How a 2-Step Approach Puts your Prospecting on Auto-pilot

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February 13, 2009 by David Dassow 

The number one mistake sales folks and even business owners make is advertising a BRAND. We’ve all heard of McDonalds and Coke, and Budweiser. These folks have spent years and years and years and mega-huge-dollars branding their products.It takes all kinds of big dollars to create brand awareness with consumers.  For the Pre-Need Seller there isn’t enough time in the day or dollars on the Visa card to get awareness.  Coke spends hundreds of millions a year reminding consumers they exist.  Many people don’t realize that Coke has to continue to advertise or people will forget.  We tend to forget quickly.

You, like me, on the other hand, can’t afford to advertise daily, spend hundreds of thousands to build a brand-name for ourselves.

We can however, advertise in a different way reducing the cost to as little as a couple of bucks and stagger the advertising efforts so YOU bring in more money from sales than you spend on the ad.  I refer to this as ROI (return on investment).  If it costs you $100 dollars to advertise and you bring in $1,000 dollars in commissions you’ve got a ROI of 10 to 1.  This means for every dollar you spend advertising you get back $10 in income.  Another way to view it is if I ask you to give me a $1 dollar and I give you a $10 dollar bill in return you’d probably trade one dollar bills for TEN DOLLAR bills all day and all night.

I recommend using a 2 step approach to prospecting (or in this case advertising).  The idea behind 2-steps is to gear your advertising or direct mail toward getting your prospect to raise a hand identifying interest.  Once a Prospect raises a hand in interest you begin a sequence of mailings and keep in touch with them until they become a porcupine (ready to do business).

Your ad, for example can be a classified type with a headline and offer of a free report, with a way for your prospect to request the report.

Once you receive the request for more info you send your free report to your prospect. Given a little time you’ll send another mailing to your Prospect.  Sequence your mailings: free report, sales letter, post card, sales letter.

Measure all of your responses and sales.  2-Step Prospecting is all about measuring your results.  How many responses, how many sales, and even more important, how many dollars in commissions?

The problem with general branding advertising is there is no way to measure the results.

Throw out the bland brand advertising and take up 2-step prospecting it is the most effective and profitable approach on the planet.

Happy Selling!

David…

P.S.  The new launch is close.  I’ll be describing more of it this weekend.  I’ll be posting some short mp3’s and pdf’s for you to read about it and listen to it.  I’m very excited for you because there is nothing out there that really helps you learn how to sell pre-need now.