Mailings

Not so much ideas, but things that have worked for others.

Save the postage by chucking the mailers, and start dialing those who you intended to send a mailer to.

What if the people you want to call are on do-not-call.  Can’t the mailers be a possible in?  I know they don’t have high success rates, but what other option do you have for DNC people?

Random off-the-topic question:  Have any of you guys ever gotten busted for calling a DNC lead?  When I first started I was too lazy to scrub the leads, and doing the DNC thing took longer than calling the lead anyways.  Are you guys pretty religious w/screening the #'s, or do most of you not worry about it?

What if the people you want to call are on do-not-call.  Can’t the mailers be a possible in?  I know they don’t have high success rates, but what other option do you have for DNC people?

Save the postage by chucking the mailers, and start dialing those who you intended to send a mailer to.

Random off-the-topic question: Have any of you guys ever gotten busted for calling a DNC lead? When I first started I was too lazy to scrub the leads, and doing the DNC thing took longer than calling the lead anyways. Are you guys pretty religious w/screening the #'s, or do most of you not worry about it?

Chief, what do you expect to get out of the mailings?  I have done them in the past, and have seen no success.  Not that it doesn’t work - anything works if done enough.  But based on the return, I would think there are other, better ways, that cost less.  From what I have read, mailing campaigns only seem to work when done to enough people, and ona  regular basis.  Most people either run out of funds or patience before getting any real return.  I woudl rather take the money and run a seminar.

Chief, what do you expect to get out of the mailings? I have done them in the past, and have seen no success. Not that it doesn’t work - anything works if done enough. But based on the return, I would think there are other, better ways, that cost less. From what I have read, mailing campaigns only seem to work when done to enough people, and ona regular basis. Most people either run out of funds or patience before getting any real return. I woudl rather take the money and run a seminar.

The only way mailings will have any success is if you plan on following up. Keep it short and simple. As stated above, not really worth the postage.

I agree with newguy. If you don’t plan on following up with a phone call, don’t bother mailing. Mailing alone = a lot of wasted time.

Ok… aside from violating the DNC, how would you follow-up or prospect people on the DNC…?

send postcards on municipal bond rates.  If you are sending them to prospects, you HAVE to follow up w/phone calls or you are just wasting stamps.

Ok… aside from violating the DNC, how would you follow-up or prospect people on the DNC…?

Alright I am not retarded… I cold call and do seminars… However there is no way to reach people on the DNC(unless you doorknock(not doing that again) or violate the DNC(might consider this if i see another post about WIND))

So i figured to send out 1,000 pieces a month, every month to the same people(ON DNC) would be the only way to reach these people.



I understand that no one will probably call, however I feel it is more efficient(and cheaper than running an ad) and it targets the demographic I am looking for. And maybe on of these times when they get my seminar invite, they will rsvp, since I they see and recognize the name.

The only success I have ever had mailing is muni bond postcards. 1 phone call from prospect per 1000 mailed.

[quote=chief123]Ok… aside from violating the DNC, how would you follow-up or prospect people on the DNC…?[/quote]

Considering that 75 percent of people are on the DNC list – and probably 90 percent of the qualified people – that is a great question.

Door Knock !!!

[quote=Ron 14]Door Knock !!![/quote]



People put themselves on the DNC list because they hate salesmen, so they’re not any happier when you show up in person.

From the friend I have who calls the DNC, I think people just don’t want to hear from telemarketers, but don’t mind hearing from professionals.

If they tell you they are on the DNC and want to know why you called tell them they checked off a box on a postcard at some tabling event asking for a follow-up.  If they say they don’t remember, tell them I’m sure it wasn’t a hallmark moment in their life and they probably shouldn’t remember.  If they say they absolutely didn’t and want you to go to hell, tell them that it was probably someone that cared about their financial well-being that put their name and number on the postcard.  Corny, but it’ll prevent the awkward “Ohh, umm, I’m sorry your name must have slipped through our firms DNC database.”

The only success I have ever had mailing is muni bond postcards. 1 phone call from prospect per 1000 mailed.

If they are a high net worth client you can google them and sometimes find where they work. Then, you can call their office number. Again, its better than sending out a mailer. Instead of a mailer, I send out a hand written note. I do this with DNC people in affluent neigborhoods. I send out a very non-threatening note telling them I help HNW people with tax management and recovery strategies. I then invite them to call or email if they ever have any questions. In the note I say I will follow up in two weeks to see if they want to learn more. This gives them a chance to expect my call. Everything is much less threatening. I sent out 50 of these cards over 10 days. No clients to date, but I have people who I can now talk to that other advisors aren’t calling. I can now drip on them every two weeks.

If you are already cold calling and doing seminars, focus your mailings on your siminars to drive attendance. If you have a good topic, send a mailer and follow up with a quick call to see if they can attend. I have seen the best response doing this.

[quote=newguy44] If they are a high net worth client you can google them and sometimes find where they work. Then, you can call their office number. Again, its better than sending out a mailer. Instead of a mailer, I send out a hand written note. I do this with DNC people in affluent neigborhoods. I send out a very non-threatening note telling them I help HNW people with tax management and recovery strategies. I then invite them to call or email if they ever have any questions. In the note I say I will follow up in two weeks to see if they want to learn more. This gives them a chance to expect my call. Everything is much less threatening. I sent out 50 of these cards over 10 days. No clients to date, but I have people who I can now talk to that other advisors aren’t calling. I can now drip on them every two weeks.

[quote=chief123] [quote=newguy44] If they are a high net worth client you can google them and sometimes find where they work. Then, you can call their office number. Again, its better than sending out a mailer. Instead of a mailer, I send out a hand written note. I do this with DNC people in affluent neigborhoods. I send out a very non-threatening note telling them I help HNW people with tax management and recovery strategies. I then invite them to call or email if they ever have any questions. In the note I say I will follow up in two weeks to see if they want to learn more. This gives them a chance to expect my call. Everything is much less threatening. I sent out 50 of these cards over 10 days. No clients to date, but I have people who I can now talk to that other advisors aren’t calling. I can now drip on them every two weeks.

[quote=Wet_Blanket] [quote=chief123] [quote=newguy44] If they are a high net worth client you can google them and sometimes find where they work. Then, you can call their office number. Again, its better than sending out a mailer. Instead of a mailer, I send out a hand written note. I do this with DNC people in affluent neigborhoods. I send out a very non-threatening note telling them I help HNW people with tax management and recovery strategies. I then invite them to call or email if they ever have any questions. In the note I say I will follow up in two weeks to see if they want to learn more. This gives them a chance to expect my call. Everything is much less threatening. I sent out 50 of these cards over 10 days. No clients to date, but I have people who I can now talk to that other advisors aren’t calling. I can now drip on them every two weeks.

Okay, I read his post wrong.  I thought he was calling them at work, then sending them a note to call them again at work.  That doesn’t make sense now.

[quote=chief123] [quote=Ron 14]

The only success I have ever had mailing is muni bond postcards. 1 phone call from prospect per 1000 mailed.

The only success I have ever had mailing is muni bond postcards. 1 phone call from prospect per 1000 mailed.

****************************************

I used to use Bill Good Mkting. Sent Thousands and thousands of mailers.
Campaign after campaign. Had 2 part timers working for me to help run
the system. BGM cost me $10k for the software alone. The mailers cost
the firm many thousands more. DID NOT WORK. BGM may be good for client
communication, but that is it. No easy way to get clients.

Seminars…most all looking for free advice. I occasionally get a
client come in for a review with an idea they liked from a seminar and
they wind up implementing with me. I have run night school investment
classes at the local high school. Did many seminars (started with 
dinner seminars. Attendees all looking for a free meal, deserts or
whatever) Did the yellow pages. WASTE of $. Did advertising through the
VAL Pac coupons, nada. Adds in newspaper, WASTE of $. Ghost written
articles in local paper…no biz but great for name and face
recognition. Involved in many community svc orgs.They pretty much will
bleed you dry of your time and you will generally have little to show
for it. Did the networking groups…very long process to get referrals
for investment professional, if you get any, and they are usually
someone who wants to start a 529 with little $. Did the cold canvassing of businesses (owners were often shocked or pissed off to see a ML guy at their door prospecting them. I often got encouragement but no biz)Of course did the cold calling,
when you could call anyone you wanted. I cant really say why none of
these things really worked well. It honestly wasnt for lack of
enthusiasm, blood, sweat and tears, willingness to invest in my business, knowledge or the
likability factor. The best thing I did to build my business was go to
a good bank platform and there I was able to build a solid book with a
decent amount of it fee based, and without all the headaches and
letdowns of the prospecting grind.

Well THAT was an uplifting post.

Shoot me now…

The only success I have ever had mailing is muni bond postcards. 1 phone call from prospect per 1000 mailed.
****************************************
I used to use Bill Good Mkting. Sent Thousands and thousands of mailers. Campaign after campaign. Had 2 part timers working for me to help run the system. BGM cost me $10k for the software alone. The mailers cost the firm many thousands more. DID NOT WORK. BGM may be good for client communication, but that is it. No easy way to get clients.

Seminars…most all looking for free advice. I occasionally get a client come in for a review with an idea they liked from a seminar and they wind up implementing with me. I have run night school investment classes at the local high school. Did many seminars (started with  dinner seminars. Attendees all looking for a free meal, deserts or whatever) Did the yellow pages. WASTE of $. Did advertising through the VAL Pac coupons, nada. Adds in newspaper, WASTE of $. Ghost written articles in local paper…no biz but great for name and face recognition. Involved in many community svc orgs.They pretty much will bleed you dry of your time and you will generally have little to show for it. Did the networking groups…very long process to get referrals for investment professional, if you get any, and they are usually someone who wants to start a 529 with little $. Did the cold canvassing of businesses (owners were often shocked or pissed off to see a ML guy at their door prospecting them. I often got encouragement but no biz)Of course did the cold calling, when you could call anyone you wanted. I cant really say why none of these things really worked well. It honestly wasnt for lack of enthusiasm, blood, sweat and tears, willingness to invest in my business, knowledge or the likability factor. The best thing I did to build my business was go to a good bank platform and there I was able to build a solid book with a decent amount of it fee based, and without all the headaches and letdowns of the prospecting grind.

Dudes…didnt mean to get you down. Just sharing that its realy tough no matter what. Myself and many others been there too. I’m in my 12th year. I’m sure you guys, particularly the newer FA’s are killing yourselves prospecting. I  know I did. I spent an awful lot of my own money on marketing myself. Probably the best marketing I did and still do is through the newspaper articles the local paper runs for me. A lot of recognition from those and costs me nothing. They put my pic in the paper next to the article and at the end of the article a very brief bio on me and where and whom I work for (its local). Clients will cut them out and they bring them in to show me. One client hangs them up at work in his break room. Yes, they are compliance approved. Many firms offer these ghost written articles for FA’s to run if they can get the paper to run them. I was lucky in getting that “in” with the business editor. Also as I stated I went to a bank platform and now I spend my time working with people who actually want my help. I no longer have to convince everyone I can help them. Its not without its drawbacks, but I’m building a decent managed book this way and have a decent stream of referrals. Although biz down about 35% this year overall to date, its survivable.  

[quote=newguy44]The only way mailings will have any success is if you plan on following up. Keep it short and simple. As stated above, not really worth the postage. [/quote]

people who think this way are bound for meritocracy.  fisher investments mails millions of letters offering free info and directing people to websites and following up via email and somehow manages to bring in billions each year.  they do call also, but only if you give a phone number - which most direct mail studies show is done less than 1/3 of the time.

my best advice - look at what the great direct marketers do and replicate it to your market.

so offer something to people with a qualifier
send them the info a few times
mail to them every month for a year
email if you can get that too
offer videos via a website or dvds in the mail
and call if they’ll give you a valid phone number

don’t expect people to respond to a single mailer looking for an appointment.  this is a pipe dream and the main reason people say direct mail doesn’t work.  it works; most people just don’t know how to do it.

doing something wrong doesn’t mean the process doesn’t work.  i’m glad though, that most people can’t get good marketing to work - business is easier for me.  btw - i’m not a bgm fan, but marketing does work as my whole book is based on marketing; don’t have any clients from cold calling and i’m truly independent - no bank or other bs to deal with.

lastly, when your banks go broke or payouts go to 10% from nationalization - shoot me a pm and maybe i can offer you a job with better marketing, asset management and payout.

[quote=Ron 14][quote=3rd ID]The only success I have ever had mailing is muni bond postcards. 1 phone call from prospect per 1000 mailed.
****************************************
I used to use Bill Good Mkting. Sent Thousands and thousands of mailers. Campaign after campaign. Had 2 part timers working for me to help run the system. BGM cost me $10k for the software alone. The mailers cost the firm many thousands more. DID NOT WORK. BGM may be good for client communication, but that is it. No easy way to get clients.

Seminars…most all looking for free advice. I occasionally get a client come in for a review with an idea they liked from a seminar and they wind up implementing with me. I have run night school investment classes at the local high school. Did many seminars (started with  dinner seminars. Attendees all looking for a free meal, deserts or whatever) Did the yellow pages. WASTE of $. Did advertising through the VAL Pac coupons, nada. Adds in newspaper, WASTE of $. Ghost written articles in local paper…no biz but great for name and face recognition. Involved in many community svc orgs.They pretty much will bleed you dry of your time and you will generally have little to show for it. Did the networking groups…very long process to get referrals for investment professional, if you get any, and they are usually someone who wants to start a 529 with little $. Did the cold canvassing of businesses (owners were often shocked or pissed off to see a ML guy at their door prospecting them. I often got encouragement but no biz)Of course did the cold calling, when you could call anyone you wanted. I cant really say why none of these things really worked well. It honestly wasnt for lack of enthusiasm, blood, sweat and tears, willingness to invest in my business, knowledge or the likability factor. The best thing I did to build my business was go to a good bank platform and there I was able to build a solid book with a decent amount of it fee based, and without all the headaches and letdowns of the prospecting grind. [/quote]

So how did you do it… give us some marketing tips.

brandnewadvisor -  Get an original thought. Banks aren’t going broke and they will not be nationalized. I am sure you also think we are in the Great Depression because CNBC told you so. Im glad you have better marketing. Advisors in banks DONT NEED IT !!!

don’t watch cnbc unless i’m depositing a large check at my local bank branch as they have it on in the lobby.  i’ll say hi next time i’m in if you’re not too busy opening a $25/mo ira for joe sixpack.

Sounds good wizard. We don't even have a TV in the breakroom.

Be ballsy.

Walk into a competing FA’s office when he’s in a meeting and tell his client/lead that they’re f*cked if they’re going with THAT FA.

Walk out calmly and cooly. Do it a few times and you’ll have a few dozen people follow you back to your office. Hell, close on the side of the street. Then duck into your limo and have George take you to the country club by 1.

Yup. Works 75% of the time, everytime.

[quote=Ron 14]

Sounds good wizard. We don’t even have a TV in the breakroom.

I never gave the advice that everyone should work at a bank, but nice try. You have to start somewhere and if you don't like EJ or sitting next to 50 dudes in a call center, it is not a bad option depending on the program.

The muni bond mailers you guys are using? Do they give rates or just basic info on muni bonds.

[quote=chief123]The muni bond mailers you guys are using? Do they give rates or just basic info on muni bonds.[/quote]

You need to have a rate. That creates some urgency. The best idea I’ve ever seen is to hand write on a blank postcard: ‘My firm has recently made available a tax free investment yielding 5 percent. Please call Chief 123 at 555-1234.’ Then take that to a printing shop and they’ll run 500 copies for you.
Then you or your assistant should handwrite the address and personalize it if you can.

A lot of compliance issues with that I would think…

[quote=chief123]A lot of compliance issues with that I would think…[/quote]

I’ve seen it approved, maybe not that exact wording, but make it look handwritten and put the rate.

NO, rates are acceptable in print as long as you have the proper disclaimers.  Lots of firms do it.  In my market, Morgan Stanley runs CD rate ads all the time in the paper (not much lately, though).

I’ll post the wording tomorrow.

Is the majority of most the rrforum users transaction based?  Just curious.  It seems doing a mailer that is product based would get some response but I was wondering if a high percentage of the new sales lead to a more all-encompassing relationship down the road.  If so - how long does it take?

Not sure about the first question… My business is 70% fee based… The other 30% is a combination of items…



Typically it takes some time if ever to develop… For example I have some clients who are purely fixed income(mostly muni’s… some corps) and they will never be anything else, they don’t want to pay an annual fee and they understand that I markup the bonds to make a profit…My goal with these people is typically to move on to the rest of the family, since they will inherit the money, then I can move it back into my feebased account because they are typically not strictly fixed income…

[quote=chief123]Not sure about the first question… My business is 70% fee based… The other 30% is a combination of items…



Typically it takes some time if ever to develop… For example I have some clients who are purely fixed income(mostly muni’s… some corps) and they will never be anything else, they don’t want to pay an annual fee and they understand that I markup the bonds to make a profit…My goal with these people is typically to move on to the rest of the family, since they will inherit the money, then I can move it back into my feebased account because they are typically not strictly fixed income…



[/quote]

Thanks - this is helpful and along the lines of what I figured.

Jason- (advisorControl)

Here’s the postcard I’ve seen. Handwritten.

Dear Clients and Friends (you could personalize each one):
An issue of (your state) tax-free bonds has become available. These bonds are federal and state income tax free for (your state) residents and offer a very attractive yield.
If you expect to have $5,000 or more available in the next week, call immediately for the details.

Send hundreds, call to follow up, put them on a list to repeat if it’s an encouraging call.
I wasn’t able to find out if we can put an actual yield on the card.
(Probably not. You can SAY anything to a client as long as you don’t put it in writing. … Just kidding. … I think.)

[quote=CALI123]Jason- (advisorControl)

[quote=buyandhold]Here’s the postcard I’ve seen. Handwritten.

Dear Clients and Friends (you could personalize each one):
An issue of (your state) tax-free bonds has become available. These bonds are federal and state income tax free for (your state) residents and offer a very attractive yield.
If you expect to have $5,000 or more available in the next week, call immediately for the details.

Send hundreds, call to follow up, put them on a list to repeat if it’s an encouraging call.
I wasn’t able to find out if we can put an actual yield on the card.
(Probably not. You can SAY anything to a client as long as you don’t put it in writing. … Just kidding. … I think.)

[/quote]

That is the exact postcard I used when I was at Edward Jones.  Some guy
in Kansas built a huge business by mailing thousands of those a month. 
My response rate was always very good with those postcards and some of
my best clients came from them.  A good friend of mine from St Louis
sends out 1000 of the postcards per month and he has been bringing in
500k + per month off of them.  He has been doing it for a little over 2
years to a list of 4000 people.



I also had good luck with newspaper ads that mentioned some sort of interest rate and short maturity.

Anyone with LPL use the Clients First postcard mailings? I’m curious if anyone has had success with them, the headlines are pretty catchy.

Would the post card be better than a letter with rates on it?

You can put rates on them.  We have compliance-approved post cards (munis, corps, CD’s) in our system that can be ordered, or sent to a printer to mass-print, and they have rates and terms on them.

chief,

Did you do a lot of mailings? And did it result in a lot of new accounts?

[quote=ytrewq]chief,

Any advice on direct mail companies to use?  There are tons of postcard fullfillment companies, but it’s hard to comapre direct mail marketers.

Was the text inside the window envelope hand written or typed?

[quote=OrDieTrying]Was the text inside the window envelope hand written or typed?

[quote=B24]Any advice on direct mail companies to use?  There are tons of postcard fullfillment companies, but it’s hard to comapre direct mail marketers.

i know that this post is a couple of years old. i'm curious as to if anyone has been incorporating direct mailers into their practice more recently?

i work for a large wirehouse and it is TOUGH to get 'attention grabbers' approved. mailer options are pretty basic and i'm going to test out about 10k in the next couple of months. fortunately, i have a buddy in the printing business and my mgr will be paying for postage.

J20, man, you bring me back to my humble beginnings.

Direct mail MIGHT work, if you only mail accredited investors, AND you mail them an actionable idea. Trouble is, if you tell them EXACTLY what the idea is, they'll just buy it on their own, or from their own broker.

Hate to tell you this, but the only real way to succeed, is to find good leads, then pitch them an idea THEY like. Do that enough, and you'll open accounts with folks that matter. 

Direct mailers have brought me zero business.  Only did about 2000 so that might not be enough to close the door on them forever... just seemed like a waste of time and capital.

Mailers for seminars work like a charm.

I've been thinking of hiring someone to hand write the addresses for a seminar I have coming up. 2000 invites. Going to pay them .10 cents per address.  Who the heck does not open a letter with a hand written address? Any thoughts???

[quote=SuperMan]

Direct mailers have brought me zero business.  Only did about 2000 so that might not be enough to close the door on them forever... just seemed like a waste of time and capital.

Mailers for seminars work like a charm.

I've been thinking of hiring someone to hand write the addresses for a seminar I have coming up. 2000 invites. Going to pay them .10 cents per address.  Who the heck does not open a letter with a hand written address? Any thoughts???

[/quote]

2000 Invites? What kind of response are you anticipating?

I been using a call mail call since december and spent about $500.00 in leads and made about 7500.00 since then. the key is to cold call to get in the door but you must get better with referrals. And this is just my personal opinion

SuperMan, yes, hand written envelopes help. Even more so, if there is a real stamp. Direct mail, here is a dandy of a tip...

On the back side of the envelope, write something, then put a highlighter through it.

Or anything else that is creative. I accidentally did this years ago with clients, as I REALLY wanted to start reviewing some accounts back in 2007. My client response by doing this was very quick, and over 90%.

There are a number of key elements I incorporate into the letters inside the envelope too. Be brief, to the point, larger font size (12 and 14, not 10), an attractive creative font, and address them by salutation in the summary of the letter. I'll extra font size the first cap letter of the opening line too.

A good letter is like a good cold call. There are certain ingredients that MUST be present in order for it to work.

For a few years, I did a seminar every other month. After years and years of seminar failures, someone was gracious enough to tell me how to make them work. The real trick, was to not put your foot in the water like most people do, myself included, but instead commit to doing 3 seminars. By doing 3, the process of improvement kicked in, and by the third one, all the bugs were worked out. Eventually, I got tired of doing them, because they are physically exhausting, time consuming, and pretty expensive. Not to mention, that can distract you from whatever else you need to be doing. A single rep, with no dedicated sales assistant, requires an enormous amount of labor to pull it off. Just an example of that, is the fact that 2/3 of attendance came from follow up phone calls.   

BFP, et al., Do/did you have a favored audience size for seminars? I would think that smaller groups would work better (personally speaking) assuming you have a prospect or two that are vocal during the presentation. Not at all knocking you Superman, but if you have a 5% showing for 2k invites, you will have a crowd on your hands.

I give options for two nights when I do a drop that large.  Better attendance and since Jones fronts me 300 for exp. I can spread it over two nights instead of one.  I usually get a 1.5 - 2.0% responce rate with a windowed envelope with corporate logo on it.  However, I live in a small area and other brokers are starting to adpot my strategy.  Going to mix it up .. hope to increase the responce rates. 2-3% would rock but doubtful.  I'll know soon.

Raised about 8mm from seminars last year... going for 9mm this one.