, where they live, their
interests etc. Or a list of all the single women or men in your age group, living in your area, liking the same
food and having the same interests as you do. (For the dinner that is.) Good luck!
4... The last, and least effective, is a Direct Mail campaign to every Tom, Dick, Harry and Mary.
Whose address you got from the Telephone White Pages or voter records.
These people couldn’t care less about your product or service. They will probably class your most beautiful
51
letter, and your generous offer, as Junk Mail.
And who knows who you’d end up having dinner with??
Direct Mail to your existing customers has the effect of you and your business becoming a friend to them.
What could be better than that? Friends stay with you, don’t they? When your customers start thinking of
you as a friend, your business suddenly becomes a lot of FUN and VERY PROFITABLE.
As a matter of fact...
Dollar for Dollar, nothing will return as
much to your business as Direct Mail.
52
1. Am I mailing my own customers?
2. If I am not mailing my own customers, what could I offer them and when will I
start to mail them?
3. Do I send “Thank You” notes to my customers?
4. Who should I send a “Thank You” note to today?
5. What other business could I approach to mail to his customer list?
Your
Action
Plan
6. Other ideas for promoting my business with Direct Mail.
53
Figure 19 - A “Thank You letter” is the first step in the Direct
Mail process. It confirms to the customer that you care and
makes them more open to future offers. This letter brought a
33.5% response from new customers who put their names in
the draw to win a prize and go on the mailing list. It showed a
profit up-front and will build future goodwill.
54
Figure 20 - This letter got $44,870 worth of business in four
weeks without any phone follow-up. Previously the response was
close to zero. It’s important that your message is attractive to
your targeted prospect. By attaching a “check” and giving the
benefits of what the journalist agency can do for you - the
response zoomed.
55
Ecology Shop
116 Scarborough St., Southport
Qld, 4218
91 3144
Southport
13th April, 1992
Monday 9:09 a.m.
Good morning Ron!
Thank you for taking the time to enter the draw for a
$20 voucher worth of products in our shop.
The prize was won by Cheryl Lowe from Runaway Bay. You are disappointed that you
didn’t win? Well, here is the good news. To thank you for entering the draw...
we decided to give you a $3 voucher.
This voucher is yours to spend in our shop on anything you want, no string
attached.
You must have noticed the questionnaire we’ve enclosed. This is in fact an
important tool for us to give you the best service we can. You see, Donna and
myself really believe in personalized services for our customers.
By filling it out, you make sure that we’ll look after you the way you would like.
It will only take you a few minutes. You don’t need a stamp. Just send it to Reply
paid 34, P.O. Box 1407 Burleigh Heads, 4220. Or bring it to the shop next time you
come in.
Thank you again for taking part in our draw. We’re looking forward to see you
again.
“Chemically Free” Yours
Dean & Donna White
Owner of the Ecology Shop, Southport.
P.S. The $3 voucher is yours to use in our shop at any
time you want...
Figure 21 - This letter to a loyal customer list received a 44% response rote. Forty-four people out of every
100 mailed redeemed the voucher and spent more besides. Twenty-five percent of the people returned
the survey, giving the owners valuable information for future marketing and product range.
56
Figure 22 - This letter, with a gift voucher was sent by a hairdresser
to his clients. The letter was not great in content, but it still resulted in
a 6.75% response rate. This shows the great power of endorsement
of a product (in this case a restaurant) by another business.
57
Figure 23 - The envelope above contained coupons with offers from 12
retail businesses. All the businesses were from one area and they shared
the cost of distributing these envelopes to 10,000 homes. Because their
offers were good and the envelopes only reached their best prospects
(people within five miles of their stores), it worked well for them.
Figure 24 - The coupon below was in the envelope as well as the coupons
shown on pages 25, 26, and 131. If you are really switched on you can
organize something similar with retailers in your area and get your coupon
in for FREE.
The result for the shoe repair business below was 102 new customers
from a total of 203 coupons returned. Sales totaled $1,102.
58
Figure 25 - Good offer - Wrong target. This was mailed to the
voters of record of residents close to the Currumbin Sanctuary.
The response from 600 letters was 21 people. The offer should
have been aimed at families with young children, the Currumbin
Sanctuary’s best prospects.
59
The biggest and most successful retail businesses have unconditional money
back guarantees. Marshall Fields, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, all know that to give money
back is good business. Do you?
Before you answer me, let me ask you. What happens if you don’t give the money
back to a customer who is unhappy?
You lose a customer, right? WRONG!!
You lose ten customers. Because that unhappy customer is going to tell at least
ten people. They are going to tell them how he or she got ripped-off and why
they’d never go back to “that place.”
You end up with an ulcer because of the stress of refusing to give them their
money back. And to top it all off, you’ll probably have to give back the money
anyway - after they take you to one of the many consumer tribunals set up to
handle such complaints.
Imagine for a moment, what would have happened if you just smiled at that
person and said...”Certainly, I’ll be glad to give you your money back.”
What would happen? For a start that person will probably not even want their
money back. Most people don’t want their money back.
They usually want the problem fixed.
A friend of mine, Elio Ciavarella, owns an Ideas in Cane furniture store on the
Gold Coast. A customer phoned him. He was very angry. His $260 cane chair
arrived late and was not the color he wanted. He was mad and demanded his
money back.
“Certainly,” Elio said. “Would you like me to mail the check out to you or will you
pick it up?” The man was stunned. As he later said, he expected a fight to get his
money back. “You can mail it to me,” he replied.
9
How to
increase
your
profits –
by giving
money
back to
your
customers...
Elio mailed the check the same day with a note to apologize for the inconvenience.
A month later the man was back to purchase a $2,450
lounge suite. “I have never been treated as well as that before.” he said.
He will be a customer for life.
What would have happened if Elio tried to tell him he couldn’t give the money
back? Because it wasn’t his fault. Because he needed to confirm it with the
manufacturer first?
He would have had a fight on his hands. Plus he would have lost that customer
and ten of his friends...
However, he always gives the money back if the customer demands it. That’s
why he has been in business for eight years.
60
You can apply a money-back guarantee to almost any product or service.
To make a guarantee work for you, and increase your sales, you must be absolutely blatant about it. You
must guarantee that your customers cannot lose by dealing with you. Take the risk of their purchase on your
shoulders. Make it easy for them to buy. Tell them about how great your guarantee is.
You may be thinking...”I can’t give a money-back guarantee and tell everyone. People will take advantage of
me. I’ll go broke.”
The truth is When you implement a strong guarantee, any increase in refunds (if there is any) will be more than
compensated by the increase in sales in most cases.
A clothing manufacturer gives a money back guarantee. His refunds are $5,000 per year...on sales of $15
million per year.
Please understand one thing: things such as Satisfaction Guaranteed, 2 Year Warranty, 3 Year Structural
Guarantee and guarantees that are not publicized or have “fine print” will not work. Neither will guarantees
with exclusions and special conditions. If you put “fine print” exceptions and special clauses in your guarantee,
you’d be better not having a guarantee at all.
To be effective, your guarantee must be specific, blatant and self-punishing, if your products or service don’t
perform as you say they will.
Here are some examples of effective guarantees:
“We guarantee to have your guttering delivered within 4X hours - if we fail - IT’S YOURS FREE.” Mordek - a
guttering manufacturer
“3 Times Your Money Back. In the unlikely event that our parts or labor fail in any way during the warranty
period - we’ll pay the cost of repairs plus double that amount for inconveniencing you.” Western Muffler
Service
“If you ever find an account error, we’ll make it right immediately...refund any fees incurred, send letters of
apology to anyone inconvenienced...and even pay you $10!” Bank of America - In the first four months of this
guarantee, over 224,000 customers signed up...fewer than 49 claimed their $10.
“If you are in any way dissatisfied with your meal or the service you received - please tell us and the dinner is
on us.” Elephant Rock Cafe restaurant
If a customer ever writes their meal wasn’t what they expected on their customer comment card or mentions
it to the waiter...the dish is FREE. Plus the owner will personally apologize for the disappointment.
A health food shop encourages their customers to take home new products.
They say, “Take it home and try it. If you don’t like it, bring it back for a refund.”
This approach adds extra sales. Their customers try new products because they know how easy it is to get
their money back.
Mail order businesses have known it for years...
61
Giving back money increases sales and profits. These companies have been sending products to people
they haven’t even seen.
What they have done is test advertisements, direct mail letters and promotions with - and without the money
back guarantee.
And the winner is...GUARANTEE
Please try a “Blatant Money Back Guarantee” in your business. It may double your profits.
62
3 Guarantees I can use in my business.
1. Money Back:
2. Performance of Product:
3. Service:
Your
Action
Plan
4. Other guarantee ideas:
63
Figure 26 - This guarantee is for a computer
software program. If you needed an accounting
package -wouldn’t it make you at least try it?
Figure 27 - A guarantee that is also a unique selling
advantage. It is clearly spelled out on our business card.
Figure 28 - The guarantee on the
$1,840 set of tapes is clear. This
company - The Results Corporation has a Money Back policy on all their
products - even their $4,500 seminars.
What’s more there is no time limit. They
are one of Australia’s fastest growing
companies. (see Bibliography on page
136)
64
Figure 29 – A clothing company that stands behind its product. It’s also good business. Money
back guarantees increase sales. The large department stores have been doing it for years.
That’s why they are large.
Figure 30 – This is a guarantee from a company that believes in the
effectiveness of its products. Guarantees like this one are a building stone
for your success.
65
When is the last time you rushed out to get a magazine or a newspaper to read
all the ads in it? Probably never.
If you are like most of us, you buy newspapers and magazines because of the
articles they have in them.
You read the editorial articles and then some of the ads, if you are interested. Yet,
the people selling products or services seem to try very hard to make their ads
look like ads. It’s as if they wanted to say, “Hey, there is an ad coming up. Skip it.”
It doesn’t make sense, does it? On the other hand I want you to consider this...
There is no law which says that advertisements have to look like advertisements.
If you make your ad look like an editorial article, you will attract more readers.
According to David Ogilvy, head of the world’s largest advertising agency, roughly
six times as many readers will read the average article as they will an advertisement.
What’s stopping you from writing your own “editorial article” and paying the
newspaper to run it instead of an ad?
Just as if you were a reporter who heard a rumor about your fantastic product or
service and decided to write a story about it.
Let’s face it, it’s unlikely that a reporter will rush out to your place of business and
write a story about you. So, the thing to do is...
You be that reporter.
You write that feature “article,” just as if you were a reporter sent to cover a story
on your business. And, at the end of the “article,” as a favor for the readers...
You tell them where to come to take advantage of your great offering and give
them the phone number to ring.
However, after all this, make sure your story is typeset exactly as an “article” in
that magazine or newspaper would be. Because...
Articles written by a reporter - or ads that look like articles written by a reporter get almost 480% more readership than something that obviously looks like
advertising.
10
How to
write
newspaper
and
magazine
“ads” that
are 600%
more
profitable
than
“standard”
ads...
To maximize your response make all your ads look like an editorial article written
by the magazine or newspaper.
The best things in life are really simple aren’t they? Of course you may want to
know what to do if you don’t have the time to write an article about yourself.
Simply locate a journalist who will write the story for you for a fee. To find a journalist,
call your local paper and ask the chief editor if he knows a journalist who could do
an article for you. Lots of journalists want a bit of extra cash and the editor is sure
to know one.
He may even want to do the story for his own paper.
66
Find something newsworthy and customize it for your target audience. If you are a video repairman, for
example, you could have a headline such as:
FREE Report for readers of XYZ paper. “How to maintain your video recorder to get a 30% better quality
video picture.”
Figure 31 - This is a good example of an
editorial style ad. It gives a benefit in the
headline and lots of information on how to
be a better public speaker.
Figure 32 – This little article is certainly
catching. There are a number of these
editorial style ads appearIng in the papers
every week which means they work.
Figure 33 – This ad sold the car to the first
person who called. There were three other
serious enquirers after after that. Ads that
describe in detail what you are selling get Better
response than ads that say nothing.
67
68
69
70
71
72
There is a man in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who writes a four page advertising supplement
every three months. He inserts it in his local paper...and he doesn’t pay a cent
for it.
How come? Because his suppliers pay for it all.
Why would his suppliers want to pay for his advertising? Because when he
advertises he sells lots of their products. He says to them,
“We’ll go 50-50. My half is writing the ads and putting it all together. Your half is
to pay for it all.”
Every supplier has a budget for co-op advertising. Co-op advertising is money
and/or products that the suppliers allocate for helping retailers promote their
products.
The funny thing is most of their customers never ask for it. Most co-op advertising
produced by the suppliers doesn’t work. It usually consists of some weak,
institutional ads that the suppliers run on behalf of the retailers. Here is a word of
advice...
Don’t use their ads.
Instead, write your own ads, based on what you have learned in this book and
ask the supplier to contribute (see a letter you can use on page 51). The suppliers
can contribute in four ways.
1. By giving you cash towards the cost of the promotion.
2. By giving you free products.
11
How to get
FREE
products
money and
marketing
support
from your
suppliers...
3. By giving you a discount for the extra purchases you’ll make as a result of the
promotion.
4. By giving you preferential credit. You’ll pay in 60 or 90 days or whatever.
You can approach new suppliers in this way...
“Mr. Product Supplier we are looking for a new supplier. Your product and
service is great and your price is O.K. However, we are about to increase our
marketing efforts (start a new venture) and, quite frankly, you are going to
benefit greatly if we succeed.
We want someone who’Il share the risk with us. We want you to help us in one
of four ways (as above).
If you’re interested to help us grow, we’ll start with you now, stay with you in the
future, and as we grow, you’Il keep getting our business...”
To get help from your existing suppliers, you can write a similar letter or call them
in person whenever you approach your suppliers with a request, or anyone else
for that matter.
73
Make sure you tell the supplier what’s in it for them.
Suppliers are only too happy to support you if they see that you have potential. Show them your potential by
being well prepared BEFORE you see them. Have copies of ads, promotion details, costing and dates for
the promotion.
This shows them you are serious.
If they are smart and your promotion works, they can document how it was done, and give it to their other
customers outside your area.
Point this out to your supplier. It will make your proposition even more attractive. You can bet they probably
never thought of doing it!
What if you are a shoe shop and you only have one store and your ad sells a 100 pairs of shoes? How many
other shoe shops could you sell your marketing system to anyhow?
74
Which suppliers will I contact to help me with my promotions?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Your
Action
Plan
75
76
77
78
What makes one marketing approach get a huge response and another fail
miserably? More often than not, it’s the execution. It’s the way you do it.
All advertising and marketing is based on fixed principles. Advertising operates
according to fundamental laws and not chance. These laws and principles were
set down by a man named Claude Hopkins in 1923. They are based on 36 years
of tested and monitored advertising - ads, letters and promotions whose results
were measured and compared.
The advertising laws were set by doing marketing campaigns on hundreds of
different products, from toothpaste to motorcars. Thousands of ads, headlines,
and layouts were compared and analyzed.
The following 11 laws were based on the results obtained from these tests.
There are exceptions that do not follow these laws; however, they are few and the
products promoted are usually in such demand they would have succeeded
anyway.
Here are the 11 laws that will increase your results.
1... Coupons and 800 numbers increase response. Countless tests prove that
coupons multiply returns. People defer action then forget. A coupon is cut out
and it reminds the person to take action and send it. The 800 numbers encourage
people to phone because it’s free.
2... Always write in 8, 10, or 12 point type. Most of your reading is done in
newspaper size print. If you test your results, you will find that oversize type does
not pay. Double your size and you double your cost. If your story is interesting,
people will read it in their usual type. If it’s not, they will not read it in any size of
type.
3... Don’t use capitals. Most of our reading is done in upper and lower case type.
We are used to that. If you write in capitals it takes time to study them out. You’ll
lose readers that way. Follow the natural and usual format.
12
Eleven
tested
methods to
increase the
selling
power of
your ads,
letters and
promotions...
4... Pictures don’t sell. In most cases the cost of the extra space taken up by a
picture will not pay for itself. You must experiment in trying ads with and without
pictures and working out the cost of each. In food lines and some color magazines
the opposite may be true. You have to test it and see.
5... Always tell the full story. People don’t read ads in series. Every ad should tell
the full story. When you attract a reader’s attention, present all arguments for
your product or service. You may not get another reading from that person in
months. Always include all the important appeals your product has.
The general rule for ads, letters, etc, is...
“The more you tell the more you sell.”
You wouldn’t send out a salesperson and tell them to “keep it brief.” You’d want
them to present all the advantages of your product or service.
79
Advertising is simply “Salesmanship in Print” or whatever media you are using.
6... Superlative claims don’t count. Give actual facts and figures. To say something is “The best in the world”
or “Nearly 7,000 have been sold” or “Great service’’ makes no impression. They are expected claims. The
reader loses respect for you because of the exaggeration.
To say “People from 38 countries have tested our product’’ or “6,586 have been sold” or “You’ll have it
delivered in four hours or it’s Free” is believable.
If you say, “Our product will last up to 37% longer” people will realize you have made comparisons and don’t
expect you to lie in print.
7... Never advertise negatively. Always present the attractive side, not the offensive side. Show and feature
the happier results which come from your product or service.
People are seeking happiness, safety, health, love and acceptance. Show them the way to get it. Picture the
rich, not the poor, when selling wealth. To sell toothpaste picture clean, bright teeth and smiles
not decay and bad breath. (see page 58)
8... Prevention does not sell. Cure does. All tests in advertising show that people will do little to prevent
troubles. They will do anything to cure troubles that exist. They will not anticipate disasters.
They are seeking advantages - improvements - new ways to satisfy desires in their life. Focus on solutions
and your results will increase.
9... It is an uphill battle to sell products in print or in person without samples and FREE trials. To succeed
in your business, you must let prospective customers sample your products. This allows them to be
emotionally involved with your product.
For low cost products such as foods, drinks, and high repeat sales items, give them a FREE sample on
inquiring. For larger items, a FREE trial, or inspection period is a must. The cost of this free sampling is the
cheapest way to get the highest results from your ads.
Free sampling will build up your business in the quickest and cheapest way.
10... Learn what headline most appeals to your target customer. You will multiply the results of your ads by
eight, 14 or 19 times by a change of headline.
A headline acts as a flashing light with a person’s name on it. You select what you read by headlines. So it
is in ads. You must always measure what effect a change in headline has on your results.
11... Never rely on your judgement and experience in advertising. Test everything you do in the most exact
way possible. A panel of advertising experts was asked to vote on a series of ads to determine which got
best results.
In all cases they got 50% WRONG when comparing these ads.
Are you game to say you know better?
Test headlines, prices, guarantees.
Test everything you do and monitor the results.
80
Use this checklist to increase the effectiveness of your ads, letters and promotions...
1. Do I use headlines that target my customers?
2. Do I offer benefits in my ads and headlines?
3. Do I test different headlines?
4. Do I test different offers?
5. Do I write in upper/lower “newspaper print” type style?
6. Do I give actual facts and figures to support any claims I make?
7. Do I make it easy for potential customers to try my products at my risk?
8. Do I advertise the positive and what people will gain by using my products?
9. Do I tell the full story in each ad?
Your
Action
Plan
If you answered yes to less than three of these, you have work to do. If you got
four to six yes answers, you are on the way to success. If you got more than
seven yes answers, you are probably very rich.
81
82
83
Figure 48 – These ads are selling smiles and beautiful teeth. They have good
headlines. You get a FREE sample. They were written by Claude Hopkins, the “father”
of scientific advertising methods.
84
One of the easiest ways to increase your profits, is to ask a customer who has
just purchased something to buy something else.
Next time you are at a McDonalds Restaurant watch how they do it. They’ll ask
you the question, “Would you like some french fries or a drink with that?” That
question probably gives them an extra $700 or $800 MILLION in sales each
year worldwide.
How can you profit from this knowledge?
No matter what business you are in you can add-on and cross-sell products to
your customers. What would happen if you owned a shoe store and you asked
your customers as they were about to pay for their purchase,
“Would you like some shoe polish with that” or “Do you need any socks?”
If you serve 50 customers a day and only one customer in five takes you up on
the offer, it means ten extra sales - sales you never would have had. At say $2
profit per item, you have $120 per week extra profit.
That’s $6,240 per year!! For one tiny item!
Car dealers are experts at up-selling. You start with a basic $10,000 car and
then you add some cloth seats, radio, air conditioner, and power steering and
you’ve just spent another $3,500 - all in last 10 minutes of the sale...after you’d
already signed up for the basic car!
They don’t make much money on the car itself, they make it on the “extras.”
A Shell service station in Bowen won a competition for selling the highest volume
of engine oil. When I asked the owner how he did it he replied, “It’s easy. We say
to everyone - Please lift your bonnet and I’ll check your oil.”
13
How to get
10%,
25%...or
50% more
sales by
asking a
simple
question...
Since RACQ research found that 75% of all cars run low on oil, that Shell service
station sells lots and lots of oil. At $1.80 a litre profit, the owner can make more
money on the oil (which is sold at full price) than on the average discounted
gasoline sale.
What other businesses can use this technique?
Every business has opportunities to up-sell or cross-sell. A paint and tile store
has developed a checklist (see Figure 49).
When the customer is at the cash register, he/she gets one handed to him/her.
The staff member says, “To save you time later, would you like to use this checklist
to make sure you have everything you need?”
Clothing stores can have a checklist of accessories with every suit or dress.
Hardware stores could mention a special offer on hammers, rubber gloves or
torches.
Wholesalers can up-sell a display stand or a new accessory.
85
Manufacturing companies can include inserts for all sorts of products when sending out statements
to account customers.
Computer companies can up-sell a cover for the computer or a box of floppy disks.
Restaurants can suggest taking home a pie.
Alarm or air conditioning installers can have a checklist of other services the homeowner may need -things
such as fencing, carpets, and landscaping. They can then refer those leads to other people for a fee or a
percentage of the sale.
The point is, IT WORKS.
The customer feels that you care because you are thoughtful enough to suggest something that may be
needed, and you get the benefit of “Extra Profits.”
Profits you never would have had.
How will you know if it works for you? Try it.
Do it for a week or two using different items and approaches. Have a competition for your staff.
Have a prize for the staff member who sells the most of the chosen item each week.
And watch your profits climb.
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What products or services can I upsell to my customers at the point of sale?
Your
Action
Plan
87
Figure 49 - This checklist is on the counter of a paint store. It reminds the customers of
everything they’ll need. Every customer is given a copy of this checklist as their receipts are
being done. It saves the customers time...and of course, it increases the sales.
88
How would you like to TRIPLE the results you get from every sales letter you
send to your existing and prospective customers?
Yes it is possible...and you may even do a lot better.
A charity organization called QUT sent two letters asking for donations. The second
letter was followed by a phone call. The result before the phone call was 1% - one
donation from each 100 letters sent.
The result after the phone call was a HUGE 24% - 24 people out of each 100
letters sent out donated money to the charity.
I sent a letter “disguised” as the front page of a newspaper (see Figure 50) to
owners and Managing Directors of large companies. It was laminated, framed
and sent by Express Post. The result after I phoned was a 75% response.
Before the phone call - NO response.
You may not have a product expensive enough to do such a fancy “letter.” However,
it’ll work for any letter you send.
Here is how you can increase your profits with the “Phone, Phone, Mail, Phone”
technique...
Imagine you are selling a product or service to other businesses. The first step is
to find out the name of the person who will make the buying decision.
Next you call that person and write down a short message that you will say to
him. Something like this...
“I’ve got a product (service) that will save you time -increase sales - keep your
factory clean etc. etc. I’ve summarized the benefits in a one/two/three page
letter. Would it be O.K. to send you the letter and call you later to see what you
think of it?”
14
How to use
U.S. Post
Office and
Ma Bell to
triple the
inquiries
and sales in
your
business...
Then you mail your letter by Federal Express.
Wait a few days to make sure they’ve got the letter and then follow up with another
call, this time to make the appointment, get the order or whatever.
Phone, Phone, Mail, Phone - that’s it in a nutshell. However you may test different
combinations of this approach. There is no “Right” or “Wrong” in Marketing.
The rule for everything you do is simple. Test it on a small scale and see.
If it works - use it.
89
1. Am I making a phone call before I send out an important letter?
2. Am I following up with a phone call two days after I send the letter?
3. Do I test mailing by Federal Express for extra impact?
Other Action and ideas:
Your
Action
Plan
90
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What is the easiest way to find out exactly what your customers and prospects
want? That’s right, you ask them!
Ask them what they want, what they think about your service and what you can
do to serve them better.
This is such an obvious thing to do, and yet almost nobody does it. It is an
amazingly simple way to give you a “selling edge” for all your future marketing
efforts.
Not only that, your customers are delighted to tell you what they think. After all,
they are the ones that keep your business alive. The business is there for them.
People love to help and give advice. Didn’t your family and “friends” give you
heaps of advice when you were about to start your business? Well, your customers
are just as keen - and their advice is a lot more useful.
There is an example of a very simple survey in this book. The information was
collected right at the time of the sale - in this case after they finished their dinner.
Over 95% of the people asked were happy to fill in the survey.
Another way to get feedback is by having a “Customer Suggestion Box” in an
easy to see place at your business. A gym in Melbourne called Re-Creation has
a suggestion box in their changing rooms. They ask,
“How was your work-out?”
The answers help them give their members what they really want.
You can also get information by mailing your customers the survey sheet and a
little “gift” for filling it in. Have a look at Figure 21 for a sample letter to send with
your survey.
The survey sheet for The Ecology Shop contains all the vital information they
need. The answers help them improve their service and their store and help
them make relevant offers.
15
How to get
your
customers
to tell you
what you
should be
selling to
them - and
to thank
you for
asking...
For example: If you answered no to the question “Do you have a water filter?”
and later on you ticked water quality as your area of concern (as many people
did), The Ecology Shop would know you are a prime prospect for buying a water
filter. If you said you had arthritis, they will offer you a sample of celery extract
which relieves it.
Are you getting the idea? Good.
Your own survey should give you all the information you need to know about
what your customers really want and need.
Not what you think they should have.
There are several other ways to gather this information. As well as mailing it with
a little “gift” or “bribe” for returning the survey, you can phone and ask your
customer the same questions.
92
Or, better still, take the time and talk with your customers when you see them in person. Your customers will
tell you everything you need to know to get more of their business.
You may think that your customers are too sophisticated, too simple or that they will feel their privacy is being
invaded with all these questions.
You may even be asking...
“Wouldn’t it be better to keep shoving products and sales promotions down their throats? Sales promotions
of products and services they don’t and never will want or need? Just as I have been doing up till now?”
NO! NO! NO!
Believe me, if you follow what I have told you, you won’t even have to be sneaky and pretend you are working
for a radio station doing a survey.
The way The Ecology Shop did it was simply to say...
“You must have noticed the survey we’ve enclosed. This is, in fact, an important tool for us to give you the
best service we can. You see, Donna and I really believe in personalized service for you.
By filling it out, you make sure that we look after you the way you would like us to.”
Plus they included a $3 gift voucher with no strings attached as a thank you.
Their customers were delighted. Over 26% returned the survey and 44% used the attached $3 voucher.
Your customers will love it as well.
All you have to do is twist and change the questions to suit your business and you are on your way to lots of
happy customers.
And increased profits.
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Here are some questions I can ask my customers in a survey...
1. How did you hear about us?
2. How often do you visit us?
3. What else can we do to improve our service?
4. What other products or service would you like us to provide?
5. Other questions relevant to your business.
6.
Your
Action
Plan
7.
8.
9.
10.
Other action and ideas:
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95
96
There is a saying which goes - “There are only two things that you can be sure of
in this life, death and taxes.”
You may or you may not agree, but one thing is certain:
“Nothing in this book is guaranteed to work for you exactly as I have said.”
It may bring you more results or it may give you less. But no matter what, all
throughout this book I have repeated and will repeat again “You must test everything you do.”
To be able to test you must know what results you are getting from each one of
your present marketing efforts. You do this by monitoring the results of every ad
you run, every marketing approach you do and every letter you send.
Please do not rush out all excited with these new concepts and ideas and spend
$10,000 sending out letters or giving away free samples, only to find it didn’t
work.
Test everything on a small scale first, monitor the results and if it shows a good
result - then, and only then, should you commit to using the idea, letter or ad on
a large scale.
That way you’ll never have to say, “I did just as Peter told me in his book and he
screwed me. It didn’t work.” Rather it’ll be, “Peter told me to test everything first
and I didn’t. Silly me!”
Ask yourself in all your promotions. What did it cost? How many people came
in? How many people bought? What was the value of the average sale? How
many people will come back after the first sale? What was my cost of inquiry - my
cost per sale? When you have the answers, you’ll be able to approach all your
marketing efforts in a scientific and predictable way.
Here are six ideas on how to test and monitor all your marketing efforts.
1... Ask every customer who buys from you, or even customers inquiring to buy,
how he or she heard of you. You can say something like this. “We get a lot of
referrals. Is that how you got to hear about us?” This will get a response of “Yes,
it was a referral” or “No, I actually saw your ad in the...”
16
Six ways to
monitor
and test all
your
marketing
efforts - to
generate
maximum
results
from every
Marketing
Dollar you
spend...
You’ll get the answer you need.
2... Have a coupon on your ads. Ask the people to bring in the ad or the letter to
receive the special offer you are making. Never commit your-self to any form of
promotion or advertising where you cannot measure the results.
3... For every promotion you do, use a Promotion Analysis form. Buy a binder for
clear display pages. Place a copy of every promotion you do in a display page.
On the other side of each promotion, record the results and insert the analysis
sheet.
97
Whenever a promotion shows a profit, keep on doing it. It becomes your benchmark. At the same time, keep
testing on a small scale. TRY to beat your benchmark with different offers, headlines, people targeted or
strategies.
After a while, you’ll have a number of promotions that are showing a profit in your binder. You can then
decide in advance which one you want to use. And you’ll know - in advance - what results you should get
from it.
4... Write on every sales record what marketing effort that person came from. You can attach the relevant ad
or coupon to the sales record if the customer had to present it to get his special offer. Have a large envelope
and keep all the voucher and sales records there for your analysis after the promotion is over.
5... What should you test in your ads and letters? You should test headlines, prices, offers you
make, people you are targeting, and different actions when you tell the reader how to take advantage
of your offer. Test positioning on the page and in the publication. Test different publications and
time of year when your ads appear.
6... What to test with sales people and telephone inquiries? Test different approaches that the sales people
use. Test different follow up offers and different packages that they can offer.
If your customers and prospects phone your business, you can test prices and offers. You can test different
ways of answering the phone and different approaches for getting appointments. If you are getting ten calls
a day and making two sales, doesn’t it make sense to find the approach that will make one, two or more extra
sales. You’ll double your sales and your profits will skyrocket for no extra outlay.
A carpet cleaning company gets 15 calls per week from their TV ads. They sell ten to 12 carpet cleanings
from these calls. Now they put their prices up by 10%. Their sales do not change. However, that 10%
increase in price is a 50% increase in profit with no extra work or expense.
Can you think of three things you could test right now in your business? Great, write them down.
You’ll never have to wait for “word of mouth” to bring you business. Now you have a scientific approach to
your marketing. Plus, you have your binder of proven promotions and analysis of results. You have extra
profits on tap...
Now, go start testing and monitoring today.
98
1. Do I know where my customers are coming from?
2. Am I analyzing all my promotions?
3 ways I can test in my business...
1.
2.
3.
Your
Action
Plan
99
Figure 53 - This ad keeps appearing in the Gold Coast papers. Over 100 people bring in
the coupon with the Buy One - Get One FREE offer - on Friday and Saturday nights.
More people come in during the week. Some of the customers will come back, making
this a very successful little ad. It could be improved by making it clearer to read and not
in reverse type. White on black typestyle has been tested to decrease results by over
50% in some ads.
100
101
102
Is your business in trouble? Do you need to raise cash fast? With these nine
strategies you can raise the cash you need for expansion of your business,
purchase of new stock or more long term marketing strategies.
You can adapt every one of these ideas to almost any type of business...
Strategy #1... Make an offer to your existing customers.
The easiest and quickest way to raise cash is to go to your existing customers.
Since they have already bought from you, they are most likely to buy again,
because they know and trust you.
You may have their name on a mailing list, delivery receipts, orders records, job
sheets or warranty cards. Make a special “valued customer” offer to these people.
You can mail to them, phone them, or call on them in person.
You may want to use a wording like this...
“I am sending you this letter for a very special reason. I’d like to say...
Thank You
I appreciate repeat customers more than any other kind. You are the real reason
for our success. You are the one that keeps us trading year after year.
Rather than just saying “Thank You”, I’d like to do something more meaningful
and valuable to you.
17
Nine quick
ways to
raise cash
for your
business NOW...
Here is what I’ve come up with...
I just got in 120 of a new style of dresses (cars, beds, hammers, tiles, etc. etc.).
These dresses are individually designed by Jacque Dior. They are made from
the finest Swiss cotton and lined in French silk. Just to try one on is an
experience by itself. These dresses just float with your every movement. You’Il
look your best any time you wear one.
The dresses are selling for $650 each or more. A boutique in Chicago is selling
the same dress for $980 right now. Call me and 1’ll give you their name, so you
can check.
However; I’ll let you buy up to two of these creations before l put them on
general sale - for only $380 each.
Plus 1’ll do any alterations, normally $25 for Free. But you must come before
the 29th of September to our George St. store designer section and ask for the
dresses. They are not on display, on purpose.
We have 5,860 customers and with only 120 of these dresses to sell, l any
sure they’ll sell out fast if we display, them in the store.
I want to give you the first opportunity to choose “..etc.
Do you get the idea? The important thing is to be sure that you are giving great
103
value. Because if it works, you can keep making similar offers every couple of months.
Strategy #2... Pre-selling your product or service.
If you have a repeat product you can pre-sell it at special prices. Movie houses do it. You can buy a book of
ten tickets at 20% to 50% off a regular ticket price.
You can finance the expansion of the business, new equipment and other fixed costs with this method.
Delicatessens can offer “Deli-dollars” purchased in advance at a discount of say $100 Deli-dollars for $90
cash.
Car service businesses can offer guaranteed 3, 6, or 12 month services at a pre-paid and discounted fee,
right now.
Laundromats can offer books of 10, 20, 50 washes and dryings for a discount.
Accountants, dentists or lawyers can offer one year’s professional services or a “family pack” of services for
a flat advance fee.
Restaurants can offer a pre-paid fixed number of lunches or dinners at a reduced advance price. All carryouts
or pizzerias can do the same.
Lawn mowing or car cleaning services can offer a monthly service for 12 months at a discount, if paid now.
Weight loss clinics can pre-sell 6 or 12 month’s worth of appointments or diet meals at a discount.
You can add value by offering a bonus with the prepayment. For example the movie house can offer 15
movies for the price of 10.
The laundromat can offer FREE drying with every wash, if you purchase 10 washes in advance.
The car cleaning can offer a wax (worth $20) with every 5 cleanings paid in advance.
Hairdressers can offer 5-6 different services worth $148 for $59.
And so on...
This strategy will give you immediate cash. You should set aside a portion of this money to fulfill your obligations,
and use the rest of the money to develop some of the other marketing ideas in this book.
Strategy #3... The “Special,” “VIP” or “Preferred Customer” Club concept.
In a nutshell, this is an offer inviting a limited number of your customers to join a Special Customer Club.
Membership can be FREE or you can charge a small fee. All members get the opportunity to purchase at
discounts over regular customers, plus you can throw in bonuses of your product etc. Look for high perceived
value but low cost bonuses. Club members should also get first hand notice of new products, regular
newsletters and other benefits you find appropriate.
Some of the up market hotels use this strategy to get their guests and people living near the hotels to use
their facilities. They will telephone or send a letter offering an exclusive opportunity to join their Club. The
Sheraton Mirage charges $150 to join their Club and then you get to eat at all their restaurants for 50% off.
104
Plus there are other benefits.
This strategy will give you up-front cash as well as extra revenue from future mailings to these customers.
Strategy #4... A “Regular” Sale.
The sales that work the best need a rational and believable explanation for the price reduction. You must
compare the reduced price to the regular price to show the value you are offering.
If you add a bonus or an extra offer in addition to the reduced price, it’ll increase the success of the sale. You
must use a headline that “sums up the guts” of the offer you are making.
Let me give you an example.
To scream that you have something on sale for 25%, 50% or 70% off is ineffective when everyone else is
doing the same. Your sale and the value you give must be exceptionally attractive. How do you do that? By
starting your ad, letter, phone call, radio or TV ad with a headline or its spoken equivalent.
You can use something like...
A $3,560 Australian Leather Lounge Suite for just $990 plus you’ll get a $149 footstool - Free.
A 1992 remote control Color Sony 10" TV with stand. On sale for $100 less than 1978 black-and-white TV
prices.
Get all your laundry done for only $2 per load plus 25 cents for drying - next seven days only.
An $80 dinner for two, complete with one bottle of French champagne and two pre-dinner cocktails for only
$29 weeknights and $39 weekends.
$14,000 Ford with $2,480 in factory options. Plus $2,850 in dealer extras, a two year 60,000 miles warranty
and two free services - all for only $13,950 including all on road costs.
Mermaid computer retailer blunders. Over-orders in recession. All stock 50% off the marked prices.
Air conditioners installed in any home for $100 less than the regular price, with two annual service calls worth
$150 for FREE.
A $159 pair of Reebok shoes for only $99 plus you get a three month gym membership worth $129 - FREE.
Cappuccinos for only 49 cents - this week only. The important thing is to...
First, give the essence of your offer in the headline. The aim is to get the prospective customer’s attention to
read on to find out more!
Next, you must justify with solid, logical reasons why you are giving such a great deal - why they cannot get
this deal elsewhere.
You can establish the credibility of your price by educating the prospect of the industry pricing policies. Some
of the reasons for giving such a great deal may be as follows:
“We ordered 450 of the XTZ product for the summer season. Normally we only have about 30 left by this
time. However, someone forgot to tell my buyer we are in a recession.
We still have 250 of the XYZ product left - and my accountant is screaming. To be able to buy new season
105
stock we must first sell 230 of these widgets. It is costing us $35 each month in interest plus the profits we
are losing by not having the new stock in the store.
We will sell them for 65% less than you will buy them at Joe Blogg’s store.
However; you must act now.
This offer is only good until the 25th of September. After that we’ll put them in storage and hope to make up
our profit and expenses with the expected manufacturers increase of 27% next year.
This means you are saving 75% if you buy now.”
Another effective approach is to simply tell the truth...
“Quite frankly we are going broke. The recession has caused our sales to drop by 47% and now the bank
is screaming for their money.
If we don’t come up with the cash, they’ll take the lot. We figured we’d rather sell everything at our cost less
25% and pay them off. That way we keep the house and maybe we’ll move to smaller premises until the
recession is over.
You must act now. We have only until the 29th of November to pay the bank...”
Another way to justify the price drop is...
“As part of a bold marketing test we want to find out, what effect price has on the sales of our widgets.
For the next 14 days only we have devised an experiment to cut our profits by 98%.
This makes the XYZ product 37% cheaper than you can buy anywhere in Dallas. If our test works and we
sell lots of the XTZs, we’ll be able to buy large quantities and get an extra discount allowing us to make a
profit on this offer.
If not, we lose all our profit and probably the business as well. To give us a chance if it doesn’t work, we are
limiting this offer to the first 800 customers. After that, prices go back to their old levels.
In either case, this offer ends on the 15th of December; 1997.”
Strategy #5... Network with another business.
Go to a business that would logically benefit most by accessing your customer base or prospects. Allow
them to access your list for 50 - 50 or 60 - 40 (or whatever you agree on), of the profits they’ll make.
To get the best deal, show the other person how you have spent thousands of dollars building the trust of
your customers. Tell them you will endorse and recommend them to your customers to make the sale easy
for them.
The important thing is to go to people with top quality products or services, that your customers or prospects
are likely to want and need.
For example:
Stationery stores can joint-venture with computer, phone, fax and photocopying companies.
106
Clothing stores can go to a shoe store or a local restaurant or a travel agent.
Brake repair shops can go to tire retailers, muffler shops, service centers, etc.
Gyms can go to sport clothing and shoe shops, health food stores, adventure travel, local restaurants, etc.
Strategy #6... Sell licenses of your ads, techniques or letters to others.
If you have perfected, documented and quantified an ad, letter, technique, promotion, sales approach or a
production system that saves or makes money...you can sell a license to use all those techniques to other
people in your industry who aren’t in your competing area. You should sell for a fee plus a percentage of the
savings or the increased sales.
The important thing is to document the results you get with your ads or methods. This makes it easier to sell
the idea to others.
You can even employ someone to sell the techniques to the other people on a 50 - 50 commission basis.
Strategy #7... Barter your product or service for someone else’s product or service. Then convert it
to cash.
Say you are a car dealer who wants to advertise in a newspaper or a magazine. You can trade a car for at
least equal and probably double or triple its retail value in advertising space. (The cost of the page being
much lower than that of the car.) They can sell the car for cash and you get the chance to sell other vehicles
for cash and get more value for your advertising dollar.
A restaurant can swap dinners for printing, advertising and even stock and furniture purchases.
There are a number of barter and trade exchange organizations that can help you trade out your excess
stock and give you extra business.
These organizations work in a similar way to a credit card account. Whenever you need to buy something,
you go to a directory of members and your account is debited by the amount of your purchase. Likewise,
when you sell something, your account is credited by the sale amount.
One of these trade exchanges is called BarterCard. They are based on the Gold Coast and have over 3,000
members.
Strategy #8... Go to a Charity, Club or any other non-profit group –
(find one with lots of members).
Get a charity, a sporting or hobby club to sponsor an event or a mailing to their members. Give their members
a discount or a special offer and donate a portion of your profits back to the charity or group sponsoring you.
You may even get your promotion inserted into their mailing and have them pay for the postage.
This concept will work well if your offer is attractive enough for their members.
You are leveraging their goodwill and you get to access hundreds or thousands of people with their
endorsement.
Strategy #9... Get my help to implement
the strategies in this book. If I can’t help you, I will put you in touch with someone who can.
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IMPORTANT NOTE: These eight strategies will only help you in the short term. To build a lasting business
you must implement an on-going policy of nurturing your customers and constant testing of other, more
lasting strategies and concepts.
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Strategy #1. What offer can I make to my existing customers?
Strategy #2. How can I pre-sell my product or service?
Strategy #3. Do I have a VIP Customer Club? If not when will I start one and
what form will it take?
Strategy #4. What reasons why will I give for a regular sale and when will I have
it?
Strategy #5. What businesses can I network with?
Your
Action
Plan
Strategy #6. What process, ad or system have I developed in my business that
could I sell or license to other businesses?
Strategy #7. What business can I barter with? Would I benefit by joining a
Barter Network?
Strategy #8. What charity group, club, association or sports organization could
I access to promote my products to their members?
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110
111
112
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Figure 62 - This was an offer to a customer list of an upscale furniture store. The offer was
simple: "rather than spend money on advertising, we are giving it to you in the form of this $50
Gift Voucher." There were a couple odf specials mentioned on pages 2 and 3 of the letter. The
letter resulted in at least 17 people coming in to the store during a very quiet period. It also
generated a lot of goodwill.
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Do you know the definition of a successful misery?
It’s the person who has a chain of 38 widget shops. They are overweight and out
of shape. They’ve had a triple bypass. Their wife/husband is about to divorce
them and their kids are all waiting for them to go so that they’ll inherit the money...
...And all they are worried about is how to open their 39th Widget shop.
Just in case you’ve missed the news lately, even the mega millionaires die. Often
quite suddenly. Money is no substitute for happiness or guarantee of immortality.
If all you get out of this book is how to make money at the expense of a life that is
fulfilling to you and beneficial to others around you - then you’ve missed the
point.
The point is this...
It is far more rewarding to be a person who cares about others - a person who
has as their “religion,” kindness and compassion for all other beings who share
this world with them.
To be kind and compassionate is more important than to be a person who makes
a lot of money.
After all any success you’ll have will only be possible because of “The Others” in
this world. Without happy customers and employees, good friends and loving
family you cannot have success in your life or your business.
18
How to
make lots
of money
and be
happy...
Only you decide how you will live your life and how you will treat others.
If you are fortunate to have more than you need, share it with those who are in
need. You never know when you will be in need yourself.
Millions are made and lost every day. The only thing that counts is how you have
lived your life.
There are two ways to be rich...
The first way - is to make, win, steal, earn or borrow enough money to satisfy
expensive desires and find momentary and fleeting happiness.
This way leads to wanting more and more as desires grow. It’s hard to be really
satisfied or happy always chasing bigger and bigger material goals. It can lead to
money and possessions being placed before the welfare of other human beings,
your health and time with your family.
The second way - is to cultivate a simple lifestyle with a few desires.
That way you’ll always have enough money to be happy. And the money and
material possessions you are fortunate enough to get you’ll be happy to share
with others. You’ll no longer be attached to them as your only or main goal and
source of happiness.
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It takes a lot more discipline and wisdom to make use of the second way. Which way do you choose every
day??
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1. Am I spending most of my time on business and making money - at the
expense of my family and my health?
2. What have I done in the last year to help others?
3. Do I share my knowledge and my good fortune with those who are less fortunate?
Your
Action
Plan
4. What will I do in the next month that will benefit others without any reward for
myself?.
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Part 2:
The Most Effective Ways
To Make More Money
In 41 Businesses.
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The most effective ways to increase profits in 41 businesses...
This part of the book shows you by practical example some of the ways to market
specific businesses.
I’ve taken 41 separate businesses and given you the best ways to improve those
businesses quickly and for the long term. You will see that the ideas given in one
business are applicable to many others. Read them all.
All businesses have one thing in common - CUSTOMERS.
You must capture the names of your customers and phone or mail them regularly.
This is the basis of your long-term success.
This will work for every business listed here. How come? Because human nature
doesn’t change and people like to be recognized and treated as special.
Just like your friends. If you don’t write or call them -you don’t see them.
It’s that simple.
Most accountants never let their clients know what services they can offer apart
from the annual tax return.
Start letting your customers know about all the ways you can help them in their
businesses.
You can have a checklist of services and offer it to your existing customers. You
can offer a whole year of services for a flat fee payable in advance or it can be paid
monthly by bank debit - services such as auditing, tax planning, financial advice,
leasing advice and whatever else you can do.
Accountants:
How to increase
your profits...
Offer a FREE consultation to design a strategy for each of your customer’s special
needs from the checklist of your services. Mail your customers regularly with
newsletters explaining tax changes, how it affects them and what to do about it.
Make offers in your newsletters for the other services that you do.
Find ways to help your customers increase their business, as well as saving
them money. You will make far more money if you maximize your client’s tax by
helping them increase their profit, than by reducing their tax!
Send your clients good books on investing, making money, or anything to do with
better living and business - just as a gesture of goodwill.
Run FREE seminars to get new customers. Promote useful business seminars
to your client base - as a joint venture.
All your clients have customers and suppliers. Have them “buy” one or more
hours of your time as a gift for their customers or suppliers. You give this time to
your clients for FREE. You should also write a letter for them to send to their
customers and suppliers.
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The letter can tell a story of how you saved your client all this money and what a great guy you are - how you
care about their business and how you take the time to really find out their needs.
And because your client wants to thank their customers/suppliers for the great support, they have bought
them X hours of your time as a gift of real value...
Keep educating your clients about all you can do and communicate with them regularly. Be approachable give all your clients unlimited and FREE 10 minute phone advice. This will lead to more work on the more
complicated matters. It will pay off handsomely for you.
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The quickest way to see lots new customers is to offer a FREE skin analysis, run
beauty and make up classes, or offer the first visit FREE.
Give vouchers for these services to other businesses such as hairdressing salons,
jewelers or any other business that has clients similar to the clients you want.
You can afford to give up-front because you have read chapter 6. You know that
a new customer is worth many times the effort you put into the FREE offer.
Beauty
Salons:
You know that you will follow up your clients with a call and letters offering them
other services and regular beauty sessions. This will convert them to be regular
clients of your salon.
How to
increase your
profits...
Why not send out a leg wax special in the spring. Call your clients and encourage
them to come in.
Send out special offers to the secretaries and office staff around your area. You
know that 10% or 20% off doesn’t work and you will make a strong offer to make
sure they come in.
To introduce existing clients to the other services you have you can give them a
FREE sample of the service or a coupon valid for the next month to try at 50%
off. The more services a client has with you the less the chance of their going
somewhere else.
Read the section on hairdressers. Most of the ideas there will also apply to you.
Send your customers little gifts and make sure you follow up.
Follow up keeps your customers thinking about you and your cash register ringing.
The only way to build up regular customers is to get people to try your products.
If your product is excellent, your service friendly and your bakery looks attractive,
those people will come back again and again.
The easiest way to get the people to try your product, is to give it away - FREE.
You’ll build up regular customers quickly (see Figure 44). Make sure to describe
on your vouchers how you make your breads and cakes. Have different offers for
your most popular products.
Bakeries:
How to
increase your
profits...
Have coupons and FREE vouchers for a slice of cake, donuts, cheesecake and
other products. Have a huge sign with “FREE Cream Buns” or whatever else you
want at the front of the store.
Instead of just dropping leaflets at people’s homes, get some school kids to
dress up with an apron and a baker’s hat. Give them FREE gift vouchers and
have them go around your neighborhood on the weekend to introduce your bakery.
The kids should also visit all offices, businesses and houses. Teach them to say
something like this:
“Hi, to introduce you to our new bakery we would like to give you a FREE XXX.
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Just bring this voucher to us anytime in the next week. We are at XXXX”
Another thing to do is to give the vouchers to other businesses in your area to give to their customers as a gift.
Every time they sell something to their customers they can give them a voucher for your product. They can say:
“As a Thank You for shopping with us you can have a FREE XXXX from the bakery on us. just take this
voucher to them at XXXX.”
When the customers are in your store, capture their name, address and birthday with a “Win a Prize” sign and
name collection slips (see Figures 3 and 4). Send special birthday cake offers, wedding cakes, parties, father’s
- mother’s day cakes etc.
The suppliers are more likely to help you with promotional support and products. Why? Because you have
organized and planned your marketing strategies. It shows how serious you are in expanding your business which means they’ll benefit as well. Ask them for their help.
You can also get other stores in your area to give you free products and services to give to your customers, such
as restaurant vouchers, hairdressing vouchers, etc. Mail or give these to your customers if they buy over a
certain amount in the shop.
Your customers will appreciate this and you’ll get
lots of referrals and repeat business.
Figure 64 - This ad can be mailed or
hand delivered to your immediate area.
It will bring repeat business if your
product is good. It’s an improved
version of the promotion on the next
page.
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You are not selling bikes. You are selling fun, health and fitness and making
loved ones feel good with a gift.
Go to gyms and sports clothing stores and mail to their members and customers
with offers for your bikes.
Describe the fun they will have on a bike when selling it to others.
Collect all your customer names and offer FREE checkup and maintenance of
your bike after six months. This will bring your customer back into the store.
Bike
shops:
How to
increase your
profits...
Have a checklist of all the things they will need with a bike. Up-sell a helmet, lock
and chain, pump, carrier racks, lights, seat cover, back pack, etc. (see chapter
13).
If a father buys a present for his wife or son, get details of ages and names of
other members of the family. Send “Thank You” notes and make offers such as
this:
“I have been reading an article that made me think of you just the other day. It
was about the benefits of activities that keep the family together:
Bike riding was one of them.
The kids love to see the parents join them and you’ll get some fresh exercise to
boot.
Since you bought the XXXX bike for your son/wife/ daughter about six months
ago, I thought I’d let you know that I am having a Sale on adult bikes for the next
two weeks.
I have 15 of the easy to ride XXX bikes at 24% less than you could get them at
XXXXX store. Plus I’ll throw in a Free helmet.
At those prices they won’t last. That is why I am writing to you first to see if you
are interested...before I offer them to the general public. “...
And so on.
Offer your customers all sorts of incentives to try your bikes. Give money back
and have FREE trials of your bikes. Say,
“If you’d like to take the bike for a week and try it please do so. If you aren’t
happy with it you can bring it back and we’ll give you your money back.”
Try a week’s rental/FREE trial offer. Most trials result in sales. Furniture shops
and water filter companies do it. It works for them. Why not for you?
Start a kids riders club. Offer a discount or a $5 voucher every time they spend
$50 in your shop. Organize a competition for the best decorated bike, etc.
In summer, go to the winter resorts/hotels and offer to hire your bikes to them for
the season. At all times, sell the benefits of bike riding, not the bike.
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Here is a way to get FREE publicity. Stop selling houses and start educating your
prospects and selling comfort, security, re-sale value and lifestyle.
If I look in any weekend papers or the Yellow Pages it’s full of builder’s ads. They
all look the same. You can get free publicity with addressing customer’s questions
and concerns about...
1...
Making sure the builder does a good job.
2...
How to recognize a good builder.
3...
The contract protecting them as it should.
4...
Making sure the job is finished on time by the builder.
Builders:
How to
increase your
profits...
How about a writing a report titled...
How to find good builders and contractors. Sixteen things you should know before
choosing your builder.
How to choose a builder and know you’ll get a first class job at a reasonable price.
The report can be a few sheets of paper with a check-list of things consumers
should look for in a builder.
You can now do a press release about this report to local papers, radio stations
and TV stations. Offer this booklet FREE to anyone who calls you or comes into
your office.
These are your leads.
In your ads and Yellow pages listings test different appeals and approaches. Use
headlines such as:
If your home isn’t finished on time - I’ll give you a $1,000 for every week we go
over time.
Eight Reasons why you should choose XXXX for your future home.
FREE Report tells you how to choose a builder.
How you can have a second investment home for less than $35 per week and no
deposit.
DON’T RENT. You can have your own home for less than $150 per week and a
$3,000 deposit.
FREE $1,000 plan design and consultation for your home.
You can also mail these offers to people who rent homes. A company doing this
is convening two out of ten tenants into homeowners.
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Figure 66 - Yellow Pages or newspaper ads that will work for you.
Benefit headlines. Lots of informative copy and good offers are
the basics of every good ad or letter. Don’t believe those who say
“People won’t read all that writing.’’ Tests of thousands of ads prove
otherwise. Wouldn’t you want to know as much as possible if you
were about to spend $40,000 to $450,000 or more on a home or
renovation??
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The first mistake almost all car dealers make is that they don’t test different
approaches, headlines and offers in their promotions.
The second is that they don’t mail to their customers after the sale with regular
personal letters.
Car
Dealers:
Firstly, you must start mailing to your customers with “Thank You” notes, reminders
of services due and offers for other cars.
How to
increase
your
profits...
Start a “XYZ dealers Car Owners Club.” Either FREE or for an annual/once only
fee, members get FREE gifts, discounts on servicing and parts. Have special
barbeque days, advanced driving courses, weekends away, etc.
Make your customers feel part of a family. The cost of five or six letters is minute
compared to the goodwill, referrals and repeat sales you’ll get.
To buy a car a person must first drive it. Get a mailing list of car owners who are
most likely to want the type of car you have and make all sorts of offers to them.
Do a deal with a local restaurant to supply you with dinners at cost. Use these as
an incentive to test drive a new car.
Print a “handwritten note” on a piece of paper that looks like it has been torn from
a notebook...saying:
“I may have a buyer for your car. If you want to trade it in call me at XXXX car
dealership. “signed, the owner
OR
“I noticed your car is in great condition. If you are interested in trading it in on a
new car call me. I can give you a good price for it. “signed, the owner
Put these under the windshield wipers of cars in the street.
A car dealer started offering women only “FREE Car Fix-It Courses” - for simple
maintenance like checking water and oil, battery, fan belt and how to change a
wheel. Since women own 40% of cars and are a major influence in half of all
purchases, this is a great way to get lots of goodwill and business.
Another way is to offer lifetime car washes with each car. This brings the customers
back to the dealership on a regular basis. And when they are ready to buy again
they’ll see you first.
Finally, it costs a fortune for each lead you get. If the person really does not want
what you have, why not do a deal with your competitors and sell one of their cars.
You have spent money and effort to bring the person to you. You will recoup your
marketing costs and maybe even make a profit.
It may be unlike anything you have ever done; however, test it and see. It may
well be profitable.
Allow serious prospects to rent a new car for a day or a weekend or a week (test
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which one sells more cars). Have them put the rental deposit on their credit card and leave their car as
security. If they buy, forgive the rental charge.
Offer four free services, oil changes with each purchase.
Run an ad with headline:
“RED HOT CARS A T DIRT CHEAP PRICES” incredible recorded message reveals how to get amazing
bargains by buying your car at government auctions. Call XXX-XXX-XXXX.”
Give truly revealing information on how to buy these cars and where. End the message by saying:
“If you don’t have the time to go there, I’ve just bought eight of those cars and I’ll let you have them at just
8% above my cost.
Offer a booklet titled:
15 pitfalls of buying a car -and how to avoid them.
Run ads for it in the newspapers and follow up inquirers with an offer. Offer a FREE lunch or service to
selected prospects if they test drive a new model.
Most importantly, keep in touch with your past customers. They are your best source of new business.
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This includes all repair, brake, muffler and tune-up services. You all have one
thing in common - repeat customers.
To increase any of the above you must make an offer to entice the customer to try
your service for the first time. Keep a record of their name and address and
follow them up with mailings and phone calls.
Car
Servicing:
If you have a muffler shop, you can go to the tune-up shop and have him
recommend you to all his customers. You can do the same in reverse. Your
letters can say:
How to
increase your
profits...
“I don’t normally write letters like this, however, I have had a number of you
mention to me just how hard it is to find reliable and honest people to fix your
car.
I happen to know such a person. He guarantees all his work, he fixes things
right the first time and his prices are reasonable.
Because you are a customer of mine, I have got a very special deal from him for
you. If you drop in during the next month, he’ll give you four quarts of oil FREE/
FREE engine clean/FREE car detailing etc...”
When you run ads, you must give reasons why I should go to you rather than the
guy next door.
What if you washed and vacuumed the customer’s car after you service it? This
will get you lots of goodwill.
If you are doing servicing and detailing/cleaning, contact your customers on a
regular basis to see if they want another service or cleaning.
Most people are too busy to call or simply forget.
You can pre-sell a year’s worth of servicing at a discount. You can also have a
regular contract at a more favorable price if you can get advance bookings for the
year.
Try to lock the customer in to your business by offering these long-term
arrangements.
Offer a range of free services, brake checks, engine tests, wheel balances, etc.most of which you’d have to do anyway - and pick up any major work that will
need doing (see Figure 67).
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130
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Most carpet companies have a huge list of names they never do anything with.
Here is how to use your customer list.
Send “Thank You” notes. Make offers of rugs, carpet cleaning and more carpets.
People move and buy more houses all the time.
Endorse other people’s products such as furniture, bedding, in fact anything to do with home renovations. Read chapter 17 on networking.
Carpet
Retailers:
How to
increase your
profits...
Keep mailing and testing different offers. How about an outdoor barbeque? You
have got the person’s trust. Why not use that to get more sales of any product or
service?
With the average household of carpet costing $2,000 to $4,000, you can afford
to spend $20 on ten letters in the next year or two.
Offer a year’s FREE cleaning with your carpets. Or offer a FREE decorating and
color co-ordination consultancy - worth $60 - to get leads.
Most of the ideas under Furniture will also apply to you.
Try them, it will pay off.
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133
Yours is a repeat business. You can afford to give free cleanings up front if you
follow up and give good service.
To get new business in commercial buildings you can offer one month’s cleaning
for FREE with the following condition:
“Ill do a better job than the person you are using at the moment, you agree to
give me a one year contract at a pre-agreed upon price.”
Offer the same with residential cleanings. A FREE cleaning with every one year
contract for four cleanings at say $50 each. Take the customers’ credit card details
and bill them automatically. This allows you to plan your jobs well in advance.
Carpet
Cleaners:
How to
increase your
profits...
Approach other businesses to refer you - pest control, carpet retailers, window
cleaners, general cleaners, etc.
You can also offer your customers cleaning Products as an add-on sale. Plus you
could offer to clean your customer’s car or do a deal with a car detailer and
recommend him for a share of his profits.
Fully disclosed of course.
Give a referral voucher to your existing customers to give to their friends.
Offer to come back and do a FREE spot clean worth $15 once or twice between
each full cleaning.
Amazing truth - babies and children keep growing and growing and growing.
Why not capture every parent’s name and address with a prize draw? Plus get
the names and ages of all their children? Mail them every three to six months
with offers, happy birthday cards and little presents for the children.
If a pregnant woman comes in, take note of when birth is expected - then send a
present or “Welcome To The World” card.
Run Customer-Only showings and sales of clothes and baby furniture and
accessories.
Children’s
Clothing
Stores:
How to
increase your
profits...
Offer to personalize the child’s clothes with their name. Go to kindergartens and
give them gift vouchers to give to their customers, with endorsing letters.
Send crayons, little books and other children-associated things in the mail to
your customers. Do promotions and mailings with toy stores. You mail to their
clients and they mail to yours with an offer or a gift voucher.
Keep in touch, because you have 10 to 12 years of captive customers when a
baby comes through your door in the pram!!
Start a kids club. Offer a FREE crayon or something similar every time the child
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comes in with his mum.
Want some FREE publicity?? Call your radio station and say you have 25 sets of XXXX to give away. You
may be rushed and get new people to see your store.
Most importantly...
Mail, mail and mail to your customers!!
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Your customer list is your most valuable asset - as it is for all businesses.
Capture all your customer names with a “Win a $300 wardrobe and be on our
Special Customer list” or something similar. Get details of their birthday, clothes
size, and any other details you need.
Segment the list according to the customer’s interest. Segment it by style, color
or special size. When you get something they like, call them.
Your customers will love you for your - “Special Customers Only” offers, previews
of new stock and sales.
Clothing
Retailers:
How to
increase your
profits...
Have closed door sales and previews. One Miami retailer takes in more money
in four days of one of these sales, than in four weeks of normal trading.
What if you have four dresses in size 10 and two dresses in size 16 left in stock
at the end of the season. What if you mailed to only those sizes on your mailing
list. Or called them saying:
“I have a dress left in your size. It’s also your favorite color I’d like to offer it to
you at 35% off (or with a shirt and scarf thrown in FREE) before I offer it to the
general public. Would you like me to hold it for you for a few days?”
No more 60% off sales for you - You add value and give extra service to your
customers.
Get some FREE dry-cleaning vouchers to give away with each purchase. Go to
hairdressers and have them give you FREE $10 vouchers to give to your
customers as a thank you. Same with the local restaurants.
The coffee shop can give you FREE cups of coffee.
Why would they give you all this for FREE? Explain it to them like this...
“We spend a lot of time advertising and promoting our business to get new
customers. I’d like to promote your business and at the same have something
of value
to give to our customers.
If you give me some FREE product or service, 1’ll give them to our customers
and you’ll access a new stream of customers for no promotional costs...”
All it will cost them is their hard costs. For example, a $10 restaurant voucher
costs, say, $3 in food costs. A cup of coffee costs 30 cents. A FREE Haircut
costs $4 to $5.
Not only will the people buy additional things, but they will come back as repeat
customers.
Here are some other strategies for you.
Select your best customers and hold a private showing of the latest imported
136
fashions.
Serve wine and snacks. Get the suppliers to help with organizing this event.
A ladies store encourages customers to take clothes home and try them. If they are not happy, they can
bring them back for a full refund. The ladies store sells lots more clothes that way.
Yes, some people may take advantage of that offer. However, your sales will usually increase by more than
enough to cover it. Test it for a month or two and see.
Make it easy for your customers to buy. Display this sign at the front of your store.
“We gladly refund - take it home and try it”
Much better than No Refunds.
A jeans shop in Detroit says, “If you need to use our phone, you are welcome.” Sales increase.
Go to other retailers in your area and have them give you access to their customer list. You write and mail the
letter recommending you to their customers on their letterhead and signed by them - with a gift voucher
attached - a really valuable one, with no strings attached for $10, $20, or a FREE scarf, shirt or socks.
You can afford to break even or LOSE money up front, because yours is a repeat business (refer to chapter
6).
Capture the name of each new customer and you’ll make lots of future sales and profits (refer to chapter 4).
Have a checklist to go with every suit or dress. List all the accessories and add-ons that logically go with
those purchases. You will get extra sales if you say to the customer:
“We have developed a checklist to make sure you have matching accessories in your wardrobe with your
suit/dress. Please have a look and tell me if you need anything else.”
For a sample of a checklist see Figure 49.
Have a contest: “The world’s most way out jeans.” Get people to bring in photos of themselves in unusual
jeans. Or, get your customers to bring in photos of themselves in your clothes at unusual places. Put them
on the wall in your store and have an album as well. For incentive, have a grand prize of a $300 Gift Voucher
or something similar.
Get all your customers on a mailing list and mail to them regularly. People’s computer needs are constantly
changing.
Make all sorts of up-grade offers, more memory, better printers, new software packages. In fact, tell your
customers about anything that can improve the effectiveness of their business.
Offer solutions. Use headlines and openings like:
“The new XXXX does your work 37% faster and university tests prove that it it’s the easiest system for
training staff- saving you 134 hours per year on average in training time.”
“The 24 things you should look for when choosing a computer system.” (This could be a give-away booklet
for getting leads)
137
138
Most computer companies sell you a computer, then leave you to do your own
thing.
“At XXXXX we train your staff in four hours and we give you a three year
warranty, plus a 90 day Money Back Guarantee that you’ll be up and running
within that time.
Or, if your system breaks down after the warranty is over, we rent you a computer
for just $135 per day and do the repair FREE.”
Computers:
How to
increase your
profits...
All your clients have other businesses or people that they deal with. Offer to do a
mailing to them with a special often
The letter can say:
“I don’t normally write letters like this, however, I’ve come across someone I think
you should know about.
Their computer has saved me/made me/cut my overheads by $XXX in the last
three months.
XXX Computer Co. offers a 90 Day Money Back Guarantee and their prices are
17% lower than anyone else for the same system. Plus they have a 24 hour
back-up service with a loaner computer if they have to take your computer away
for repairs.
Their price has actually gone up since I bought from them, but because you are
a customer of mine, I have made a deal where you can get the same deal that I
did four months ago.
Even if you don’t need the same system, you should talk to Peter at their office.
He can give you advice on the best solution and system for your business. Ask
him to give you a copy of his booklet called, “24 things you must consider before
buying a computer.”
By the way, if you want more information on these guys, please call me...”
This gives you an idea on how to start. Take it from there.
139
Most software companies sell you their package. You are stuck with it whether it
ends up working for you or not.
You can offer a Money Back Guarantee. Yes, there are people doing it, and yes,
it does work. Why not test it?
If you have a series of programs, offer the first one worth, say $350, for $29 - your
cost. Explain it like this:
Computer
Software:
How to
increase your
profits..
“To get you to try our range of software, we want you to try the XXXXX for less
than what it costs us. You’ll see that it is as good as software costing four times
as much. Once you’ve tried it, I believe you’ll be only too happy to pay $350 for
the second program which does this and that. All our programs have a full
Money Back Guarantee and you get FREE training support for three months.”
This will give you leads and build your list of customers real fast. Next, you make
all sorts of offers to these people.
Do a joint venture with all sorts of other people who have business clients to
endorse your products.
Have all your customers on a computer. Mail them with birthday cards,
Christmas cards, and little “Thank You” notes after each visit.
Ask for referrals. Make your clients feel special by telling them you appreciate
their business.
Give them booklets on oral hygiene and tips on keeping their teeth looking good.
Dentists:
How to
increase your
profits...
Offer FREE cleanings and check-ups. Have your customers send these to
their customers and friends.
Have six month reminder cards. works.
140
You have a regular repeat business. To build up a new customer base quickly,
offer a FREE dry cleaning for first time customers.
Mail this to local residents. Or have school kids going around on weekends with
your leaflet and knocking on doors with your offer. As they hand it to people,
have them saying something like...
Dry
Cleaners:
“Hi, I’d like to give you a FREE dry-cleaning voucher to introduce you to a new
business in your area.”
How to
increase your
profits...
Have other businesses in your area give your vouchers to their customers,
especially clothing stores. They can gift an introductory dry-cleaning of five
garments as an incentive to their customers. They can make this offer on all
purchases over $50 or a similar amount.
Offer one year’s dry-cleaning with a maximum number of garments - for a onetime prepayment.
Offer FREE pick up and delivery, especially to business people. Some other
offers you can make are summarized in the following headlines...
Dry Cleaning for our cost plus $1 per garment.
Two shirts cleaned for the price of one - July only.
Dry Clean a suit with us for just $5 and get another cleaning Free.
Dry Cleaning for the next 30 days only - at one half the price charged by
other dry cleaners.
We’ll launder and iron your shirts and deliver them on hangers or folded
for only 89 cents each - in lots of 12.
The main thing to remember is to test and monitor different offers and work at
adding value and joint ventures with other businesses.
141
142
A business was built by sending out an invitation to the people around the store
offering -A FREE lunch.
Yes it’s true. If you have a good product and friendly smiling service, you can
offer lots of freebies to build up your trade quickly.
Fast Foods,
Carry-outs:
“Buy one - Get one Free” is also effective as an offer to get the people in.
How to
increase your
profits...
What if you cooked up a giant birthday cake and got the press to do a write up
about it? Give away a few hundred slices and watch your sales climb.
Have vouchers to give to other businesses. They can hand them out to their
customers with each purchase.
Offer a FREE cappuccino to get new customers, or one at a special price. Your
customer will come back many times. Make a strong offer to get them to try you.
Have a FREE offer on special days. For example FREE breakfast for mum on
mother’s day. Or FREE coffee for the dad on father’s day.
Let your regular customers try new food items on your menu. Give them a taste
and ask for comments. This makes your customers feel special.
Most of all, have friendly, smiling staff. Without them you will not get repeat
sales.
Have a suggestion box in your shop. Your customers will tell you what they want
(see chapter 15).
Have regular give-aways with your order - just little unexpected things to make
your customers feel good. It can be a small biscuit, follies or whatever.
Read the section on restaurants for more ideas.
143
Capture the names of all your customers with: WIN FREE flowers for a year $260 worth. Have them put details of their birthdays, anniversaries, spouse’s
birthday and other special occasions.
Send your customers letters or phone them two weeks before the dates and
remind them to send a bunch of flowers.
Make a note of every person who sends flowers, when and to whom. Next year
follow up to remind them. Write or call the customer and say:
Florists:
How to
increase your
profits...
“You made XXXX feel very special last year with the bunch of flowers you sent.
Would you like me to organize it for you again this year?”
The person will be flattered that you thought of them and glad that you reminded
them of the special occasion.
Offer to pre-sell a year’s supply of flowers to your customers at a special price
when paid in advance. Justify the offer by saying...
“You have been a good customer of ours. We know that you like to make others
feel special.
I’d like to help you save some money. As you know the price of flowers is going
up all the time. Next year a dozen red roses may cost 15% more than they do
today.
I can’t do anything about that, however, I have come up with a way for you to
avoid those price increases.., and still get the same quality and service you are
used to.
Here is how you can do it.
If you pay me in advance for your next year’s purchases, you’1l not only get
today’s prices - I’II even give you a discount plus FREE delivery within two miles
of our store.
The money you give us will help us get a new refrigerator to give you a better
choice of flowers. By saving the interest on the loan we would have to get, we
are passing the savings on to you in the form of the discount...”
Make sure you give all the reasons behind this offer.
This will work for any repeat product or service. Plus you get all that customer’s
future business.
Mail to people around the store with the offer of a $5 Gift Voucher or FREE
delivery if they want to send a bunch to a loved one.
144
When selling franchises, in your letters and ads test different headlines, offers
and benefits of owning a franchise
Follow up all inquirers by mail. Phone them to confirm that they received the
package. Let them have a look at your concept and explain it in as much detail
as possible. The more detail you give, the better chance of selling the business.
Offer to buy leads from other franchisors, or swap you old leads for theirs.
Franchising:
How to
increase your
profits...
Offer a guarantee. “You’ll refund the franchise fee and take back the stock if the
franchisees aren’t happy after 12 months of solid effort.”
Make it easy for them to expand their business by making sure you have ads
and marketing systems that you have tested and which work.
It is easy to sell a proven system. Document everything you do – especially your
marketing strategies, promotions and ads. Your franchisee’s income will come
from this.
Offer a FREE trial at one of your opening outlets to show potential franchisees
how your system works.
Run coupon specials in the local papers. Have other businesses give your
vouchers to their customers as a thank you.
Your customer will return week after week. The name of your game is repeat
business.
Capture your customers’ names with a prize draw and mail to them regularly
with specials, recipes, salad and cooking demonstrations. Have recipes placed
with various fruits and vegetables. Tell people how to eat and use exotic or
unusual fruits and veggies.
Fruit
Shops:
How to
increase your
profits...
GIVE SAMPLES OF EVERYTHING!!
If people can taste it, they will buy more. If you show them what to do with your
product and give them a taste, they will buy even more.
Sales of particular lines can be up to 35% higher with recipes, demonstrations
and taste samples being given out. If you make up dishes of salads, let people
taste it and give them the recipe with all the ingredients they’ll need to get.
You’ll sell more of those ingredients.
You aren’t selling fruit and veggies. You are selling health, good feelings and
compliments to the chef.
Your customers want solutions. They don’t really want the zucchini.
They want the meal that it makes; they want the compliments of their friends
145
about their cooking skills; they want to lower their cholesterol and lose weight.
How about these headlines in your store..
How to get your cooking bragged about - with our zucchini and tomato casserole.
The most delicious avocado arid sprout salad you’ve ever tasted or it’s on us.
24 ways to make a treat salad.
Want to lose weight? Eat more apples and oranges.
If you only eat fruit for Just one week, I’ll guarantee you’ll feel great and lose 10 pounds. If not, I’ll
pay for it all and give you another week’s supply of fruit FREE.
Have books in your store on raw food recipes. There are several of these available such as “Raw Energy” by
Leslie Kenton.
Now, pay close attention. I am going to tell you a secret
that will make you a ton of money if you do it right...
The most delicious and healthy thing to do – with all fruits and some veggies – is to juice them. Try juicing
apples, oranges and blend bananas and/or paw-paws into it. Give samples of these juices to your customers.
Sell the juicers (national brand is the best) and watch your sales shoot up. Why?
Because your customers will use a lot more fruit and veggies if they are juicing them!!
This also helps you lose weight – I personally lost 16 kilos in three months and a juice and raw fruit and
vegetable diet.
People spend millions of dollars on weight loss each year – you have the perfect answer. Use it.
Figure 75 – This full page ad got over 358
coupons returned. Good response. However
it needs a good headline and benefit oriented
copy. A name collection system should be in
place at the store. A better offer of a FREE
bunch of celery got over 2,000 replies.
146
Mail to your customers regularly. Make a note of what each customer is interested
in and what they have already. Segment year mailing list and make different
offers according to the customer’s interest.
Give your customers first notice on new arrivals of stock. Offer them hue gifts if
they come to the stole to see a new piece of furniture. Send books or articles on
decorating. Follow up your mailing by phone.
Send a “Happy Birthday card for their lounge suite after one year. Your mai1ing
list is your biggest asset. Use it.
(Go to other companies- such as carpets, curtains, builders and get them to
recommend you and vice versa.
Furniture
Store:
How to
increase your
profits...
Give an unconditional Money Back Guarantee. Let your customers have pieces
of furniture in their home for a period of time without obligation. “To see if it grows
on them.”
A furniture shop on the Gold Coast sells nine out of ten pieces of furniture left in
the customer’s home that way.
Offer complementary products. If you know that a person has a certain style of
lounge suite, it could be interesting to send than a letter saying:
“I hope you are enjoying the lounge suite you bought from here last year.”
The reason for this letter is that in July we’ll be having a two week sale on dining
suites and accessories for the bedroom to match
the style that you already have.
I felt that since you liked your lounge suite. you may now be ready to consider
getting some other matching pieces. At 25% off this would he the ideal time to
do it.
As well as that I have a small present for you when you come in. Whether you
decide to buy or not.
This sort of letter will make the customer feel that you are thinking of them. Try
other offers along this theme.
Educate your customers and prospects by offering FREE Interior Design
Consultations or seminars on decorating. Have a booklet titled:
How to choose bamboo/modern/classic/antique or whatever furniture. 24 things
you should know before buying.
Use this booklet as an offer in your promotions and in your Yellow Pages ad.
Make sure your ad is along the lines I gave you in chapter 5.
In all your advertising describe the furniture and tell a story about how it’s made,
where it comes from, etc.
Go to magazines with the sort of readers that may want your furniture. Rent their
147
subscriber lists for your area only, if possible, and mail to those people with an offer.
Hold an “Evening with the furniture makers” and put on a few drinks and appetizers.
Send lots of little personal notes to your old customers or phone them with offers especially for them, saying:
I was at the furniture show and I saw something that reminded me of you.
I don’t know if you are interested however let me tell you about it. It was a rare piece of XXXXX. It took 56
hours to make with blemish-free timber and leather and, while it’s not cheap. It’s a beautiful piece of furniture.
If it sounds like something you’d be interested in, give me a call because I’ll order one especially for you.
Figure 76 - This was a very colorful and realistic Gift Voucher
Sent to 128 customers with the letter on the next page.
Figure 77 – This letter was sent to existing customers
who purchased from the store six to 12 months ago.
From 87 letters sent 14 people came in with the voucher
and the previous page. Total sales were $6,870. The
cost of promotion was $670.
148
All the gym ads I see scream PRICE - SPECIAL -JOIN NOW FOR A GREAT
DEAL.
I don’t want to join a gym because the membership is on special. I know it’ll be
even cheaper in a few months as things start getting desperate for the owners.
We all join gyms to lose weight, to get fit, to build strength, to feel better, to be
more attractive and to make new friends.
How about starting all your marketing and ads along these lines..
Here is a Way to Become Tight, Lean, Attractive, and Remarkably Healthy in
Just 45 Minutes Three Times a Week.
Gyms Health
Clubs:
How to
increase your
profits...
How to Make Friends, Have Fun and Lose Weight at the Same Time.
If You Were Given $1,345,000 Isn’t This the Kind of Health Club You’d Build??
If you Spend 45 Minutes With Me 3 Times a Week, I’ll Give you a Trimmer,
Healthier and Better Looking Body in Just Thirty Days...and I’ll help you keep it
that way for the rest of your life.
Build a Body You Can Be Proud Of. How To Look Better, Live Longer and Have
Fun.
The next thing I’d do is after all sorts of trials and offers for first time customers.
It makes sense to offer FREE one, two or three month Trial Memberships if a
large number of those people join up (see chapter 6).
Lots of people are undecided about joining a gym. Run ads headlined:
“Three Hundred and Fifty 3-Month Memberships to XXXX Gym for Only $19.”
As part of a Marketing Test. XXXX Gym wants to see just what effect price has
on getting someone to start on a regular health and exercise program.
We have decided to offer -for one month only - a three month membership
normally costing $175 for only $19 if you agree to a few reasonable conditions.
Condition #1 You must agree to come at least four times
a week and follow the program we design for you. We know that once you get
used to exercising and the benefits of a well toned, lean body - more energy
and vitality and greater attractiveness, then you’ll want to renew at the full rate.
After all, when you become the person you’d really like to be, you’ll be only too
happy to renew your membership to maintain the new ‘YOU’
Condition #2 You must agree to come only in the off-hours (between 7a.m.
and 4p.m.).
Condition #3 You must agree to give us a testimonial for our future promotions.”
This approach and your FREE Trial Membership offers will bring in people quickly
149
and in large numbers. You’ll make some money up-front and lots of renewals if you give them great service.
Make all sorts of offers to your expired members, buy the expired members of other gyms and mail to them
as well.
Go to a sports store and other retailers and offer to give them vouchers for one, two or three month memberships
to give away with every purchase if they advertise the offer to the public.
Most members get discouraged after the first two or three weeks. Send them reminder cards and call people
who haven’t been coming for a while. A gym in Melbourne called Re-Creation sends a card with a dinosaur
saying.
“Since we last saw you dinosaurs roamed the earth...”
This has huge goodwill value. Have a hot line members can call if they are down and don’t feel like training
-offer counseling and support services.
Everybody wants to make a friend - have your, staff introduce people to each other in the gym. All they have
to say every time they see two people training or near each other is...
“By the way XXXXX have you met XXXXK he or she is from...”
On Valentines Day offer FREE roses for member’s Valentines.
Have special intensive weight loss programs and offer them to members. How about...
“New $150 Weight Loss Program. Lose 2 pounds a week for 6 weeks or you don’t pay a cent”
Have a HUGE sign out the front of the gym with “FREE I Month Membership” on it. Have a “How to
choose a Gym” booklet to give to people. Mail your members asking for referrals.
Give one extra month for every friend that joins and offer one month FREE Membership to the
friend, to get them using the gym.
Figure 78 – This “Invitation” for an open day was sent to all members and distributed around the gym. It got
14 new members at a cost of $440. Before this idea the gym was about to spend $2,400 to advertise in the
newspapers and radio. This promotion can be repeated over and over and over.
150
151
Read chapter six on the Lifetime Value of a customer. Stefan built his empire on it.
The quickest and easiest way to build your business is to offer FREE stylecuts.
Or you can have $10 Gift Vouchers. On the back of the vouchers you must put
some reasons why the person should come to you.
Go to other businesses that have as their clients the sort of people -you want to
attract. These include women’s boutiques, beauty salons, health clubs, modeling
agencies, weight loss centers or jewelers. Tell them:
Hairdressers:
How to
increase your
profits.
“How would you like to have a $10 Gift Voucher or a FREE Stylecut to give to
your customers at no cost to you?”
If possible have them mail the vouchers as a ‘Thank You” and they can offer one
of their services at the same time. After you have read this book, you’ll be much
better at writing letters than they are. Offer to write it for them.
The cost of the giveaway is small compared to advertising a 15% opening special,
or perms for $35. These sorts of offers actually cost more because the response
is small and the cost of the ad is not. Plus you have your overheads to pay in the
meantime.
When the client comes in for their treatment make sure you get their name,
address, phone number, hair color and style, birthday and their partner’s name
and birthday.
Give a five or ten minute head massage. People love this. In Japan and India
you get a 15 minute massage with every hair cut. People will come just for the
massage. This will put you miles ahead of the other hair salons.
Get a person to give neck and shoulder massages. You can ask a masseur who
wants to build their business. Tell them:
“Would you like to get sonic new customers at no cost to you apart from your
time?”
If you’ll give my customers ten minute samples of your massage twice a week
for four hours, you’ll be able to give them your card and get some of them to
book for a full massage.
Phone the first time customer after two weeks and ask if they were happy with
the service they received. This builds future sales and goodwill. Plus if there was
a problem you can make it right.
Call your clients after five weeks and ask if they want to book in for another
haircut. If not, when should you call them next? Your clients will like this.
We are all too busy and forget. When is the last time you serviced your
car? What if your mechanic called you every three months??
Send a “Thank You” note with a $3 Gift Voucher for a shampoo. Include a
questionnaire to- get suggestions on how you can improve your service (read
chapter 15).
152
Write a birthday card as soon as you know the client’s date and put it in a month and date file for mailing later
Write something like:
“Dear xxxxx Congratulations!! It’s your birthday on September 24.
We’d like to help you look your best on that special occasion. Please call me on XXXXXX Bring this note
with you and drop in even If you don’t need a cut. I have a small present waiting for you.
Happy Birthday!!”
You can pre-sell ten haircuts at a discounted price or by adding something extra. You can pre-sell any
combination of your services.
Read the section of florists for a sample of letter to send.
Send letters to people explaining what you did when they had their perm, tint or whatever. Educate your
customers. Tell them how you do things. Send your clients tips on how to look after their hair People love to
know.
Do a press release. How about...
Why your hair shows the world how you really feel shout yourself?
12 Ways to keep your hair looking great after a perm/a style cut/a tint or whatever...
Keep phoning, mailing and educating your customers...
Figure 80 – This letter was sent to old clients who hadn’t been in for six
months. The result was 112 re-activated clients from 402 letters sent out.
If half of them come back just twice more, it adds up to $2,780 in sales.
This approach of re-activating old customers can be used by any business.
153
Figure 81 – Gift vouchers like this one can be handed out by
other businesses to their customers. You can also package
these with product sales, etc. Experiment with different
amounts to see what draws the greatest number of new customers.
Figure 82 – How to presale your services. Offer this card to
your existing and new clients. It has $237 worth of value for
$99 or whatever you want to make it. It will lock in that customer to your salon for the next six months. This card can be
sold over the phone, by mail, and in the salon.
154
Teach people how to do things. Have painting, carpentry and other Do-It-Yourself
demonstrations in your store.
Introduce yourself to all the houses around your area with a Gift Voucher. Have
other businesses such as tile and bathroom fittings people give out your vouchers.
Write a Home Handyman column for the local paper. If they won’t run it free, pay
to have it published.
Collect all customers’ names and mail to them with offers every month. How
about sending a letter with:
Hardware
Stores:
How to
increase your
profits..
“Be the chef of the neighborhood with the new XXXX barbeque”
Even if you don’t have the barbeques in stock, you can get deposits on a special
bulk order barbeque special.
What if you asked every person as they are paying:
“By the way we have got a very special price on torches this week. Would you
like to see one?”
Offer hammers, saws, or other common items.
Make sure you collect their names, addresses, birthdays and special interests
(See chapter 4)!!
As with all retail businesses collect and mail your customers regularly
(see chapter 4).
If you have a juice or sandwich and salad bar offer a FREE juice or FREE sandwich
to first time customers. Promote this in your area and get every new customer
on your list.
Start a card on customers buying vitamins and make a note of any health concerns
they have. Send them articles to help and educate them on feeling better.
Have naturopaths, iridologists and masseurs, giving FREE I5 minute
consultations in your store on regular days.
Health
Foods:
How to
increase your
profits...
They will be glad to do it for free since it introduces people to them who will
become their regular customers.
You can also advertise these FREE consultations in
your local paper.
Offer FREE tasting on certain days. Get your suppliers to help you with FREE
samples (read chapter 11).
Write “How to be healthy” articles for your local paper Have special features on
health every three months.
155
Have a regular newsletter that gives tips on maintaining health, how to use products, recipes for healthy
eating, etc.
Promote seminars on health and get a share of the profits for endorsing the seminar to your customers. This
can make you more money than your shop. Because your customers are people who like to know more
about their well being, they will respond to good seminar offers.
Print your own money and use it instead of discounts.
Send all your customers a questionnaire about their health concerns and follow up with offers based on their
interests.
Have a customer club and give a $10 voucher for every $100 that your customers spend in your store. This
will encourage them to keep coming back to you.
156
It costs a lot to get a first time guest. Most hotels never take the time to
strategically use Direct Mail to keep their customers coming back.
When a customer calls for information don’t just send a brochure. Mast of the
inquiries came from women.
Send them a personal letter about all the advantages your hotel has. How close
is it to the nearest beach or park. How big and safe the pool is, what clothes to
bring and wear and the weather.
Call and confirm a week later to make sure they got the letter and would they like
to make a booking. If they book during the next week/month there is a FREE
$50 dinner voucher for them. Make an offer to get them to act NOW.
Hotels:
How to
increase your
profits...
Invite a select number of travel agents to get to know you and your hotel well.
Keep in touch with them. They will want to recommend you to their customers.
Find travel agents with a customer list and offer to do a mailing to their customers.
You write the letter.
Get the locals to eat at your restaurant, have good quality food, entertainment
and service and capture their names as well. They all have friends who visit and
may want to stay at your hotel.
Read the restaurant section of this book for more ideas on that.
Have special theme weekends and weeks for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and
other occasions.
Hold travel nights in clubs and other venues in the bigger cities. Have a prize
draw and collect everyone’s name and follow up. A hotel in Thredbo is doing
these and catering for the mature citizens. He has 95% occupancy all year around.
Add all sorts of offers to your basic room rate. Get discounts for amusements,
restaurant vouchers and free water sport vouchers. This will help you stand out
from the others in your area.
Ask your customers to fill out a survey (read chapter 15). Use the information to
improve your service and to segment your customers depending an why they
came and at what limes of the year.
Have standards for service and how to treat all your guests. The more your
guests feel like they are part of a family the more likely they are to come back.
Read a book called “The F-Myth” by Michael Gerber It has a brilliant example of
how to do it.
Do a joint promotion with the local real estate firm. People who stay in your hotel
are likely prospects to invest in the area. You can offer FREE accommodation if
they want to have a look at some real estate. Get the real estate firm or developer
to pay your room costs and share the commission on a 50-50 basis or whatever
deal you can make.
157
Get names from other businesses and amusement centers in your area. On the Gold Coast for example
there is the Currumbin Sanctuary. They have thousands of visitors each week and they have some names
and addresses in their visitors book.
What if you asked them for those names and mailed them with an offer from your hotel with a free entry to the
park or something similar? The Sanctuary can get their entry fee from you for every guest who takes you up
an it far providing the names to you.
Start a frequent stayer program. Offer FREE dinners, extra nights and other rewards for staying with you on
a regular basis.
Have special Club Cards for local residents to use your facilities and restaurants at special rates.
Remember, people want to be recognized and appreciated. That’s why Customer Clubs work.
Go to associations and clubs and offer their members a special deal. Offer to donate a percentage of your
takings from their members back to their club.
This will give you access to a large group of people at low cost (see chapter 17).
Figure 83 – This postcard was mailed to
220 people. The note was written by hand
and signed J & P. It aroused the curiosity of
people who received it. It resulted in 47
people calling up the resort to ask who it was
that sent the card. Plus lots of requests for
information on room rates.
Figure 84 – The “How Passionate Are You” ad caught my eye. The headline
certainly catches your attention, doesn’t it. It makes you want to read on to find
out how passionate you are. Keep an eye out for things that attract you and keep
them in a file. Later on, you can use them to inspire you and give you ideas in
your promotions.
158
Nothing will work better for you than a FREE seminar or a voucher for a
$150 consultation given to selected people.
If you give incredible value and information in the FREE seminars and
consultations, you will build long-term customer relationships and your bank
account.
Write reports such as:
“How to get the most out of your Superannuation! Retirement savings plan/Life
Insurance” and similar
Have a news release offering these to the readers of the publication if they call
you- these are your leads.
Insurance/
Financial
Advisors:
How to
increase your
profits...
Go to associations and offer them the seminars and reports if they will promote
you to their members.
Write “Thank You” and other personal notes to your client list with different offers,
depending on each person’s needs. Keep records on personal details of your
clients and use these to build a relationship with them.
Try using these headlines:
Free Report: Why you may not get a payout from your insurance when
you make a claim...
“One out of two insurance policies are worthless,” claims local Insurance
analyst
How to avoid the heartbreak of an ineffective insurance policy.
Why your insurance policy “Fine Print” may cause you to lose everything
when you claim. 6 reasons why you should deal with XYZ insurance.
Secure your future and turn your hard earned income into Real Wealth.
$1,800 a week for life. Find out how...
Years of hard work and dreams ruined by the “fine print” on your insurance
policy.
Get the fads on your insurance with my FREE booklet. ..How to protect
yourself from the insurance company’s fine print.
Put me to the challenge!...
...Let me show you how to save at least $65 on your insurance with better
coverage - or the lunch is on me!!
Spend / minutes with my free booklet, and I’ll show you 5 simple ways to
save at least 14% on your insurance premiums with better coverage
Your home in flames - and It stinks...
...protect yourself NOW with the XXXX plan.
159
Figure 86 - This letter with a mock check attached was sent to 45 people. It was followed
up with a phone call and resulted in six appointments from the first 12 calls. The check
idea will work for a lot of service and retail industries as well.
160
Collect your customers’ names and their spouses’ names. Get all the dates
of their birthdays, anniversaries, special occasions and what they bought
from you.
Mail a month before the special dates and say something like:
“Make your wife feel extra special on Mqy 5th. After all it is her birthday
I have in stock a ring/bracelet/chain that matches the XXXX that you bought her
last year
Jewelers:
How to
increase your
profits...
I only have three of these in stock !f you want one twill hold it for you...
By the way if your wife doesn’t like the XXXX for any reason, we’ll give you a full
refund.
This will knock their socks off. Follow up with a call:
“Did your wife like the XXXX you bought for her?”
Have a gift voucher for $20 and go to other businesses with affluent customers.
They can gift them to their customers and recommend you.
The printing and production of a page of print cost you a fraction of the
amount you charge advertisers. A page that’s not sold is lost forever.
Before I tell you how to blow your income skyward, ask yourself a very important
question. Do I deliver the readership and circulation I claim? If you can honestly
say YES, then read on.
Search out advertisers with products that will appeal to your readers and offer to
do the following...
Firstly, go to them and have your salesmen say:
Newspapers
and
Magazines:
How to increase
your profits...
“My publisher knows that our newspaper/magazine will work for you. To prove it
to you he offers to run your first ad FREE, provided you agree to a few reasonable
conditions.
You have to make a great offer; and run the ad only in our paper/magazine and
nowhere else. It must be something very attractive to the readers - the purpose
is to prove the ad works.
If the ad produces a pre-agreed upon number of sales.
you pay for the ad and/or agree to advertise for the next six or 12 weeks/
months at the normal rate.
Plus we will write all the ads for you...
A computer magazine started six people like this and two ended up becoming
regular advertisers. It costs them $80 in hard costs to produce the extra page. At
$950 a page for an ad which runs six times a year that’s $5,700 in extra income
161
for each advertiser started like this.
It makes sense to spend $480 to make $11,400 doesn’t it?
Another way is to offer to do a joint venture with a potential advertiser. If they agree to run their ads with you
exclusively - you’ll let them have the ad for free for a percentage of their takings for the coming year or while
the ads are being run.
Get a person to read this book and come up with ideas for you on what to do to bring in business. You pay
them an on-going percentage of all advertising they bring you this way.
Run seminars for advertisers on - How to write ads that get triple the response. Have a booklet to send
out to potential advertisers titled - 17 Ways To Make Your Ads 5 times More Effective.
For getting new subscribers, send a card to your existing subscribers with the magazine/newspaper and ask
them to put a friend’s name on it. Their friend will receive a free copy of the magazine with a note saying who
gifted the magazine to them.
162
Run syndicates for lotto. Offer special deals for clubs and other
organizations to put syndicates together.
Go to other businesses in your area and have them give you vouchers to give to
your customers.
Have special Mother’s Day and Father’s Day promotions where you give each
person a $2 card with any purchase of a magazine for men or women.
Newsagents:
How to
increase your
profits...
Go to your suppliers to help you with the cost and get old copies of magazines as
give-aways from time to time.
Pre-sell $100 vouchers for say $90 if paid in advance. This will lock-in those
people to buy only from you.
Offer $5 or $10 credit for opening an account with you. Make note of what
magazines people like and tell them when new issues are m.
Order special magazine issues for people. Keep making special offers to your
good customers.
And please, please, him employees that smile!!
Your biggest asset is your customers. After each job call the customer
and ask if everything is OK. Keep in touch with your customers and you
will get lots of referrals.
To get new customers, you could offer a FREE $35 inspection of plumbing, taps
and hot water systems. Offer the same for gas or whatever you specialize in.
Have a guarantee: “If we turn up late we’ll take 50% off your bill,” or something
similar.
Plumbers:
How to
increase your
profits...
Drop leaflets to the neighbors saying,
“We are fixing your neighbor’s house at number XXX. Since I am in your area I
will be happy to look at your plumbing, leaking taps, drains etc. You will save
yourself $35 on our fee. This saving is valid for today or tomorrow only.”
Have a “VIP Customer” cars or fridge magnet offering 15% off future work. Tidy
up after yourself and be polite- Remember, treat your customers as you want to
be treated yourself.
Follow these six steps. They are the same as for all other repeat businesses
such as florists, clothing shops and bakeries.
1... Use a “Win $100 worth of plants” sign to collect the names, birthdays and
gardening interests of each customer. Have a suggestions section on the card.
2... Send a “Thank You” letter with a voucher as in chapter 2. It will work for you
just as well as for the restaurant.
Plant
Nurseries:
How to
increase your
profits...
163
3.. Follow up with regular letters with offers to different sections of your list. Segment your customers into
indoor/outdoor, exotic, cactus, etc. and make different offers to each according to their interest. Always make
a special offer when you ask for their business.
4... Keep looking for products and services you can offer to your customers, either as a joint venture or by
yourself. You can go to lawn care companies, landscapers, automatic sprinkler installers, hydroponic
companies and hardware stores.
5... Offer special first choice on new arrivals to your existing customers. Contact them by phone or letter
Make them a special offer on those plants.
6... Offer incentives for referrals, send letters to people on either side of the houses where your customers
live and give them a $10 or $5 voucher to try you out.
Set up a home delivery and mobile plant shop service. Take the plants to your customer’s home and let them
choose what they want from your truck. You already know what they like and stock the truck accordingly.
Mail-drop the area around your store with a $5 or $10 voucher and a letter saying:
“To make your home beautiful, something you‘ll really be proud of I’d like to give you a $5 Voucher to spend
as you like at our nursery.
Why am I doing that? Simply because I know that once you have seen the spring blossoms of some of our
4,563 plants. you‘ll be back to buy more in the future…”
Give your vouchers to other retailers to give to their customers. Have booklets titled:
How to Make Your Garden Beautiful.
6 Things You Should Know About Planting Roses/
Palms/Herbs/Poppies…
How to take the guesswork out of choosing plants
for your home.
Your guide to healthy and beautiful plants.
164
It’s about time someone lived up to the name of Service Station again.
With every other gas station being self-serve, you’ll find gold with a full
service outlet.
Forty percent of motorists are women and I’d guess they don’t like getting gas or
oil on their hands and clothes. Plus with 70% of all vehicles running low on oil
you’d probably sell a lot of oil as well, and tires and fan belts and radiator hoses.
What if you asked all your customers when they last had a service?
Your average customer is worth probably $5 to $7 for every visit. Over a year this
adds up to $250 to $350.
You could offer a FREE car wash to every one living within say three miles of your
station. Make them fill in a Win a FREE Service card with name, address, birthday,
make of car, etc.
Petrol
(Gas)
Stations/
Car Wash:
How to
increase your
profits...
Make it easy for people to try you for the first time. Cars are expensive to run and
you’ll get lots of future business if you treat the customers right.
What if you gave every person as they pay for their gas a $20 Voucher for a
service or a tune-up or a set of new tires?? Or a discount for a wash??
A gas station had a small sign next to the amount on the pump saying:
“Would you like your car looking like new again? Get a Wash ‘n Wax token for
just $3 with your gas purchase. It only takes three minutes.”
This worked. As the fellow said, almost 25% of all people get the wash. If they
get 100 people a day, that adds up to $525 per week in extra sales, most of
which is pure profit
When you send out statements to your account customers, do you make offers
to them in the same mailing for car servicing, new tires, whatever else do you
do? Tell them and make tern an offer for those services.
Want more account customers?
Offer $50 or $25 off their first month’s gas account.
After all, you’ll be mailing them with all your other services and making lots of
money with add-on sales, won’t you?? You should belt
What if you had some sharp young person washing the windshield and vacuuming
the inside front carpets as well? And, heaven forbid...
What If you returned every car you got for service or any other work, washed and
polished inside and out?
Have information booklets on:
“HowToBe a SafeDriver”- “7 Tlips On Saving Gas”
Offer all sorts of add-ons to your customers - car alarms, roof racks, mag wheels,
car radios, tow bars, steering locks, detailing, etc. If you don’t sell those items,
do a joint venture with someone who does.
Your customer likes to know what you do when his car breaks down or is serviced.
165
Tell them and remember to thank them for their business.
After all, you are a SERVICE station first and gas station second, aren’t you?
You will have lots of repeat business from every new customer - especially
new businesses. Keep that in mind when you are looking for new
customers.
You can offer 500 business cards FREE with every 500 ordered at the special
price. It won’t cost you all that much extra and you’ll get that customer’s other
business.
Printers:
How to
increase your
profits...
Offer FREE pick up and delivery. Have a same day service if picked up before 10
tin. Or if picked up after 3 p.m., it’ll be back by II a.m. the next day.
Advertise your Unique Selling Advantage such as...
“If we don’t deliver on time, your job is FREE.”
Offer FREE copy-writing services for sales brochures worth $100. Have certificates
printed with this on them to give to your customers to give to their customers.
See page 158 for a letter endorsing someone else.
Offer a FREE one hour consultation with an advertising consultant. Do a deal
with them - they’ll be exposed to lots of business people and pick up clients from
it.
Offer FREE typesetting or do the first job at your cost if it’s pre-paid.
Contact the Visitors and Convention Bureau and hotels for details of up-coming
conventions. Call the organizer and offer your services, saying:
“Hi, l am the local instant printer When you have your convention you ‘ii probably
need some printing or copying to be done.
I’ll take care of it for you. I’ll pick it up in the morning and bring it back in the
afternoon…”
This will be very profitable for you. Have booklets titled:
How To Make Money With Your Printing.
35 Ways You Can Save Money And Make More
Profit From The Printing You Are Now Buying.
or
How to get more sales with your company brochures.
To get new and repeat business, have your sales people approach the prospects
in this way...
166
“We are printers and I’d like to naturally get your business. However I am calling for another reason today
You see we have just researched a special report called XXXXX. There is nothing like this any-where and
the information it has may save you hundreds or thousands of dollars and make all your printing much
more effective.
It tells you how to save on paper costs, what graphics increase readership, how to write headlines that get
up to ten times the results, how to write copy that gets read and acted upon, how to increase response
with coupons, and how to use a print broker plus more.
It’s worth $19. However; I’d like to give it to you. I hope that once you’ve read it and realized just how
knowledgeable we really are you’ll want to at least give us the option to price your next printing job...”
Finally, give yourself an edge and write a Yellow Pages ad along the lines suggested in chapter 5. You’ll
streak ahead of your competitors.
Offer your special report in the ad.
Headline your ad like this:
To get the best out of your printing needs...
Here are 6 reasons why you should call XXX now.
WARNING: Before you call any printer, get a copy of our Special Report - 35 Ways You Can Save
Money And Get More Results With Your Printing.
Have a regular newsletter with tips on increasing your customer’s business etc.
Mail to your customers with regular offers on cards, stationery, flyers, brochures and invoice books.
Try the offer of $50 or $100 credit on any “new account opened this month.”
Figure 87 – These offers will work for you. You
can drop these to all business houses. You will
get on-going business from every new customer
and get more business from your existing
customers.
167
Figure 88 – This brochure and coupon were part of a monthly mailing I get from a printing company
that is marketing oriented. They always make a special offer and include lots of helpful information
in their mailings. This brochure was also used in a targeted business mailing with good results.
168
Firstly I’d look at your Yellow Pages ads and other advertising you do.
Start keeping track of which headlines are working for you.
Look through the papers and when you see something that catches your eye,
cut it out and file it away. Describe the properties with emotion. After all, you are
not selling four bedrooms and a kitchen - you are selling cozy bedrooms, space
to entertain, safety and fun for children, and a relaxing haven for the adults.
Ask the owners what attracted them to the house when they bought it and what
are the best things about the area and the house. Speak to the woman, because
she is the one who usually chooses the home.
Real Estate:
How to
increase your
profits...
There are two markets you are selling to - the person who will live in the home
and the investor You should have different strategies for both. To the investor
you sell:
How You Can Own An Investment Property For $35 Per Week and a $2,000
Deposit.
Here is a Way You Can Buy Chicago Real Estate For No Deposit and Just
$60 Per Week.
Make A Million in Real Estate. Suburban Mother Of Three Tells How.
In all cases, follow up every person until they buy something or tell you to stop.
Ask all inquirers what sort of lifestyle they want? What would their ideal house
look like and where would it be? Take a personal interest in the person. They’ll
trust you and want to deal with you.
And after the sale send a “Thank You” card. Follow up with a “Birthday” letter:
“Congratulations your house is one year old. I hope you are enjoying the lifestyle
at XKXX..”
Put together a list of businesses that the new owners are likely to want to use
and recommend them in a booklet you give them - pool servicing, renovation,
painters, landscapers, etc.
Fully disclose that you have an interest in recommending these people like this:
“To help you settle in quicker and find good people you may need in this area I have put together a list of businesses that I have found to be reliable.
They have included some money-saving vouchers in the directory and will give
you fair pricing. They’ll treat you as a YIP client. I’ll personally guarantee that.
You see, X12W I can guarantee their service because jf you use them they pay
us a small management fee. If you are not happy with any part of their service,
I’ll be available to help you.
Of course, because they are saving advertising and promotional costs by
accessing a quality client through axe - this management fee comes out of their
pocket and not yours...
How to get listings.
169
Write a booklet called:
7 Important Things You Should Know Before
Listing Your House For Sale In XXXXX.
XXXX Real Estate’s 25 Ways To Sell Your House
Quicker And Closer To The Asking Price.
10 Vital Things You Should Expect Your Agent To Do. ..and why it means less money to you If they
don’t
Mail letters to areas around your office offering these booklets as a service to the people. Write a press
release and offer it to the readers of the local newspaper.
This will give you far greater credibility and better results than 99% of the other agents who say, “Give me
your business” - for no real reason other than, “I want your money.
Rule off 15 minutes in your diary each day for the “How are things?” phone call. Call good clients you have
not spoken to for a while, just to say “How are things?”
This will keep them thinking about you when they need your help again.
170
Figure 90 – Selection of ads that are out of the ordinary. Use headlines that
attract attention and lots of interesting copy in all your advertisements.
171
To get more customers, you must first know who they are. The key to your success
is on-going name collection and follow up of your customers.
Have your waiter present the name collection card on page 13 to the diners after
their meal, as they are paying their bill.
Mail them after the prize draw with the letter on page 3 and watch your restaurant
fill up.
Restaurants:
How to increase
your profits...
Send your customers birthday letters. Offer them a FREE cake and coffee or
similar. Your customers will come with their friends and celebrate this special
occasion with you.
Mail your customers every couple of months with different offers.
To get new customers, have other businesses giving out your $10 vouchers to
their customers.
Send out letters to all dentists for a “Dentist Night.” Try the same for accountants,
nurses, executives. Make an offer in the letter, such as “Buy One Main Course Get One FREE.”
Keep in mind the repeat business you will have by collecting the names and
mailing to your customers (see chapter 6 on Lifetime Value of a customer).
The better your offer, the better your response. The cost of all your promotions is
high. You’d do much better to fill up your restaurant with customers responding
to a well targeted and very generous offer.
Use the money most restaurant owners spend on useless ads on FREE food.
Your response to those promotions will be high. If you have good food and friendly
service, these first-time customers will come back.
Do you have quiet nights? Hand out $10 credit vouchers, FREE soup and bread
or 35% off vouchers valid only on the quiet nights. Have a guitarist playing on
those nights. Swap his music for a meal (see page 74 on barter).
Do a deal with a local movie house. If the diners finish by 7:30 they get a ticket
each to the 8 p.m. movie. Start your letter:
Would you like to see a FREE movie? Here is your chance. If you eat early at
XXXX restaurant you get one ticket for each dinner”
What if you offered to support a local group with members similar to your
customers by offering to hold a club dinner at your cost? You’d have to get some
repeat customers from that!
What if you kept a steady steam of mail to local doctors, club presidents and
owners of businesses with lots of customers?
Include a card for $30 worth of FREE lunches - it should cover at least the cost
of one person eating a frill three course meal. Send them a copy of your menu.
They will tell their friends and come back with them.
172
Have special occasion Mother’s Day and Father’s Day events for your customers. The response you’ll get
from your customer base is far higher than what you’ll get by advertising in the papers at the last minute.
Get to know your customers by name. Wander among the tables and chat with the diners. Pull up a chair
with them. Your customers will feel special if you do.
Have “Meet a Friend” nights. Customers are seated with at least two other people whom they’ve never met.
It works at Club Mediterranean - a very successful holiday resort. It may work for you.
Have an “Eat as much as you like. Pay what you think it’s worth” night.
What if your takings are more than you’d get otherwise? If not, your customers will have fun.
Promote this to your customer list only.
Start a customer club. Give a business card size membership card to each customer. Each time they dine
with you, write the amount they spent on their card. When they reach say, $400, give them a dinner for two
worth $40.
Try it, your customers may love it!
Figure 91 - How to make money with special nights. This night was promoted
only to existing customers. Twenty letters were sent and 100 of these leaflets
were given to customers eating at the restaurant ten days before the night.
The result? Forty-one people booked at $30 per head ($8 above the average
sale), 21 people were turned away and all who came asked, “When is the
next one.” Cost of letters and leaflet - $50. Special event nights are a simple
and effective way to keep your existing customers coming back.
173
igure 92 - This Mother’s Day breakfast
leaflet received a 33% response from
existing customers. The leaflet was given
out a few days before the Sunday.
Figure 93 – This was a promotion
to office people around the
restaurant It has a great offer. The
voucher was in the folded brochure.
It could have been improved with a
headline - there was none! Mr.
Monty’s is not a headline.
Figure 94- A restaurant ad with a
difference: Written m an editorial
style this sort of ad should be
placed in the early section of the
newspaper. This will make sure it’s
read by the most people.
174
What if you collected all customers’ names, addresses, shoe sizes and
types of shoes bought? And had a “Size 8 Sale” only.
What if you bad size 10 left over in a style and you called only your size 10
customers and offered them the first option to buy these shoes at 25% off or with
a dozen socks thrown in??
No more leftovers for you at the end of the season!!
How about offering every person - as they are about to pay for their shoes - a pair
of socks? Or shoe polish (see chapter 14 on up-selling).
Shoe
Stores:
How to
increase your
profits...
Before Father’s Day, what if you mailed the wife with a “Slippers For Him” offer?
And vice versa for Mother’s Day.
What if you offered a money back guarantee? Say:
“Try the most comfortable shoes in the world for a month. If you don‘t like them,
bring them back and we’ll refund your money
Add value by adding other people’s products. A sportshoe shop can add one
month FREE gym membership. Ask them for it (see gym section of this book for
a sample).
After all, they will get new members out of it. Put together a package of vouchers
for other businesses to give with each purchase.
Lastly, please sell comfort and fashion - not shoes.
Figure 95- This is an ad with a difference.
Adding value will cost you a lot less than
discounting. Plus it seems more valuable to
your customers. This ad will give you ideas
for a copy intensive ad with lots of subheadlines with benefits, and an offer instead
of a discount!
175
Let your client know on a regular basis what services you can offer them
and have a newsletter with helpful information on all sorts of legal issues.
Make your letters light and easy to read. Sophisticated letters end up in the
garbage bin - no matter how fancy your letterhead is!
To get new clients have your present clients refer you to their friends and
customers. Give them vouchers for say one hour of your time - valued at $150 to send out with a letter that you write for them.
Advertise a free booklet on:
“7 Things You Should Know About Family Law”
Solicitors
(Lawyers):
How to
increase your
profits...
“How to claim Workers Compensation”
Write a column for the local papers and feature your booklet in it.
Have FREE initial consultations and give first class advice in this hour.
This will give you lots of business.
Read chapter 5 on Yellow Pages and write an ad that makes you stand out from
the rest.
Figure 96 - You can use this sort of voucher for lawyers, accountants, insurance
and other professional services. By giving the first hour away FREE, you’ll get
lots of people with legal problems wanting to talk with you. This will then lead to
176
The way to customer loyalty and more sales is to make your store fun
and friendly. Use personal direct mail instead of those ugly full page ads
I see In the papers every week.
Read the chapter on fruit shops. Most of those ideas will apply to you.
Have lots of cooking demos - not just sampling of beans and sausages. Have a
couple of ladies cooking-up tasty dishes to sample every day in your kitchen
corner.
Give out recipes every week. Have a nutritionist in the store for free advice on a
couple of days per week. They’ll do it free because they’ll also get clients from it.
Supermarkets
/ Food
Stores:
How to increase
your profits...
Have a suggestion box and use the comments to give your customers what
they want.
Connect your cash registers to a bell and revolving lights. Have random winners
of groceries. Take their photos and have a “Winners Wall Of Fame.”
Be there at the front of the store and ask your customers:
“Did you find everything you wanted?”
Have coupons in all your advertising for new customers. FREE Bread, Potatoes
and Eggs are good examples. When the first-time customer comes, get them
on your mailing list and send them coupons for another three weeks. This will
get them used to coming to your store.
Test the different offers and monitor how much your customers spend per visit.
With your customers returning week after week, you can afford to give away a
good offer up-front.
Promote certain higher price items such as stainless steel cookware to your
customers. Offer lay-away on them.
Have an unconditional Money Back Guarantee on everything. And don’t
check your customer’s bags as they leave. After all, 97% of people are honest.
Why punish them for the 3% who are not?
Offer FREE bus pick up of customers and FREE delivery of the groceries. Have
an area for children to play in and even some live animals or humans in duck’s
and cow costumes walking around, if your store is large enough.
Is there a line up at the register? Break out some cookies and ice-cream to pass
the time. Serve tea and coffee and orange juice all the time.
Have smiling customer service people at the checkouts. Not check-out operators.
Most of all have fun!!
177
Figure 97- This coupon returned 404 customers to the store. It was
delivered to 10,000 home at a cost of $480. Total sales were $3,062. This sort
of offer will attract new and existing customers to the store - try it.
178
If you are like most travel agents, you simply react to your clients’ requests.
Most people make their travel plans well in advance. What if you took a more
structured, pro-active strategy, by keeping records of your clients’ preferences?
Contacting them in advance to find out where, when. and how they are likely to
travel. Plus find out any special needs and desires that they may have.
By keeping detailed records of your clients’ and prospects’ details you can make
suggestions to them well in advance of their dates of travelling.
Travel
Agents:
How to
increase your
profits...
By making these suggestions in a way that will save them time, money and last
minute panic, you’ll get their business over and over again.
After their trip, send a “How was your holiday?” card or phone them in person.
Throw out your brochures. Instead, sit the people down and ask them about
their interests and preferences.
Hold travel evenings with different themes - Hawaiian, European. Balinese,
Adventure, etc.
Offer a chance to win a tour with you. Collect everyone’s name and follow up with
offers for various destinations.
Go to associations and clubs and offer to be their “Official Travel Agent” Offer to
donate a small percentage of the bookings from members back to the club.
Give your best clients a gift voucher towards their next trip. Offer extra value with
a map and book on the area they want to travel to.
Send “Thank You” notes and keep in touch. After all -most people will travel
somewhere every year - for the rest of their life.
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Figure 98- This ad has a good headline. It has a
limited time offer and it has lots of interesting copy.
Anyone who has heard or been on the QE2 knows
this is a great ship. The headline will attract them.
Make your ads interesting along the lines I suggest
in chapter 10.
180
The easiest way to make more money for you is to add-on sales in your
shop.
If a person is about to leave without renting anything ask them:
“Excuse me what were you looking for?”
If it’s action, comedy or whatever, make them this offer
“I have a few really great movies that most people don ‘t know about. If you’d
like, take them home and watch them. If you don t like them, you don ‘t have to
pay for the ones you don‘t like. How does that sound?”
Video
Stores:
How to
increase your
profits...
This will make sure everyone leaves with some videos and over a year it will add
thousands of dollars to your bottom line.
Have a special “First Release Club.” For an annual fee, the members will get
advance notice and first pick of new releases, plus a newsletter and $50 credit
for old movie rental.
Pre-sell $200 worth of movie rental for say $150 if paid in advance. Have other
stores give away vouchers for FREE video rental from your store. Your business
has a high repeat purchase value. What you want is for people to visit you a
couple of times and get used to coming to you.
Have video retailers give $100 worth of movies from your store with every video
recorder they sell.
A video store in the country had McDonalds give away $30 worth of movie rental
with every purchase during a certain period. Out of 1,000 vouchers 300 new
customers came in to the store.
Have a prize draw for $300 worth of videos every two months. The person has to
be in the store to win the prize. This will give you a crowd every two months.
Have other businesses give you their products to give out with your videos. Go to
bowling alleys, restaurants, coffee shops, fast foods, etc.
Do a joint venture with a video repair company to supply a loaner video to people
who are having their video reconditioned. Send a letter offering your customers
this service.
The video repair company will go to your customer’s home, pick up the video
and install the loaner. They’ll get a better quality viewing, longer video life, etc. If
you split the profit, you’ll make at least $35 per video recorder If from every 1,000
customers 20% will take you up on it, this will mean an extra $7,000 profit for just
a bit of your time.
181
Figure 99-Customer club cards like this one will
get you customer loyalty. The giveaway is equal to
10% off. However, this “Buy 10 get one FREE”
approach is more attractive and encourages people
to keep using your video rental.
182
You are like the other repeat businesses I have written about. If you call
your customers and ask them for more business on a consistent basis instead of running those idiotic ads like everyone else - you’ll make a ton
of money.
How about sending a “Thank You” note, a letter to say:
“I hope you are enjoying your new...”
You can use your customer base to sell other products too. What if you asked
the person buying the stereo:
Whitegoods
(Electronics):
How to increase
your profits...
“What kind of music do you like?”
And mailed them with an offer for some CD’s?
What if’ you offered the person who bought a TV a video to match:
“I hope you art enjoying your TV I saw a really great video the other night,
which made me think of you. We have just received a shipment of XXXX videos.
They are perfectly matched to your TV. I have even organized $150 worth of
movie rental from your local video store for you.”
You are probably spending a huge amount of effort and money to get the
dealers and the stores to sell your products.
All the dealers and stores are being approached by your competitors who, by
and large, have pretty much the same things, at the same price as you.
Usually the dealers and the shops have no loyalty and will try to get the lowest
price from whomever they can.
Even after you get your product in the stores, they still have to sell your product
to the final user.
Wholesalers/
Manufacturers:
How to increase
your profits...
To stand out from the others, you should develop a system to sell your products
to the end user. Ask yourself-which one of your dealers is selling the most?
Why? Can you give his technique to the others?
If you can develop a system, a series of ads or promotions that sell your product
or service, the shops and dealers will be begging you to go with them. Why is
that? Simply because now you are giving them a system to make money, instead
of selling them another headache.
Another way to get dealers and stores to take your products and services
is to help them increase their business.
Even if your help has no direct relation to selling your product, human nature is
to pay-back and reciprocate by buying your products and services.
Start a newsletter on helping your dealers and stores make more money. Buy
them good books on marketing, (such as this one) and send them as gifts with
‘Thank You” letters.
183
Organize seminars and buy them time with advertising/ marketing/taxation experts who will help increase
their business. Be on the lookout for techniques that others are using that could be applied in your customers’
businesses.
What if you are selling a high value item to organizations and government departments? Ask the person
who will influence Their decision to evaluate your product or service.
“We have a XXXX that we feel is excellent for doing XXXX however we fret that it could still be improved.
Because you are an expert in this field, we would appreciate your suggestions and input into the performance
of the XXXX…”
This plays on human pride and recognition. You are asking for help. After the person evaluates your product,
they are a likely prospect to buy it.
184
The best books I know about increasing your profits...
There are many books and newsletters you can read on the subject of marketing
and increasing your profits. I have referred to some of these in writing this Manual.
1) Your Marketing Genius At Work by Jay Abraham. Ph: (213) 791-2300
2) The Results Report by The Results Corporation Ph: (07) 870 3700
3) The Marketing Magazine by Winston Marsh Ph: (03) 569 1100
4) The Gary Halbert Letter by Gary Halbert Ph: (305) 294-8425
5) Mind Your Own Business and Would Saks Fjfih Avenue Dolt by Murray
Raphel Ph: (609) 348-6646 or phone (02) 247 7744 Australian Direct
Marketing Association in Sydney.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
6) My Life In Advertising and Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins. Ph:
(02) 247 7744 Australian Direct Marketing Association in Sydney.
7) Tested Advertising Methods by John Caples Ph: Who knows where I got
that one from. Try a large bookstore or the Australian Direct Marketing
Association on (02) 247 7744
8) The Peter Sun Marketing Letter by Peter Sun (630) 736-0468
Business Publications Australia Pty. Ltd. (075) 38 3066
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