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Archive for the ‘Lead Generation’ Category

If you have not listed your phone number with the do not call registry, I can almost guarantee that you get at least one call per week, usually during the dinner hour, telling you about some once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you simply cannot afford to miss. There will probably be a recorded message asking you to press one on your telephone keypad to speak to a sales associate and arrange shipment of some new product or service. It will normally end with the leading direct response advertising tag line, “Don’t miss this opportunity!”

This is a very popular type of direct response advertising. There are many more ways to respond to direct response advertising, including a business reply card or a coupon to cut out return by mail. You are also likely to be familiar with telephone advertising that ends with a request to you to call a press one to place your order. With the growth and expansion of the Internet, you might have been asked to click on a link or an image.

By definition, direct response advertising refers to a method of advertising or promoting a product or service in which you, the targeted customer, are asked to respond directly to the marketer. The best explanation is probably an example.

You receive a letter in the mail that announces the publication of a definitive new book on a popular subject. After describing the book, providing a brief author or editor biography, and adding a few endorsements of the book from people you are likely to respect, the letter concludes, “available September 1 from your favorite online or local bookseller.” This is not direct response advertising.

You also receive a letter in the mail announcing the upcoming release of a new film directed by Mike Nichols and boasting an amazing all-star cast. The brochure shows images of a few scenes from the film, provides a complete listing of the cast and concludes, call this 800 number to reserve you advance copy on DVD or Blue-Ray or visit this web site to view the extended trailer and place your order. This is direct response advertising.

The second example includes all four of the basic elements of direct response advertising:

1. The advertising piece or ad makes a clear offer.

2. Enough information about the product to enable you to make a decision about whether you want to take any action.

3. A clear request that you take a specific action.

4. You are given at least two ways to respond.

Direct response advertising is very popular with people in sales and marketing because it is very easy to track, analyze, quantify and fine-tune the advertising. The marketer will know exactly how many people made a purchase. If the marketer has the ability to send slightly different promotional pieces to parts of the audience, it is also possible to determine which messages or formats were most effective.

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Lead Generation – Does It Need To Cost An Arm And A Leg?

In order for your business to thrive you need a fresh supply of leads on a regular basis. The problem is that obtaining these leads can be expensive so it is a challenging task when you are first starting out and don’t have much in your budget to spare. Here are some things to consider that might lower the cost of getting business leads.

When many people start their business, they simply put up a sales page and sell an item. While this might be profitable, it does nothing to encourage the growth of the business. Although an email address is probably obtained with each sale, no follow up is made to it.

To get more for your money, you need to turn those customers into leads so you can make multiple sales from them over time rather than selling a single item to one person one time and that’s it. If you go for the single sale, you have less profit to cover your expenses. Getting people to hit the “Buy” button is a skill in itself that most people lack and to get results, you need to hire someone to write your copy for you.

Copywriters do not come cheap, especially if they are good and have a proven track record. That is the major cost of sales letter pages. In essence, you are relying on a set number of sales to offset that cost and lead into profit. This is known as overhead or initial outlay and we all have been there at one time or another.

The site itself has to be designed so that anyone can navigate through it. I have seen a lot of expensive, flashy sites that basically generate no income for the owner other than the sales that come from it. Add in the costs of hosting, domain registration and upkeep and you may never recover the entire cost of the business as it will always be creeping up and biting you on the butt!

A site that is set up to generate leads on an ongoing basis on the other hand is more profitable in the long run and can pay for itself many times over. The site doesn’t even have to be anything fancy or expensive. You can simply offer a free report in exchange for an email address and name. As long as this person stays on your list, you can market to him multiple times and hopefully he will buy from you multiple times over the years.

Since that person has agreed to receive your email(s), there is no danger of a SPAM report from them. Once they have accepted your initial offer and given you their information, they are asked to confirm that they want to register on your list. This is called double opt-in and it works like a charm. Not only do you now have a prospect, you have a prospect that knows what you offer and wants to receive it willingly.

Lead generation monetizes your list every time a new person joins. The total cost? A few minutes and some time to follow up. The results? Lasting recurring sales from a customer who now trusts you implicitly.

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