I’ve broken this post into several parts because it covers more than one topic.

Below, part one from the Email bag:

The wisdom of door-knocking vs. door-hangers: I’m curious how you, David, and your subscribers in the biz feel about the relative merits of cold-call door-knocking vs. leaving door hangers.

Here’s why I ask:

50 years ago, when housewives were home all day; there was no Stranger Danger; no Caller ID; no Do Not Call Lists; no DCA strangling of the funeral/cemetery industry, door-knocking was probably a very effective means of reaching prospects.

I’ll be commenting on other parts of this email in the coming days.

Some thoughts on the subject of door-knocking vs. door-hangers:

First, how many doors did you knock?  What neighborhood?  Did you target the neighborhood?  Are there families in those neighborhoods you’ve done business with?

Second, I can tell you a story about a Sales Manager I know who went out and placed 1,552 door hangers and got exactly ZERO replies.

Third, I asked the Sales Manager the same question I’m asking you.  His reply was he would have door knocked the area he placed door-hangers.  But he only placed the door-hangers one time.

Fourth, split testing will give you the answer.  Door-knock some and Door-hanger others.  But smart prospecting should apply.  Smart prospecting is to combine both methods.  Door-knock an area and leave the door-hangers on the doors of those folks not home.  You should profile the neighborhood to know who lives in your area.  If it is younger people like your email mentions you must door-knock between 2 pm – 7 pm.  Why do I pick those times? Because your prospects are probably still working with children living home.

Fifth, you can door-knock anytime just remember who is likely to be home at certain times of the day.  In the day time you’ll find retired folks who probably have done some pre-arranging.  This would be pre-need funeral leads.  Door-knocking in the late afternoon and dinner time would be cemetery leads.  Most families will pre-plan the cemetery first, funeral second.

Sixth, a better strategy is to blend the two methods.  It is similar to “farming” a concept Realtors use by focusing on geographical target areas.  Realtors will flood the neighborhood with mail, phone, in-person materials to get their name out there.

Seventh, a tip to put on your door-hangers is to use a classified style ad.  A headline that gets the Prospect to raise a hand in interest for additional information (see Sales Letter Manual for details).

If any of the above techniques are not working it is because you are not targeting your Prospect.

For example, does your prospect own a home?  This isn’t a requirement but homeowners tend to purchase pre-arrangements more than renters.

The hard part of this email question is not the strategy it is the Target Prospect.

Clearly identifying the “WHO” your likely prospect is will answer the question about the methods of contact.

If you don’t know who your prospect is no strategy or method will work.  It’s much like shooting arrows in the dark at a target that doesn’t exist.

It isn’t so much door-knocking vs. door-hangers, it is communicating a message and delivering that message to a particular Prospect.  It is about knowing who your prospect is. 

If you don’t know who your Prospect is the message, the delivery, the frequency doesn’t matter.

So, the answer is to TEST, TEST, TEST, but figure out who your Prospect is so you can adjust the message to the person(s) and your delivery is just another step in the process.

Remember there isn’t a magic bullet.  It is many bullets and blending different strategies together.

One shot door-hangers are similar to one shot mailings are similar to one-time-door-knocking.  They never get noticed.  But, a mailer, door-knock, door-hanger, advertisement, drop-by, referral, combined with frequency does get noticed.  The magic is in the frequency but only after you’ve determined who your prospect is and developed a message for him/her.

Happy Selling!

David…

P.S. Good news/Bad news.  All of my catalog products will be coming down in a couple of days.  This includes the Whole Enchilada of everything I’ve got.  If you’ve been on the fence about investing in your SELF than I suggest you get off the fence pretty darn quick because you’ve got a few days to act or you’ll be out of luck.

This is good news for you because I’m having a fire-side sale.

P.P.S.  To all my subscribers and members you won’t see much of a change.  I’ll still be updating you and sending out tips, strategies, techniques, and other goodies.

But, Membership has privileges and subscribers get benefits.  If you’re not willing to invest in your SELF you might aught to look in the mirror for the reason your sales aren’t where they should be. 

No one can take away your education and experience.

NO ONE!

BUT, the key is YOU.  You’ve got to do something about it because no one will do it for you.  The fact that you’re here now going through this material is a good thing.  The next step is to invest in your SELF.

Click here for more …..

…

Adding Steps to your Prospecting Ladder

I had an email from an exasperated pre-need seller. You could feel it. She wasn’t just frustrated, she was exasperated!

I forget how many ”NOs” but there were quite a few.

Reminded me of the time I went 0 for 12. That’s baseball lingo for no hits in 12 at-bats. Or, I struck out 12 times in a row. No, nothing, nada, zilch. Just a whole bunch of nos.

To make the whole experience even more humbling I had just rode the success wave of 14 sales in a row.

It happens to all of us. I’m not sure why this is but it is what it is.

Here’s how you handle it.

First, it isn’t you but it will have a deep affect on your psyche. It will really bother you upstairs.

Second, you’ll begin to think you’re some how jinxed. Or, you’ll begin to think you need remedial training.

The only thing I can tell you is to “double-down”.

See more people.

Increase your activity level because it will lead to good things. Usually when I up the activity level by a factor of 2 or 3 it generally creates a snowball heading down the hill getting larger and larger building a huge wave of new business next month.

Don’t fret.

Increase your activity to ride out the storm. It’s like the ocean tide sometimes it’s in and sometimes it’s out.

Anyway, the big lesson is to add steps to your prospecting ladder.

Most sellers of pre-arrangements stop at one or two contacts with a prospect.

Many more make one phone call and call it quits.

Recently I spoke about the postcard mailing to customers we hadn’t had contact with in 15 – 39 years. (if you aren’t a subscriber go to the top right of the page and in the “welcome” email I’ll send you a few How To Sell Pre-Need Subscriber newsletters, look for the postcard issue)

I didn’t just send postcards to these people. I also followed up with phone calls and dropped-in unannounced.

The postcards had an excellent response but I can think of one couple in particular that did not respond to the postcard and I dropped in unannounced.

I couldn’t get in the door and scheduled a time to meet with them. I even sent them a note to remind of the meeting but when I arrived they were leaving.

So, I phoned again, and again. The last phone call led me meeting with them later that afternoon at their home.

How many contacts did it take to get the sale?

Postcard,
In-Person,
Note-snail-mail,
In-Person,
Phone Call,
Phone Call,
In-Person

Seven contacts total.

The point is most stop at one.

Add more steps in your prospecting ladder.

Don’t just phone.
Don’t just mail.
Don’t just drop-by.
Don’t just set appointments.

Do all the above and mix it up.

Had I not been able to meet with that couple the last time they would have received my newsletter next.

In other words until they tell you to get lost add more steps and continue to contact your prospects.

Happy Selling!

David…

P.S.  Check out my latest offerings.

…..

We’ve spoken about the idea of researching a market and a strategy to capture new business by combining different techniques including postcards and in-person.

I’ve also mentioned a technique for in-house sales people to follow-up with at-need families.

I’ve given you some real world numbers and results from this strategy.

In part 3 we talked about combining these strategies and how to use them for in-house sales specifically at-need follow-up.

Below are the links to the previous parts:

Click here for part one

Click here for part two

Click here for part three

The question for you today…

What other methods of prospecting can you incorporate into your own current system?

The next step is to take all of these strategies and figure a way to apply them to your own unique situation.

There are individuals who keep up with this site that do not sell pre-arrangements.

I’ve had car sales people, realtors, small business owners…. to name a few.

Why do you think they keep up with this site?

Because they can transfer the prospecting techniques I talk about into their own profession.

In other words, this stuff works for anyone in Sales.

I just happen to focus on pre-need.

But, it also points out an obvious observation you might have missed.

People from other industries keeping up with this site are trying to improve.  They are going outside there own industry to improve.

This is why I talk about so called “industry gurus” who have never sold anything let alone what they are preaching to you about how or what to do.

You should study successful sellers. 

Period.

You should invest in YOUR SELF because no one else will do it for you and no one can take it away from you.

The more successful you are the more you call the shots. 

Finally, do the 5/60 rule.

Spend 5 minutes a day working on your goals and 60 minutes a day improving your self. 

There’s plenty of material on this site plus the catalog page to equip you.

Now, quit fiddle farting around and do it!

Happy Selling!

David…

P.S.  Subscribers to my site are about to receive an email offer of the Whole Enchilada (everything I’ve got including the kitchen sink!)

If you aren’t a subscriber yet hurry up….

The offer will be in the mail shortly.

……..

This question came in. 

If you preach two-step prospecting why are you dropping by people’s house unannounced?

Good question…

First, if you’ve been a reader of this site for any length of time you know I encourage you to do a two-step-approach to prospecting.

The prospects I’ve been dropping in on have already done business with the cemetery.   Also, I sent a postcard mailing to reintroduce me and the cemetery before I dropped in.

It is a two-step approach using in-person and a mailing strategy.  We’ve already done business with these prospects and have a connection.

Which, by the way, is the best way to do business.  Most pre-need sellers completely forget about doing business with existing customers.  This is by far the easiest way to do business because your customer has already made a commitment and has a connection with your company.

But, of all the last century style prospecting out there I happen to like door-knocking.

Mind you, I don’t love it, but I do like it.

Nothing beats meeting a prospect face to face to determine if they are a lead.

A lead is someone who doesn’t own arrangements but open to discussing it.

See my starter package for more on tapping into your warm market of leads.

Getting rejected at the door from a prospect who isn’t interested is not near as frustrating as it is on the phone.

Most people have a door-mat that says “welcome” and most will be nice to you at the front door even if they are not interested.

But, another reason why I like door-knocking is ‘birds of a feather flock together’.

When you combine strategies you develop a synergy that makes your prospecting even more powerful.

Let’s take our current series on “drop-bys”.

Check out part one here

Check out part two here

Remember the idea of combining strategies?  I had researched people we’ve done business with but forgot about some 15 – 45 years later.

I further went through those files to locate likely traditional casket burials.

I used the on-line white pages to match the prospects who were still living in the same homes years later (stability) and made sure the ages were within my range.

I then map-qwested those individuals and grouped them together to make it easier and efficient to drop-by.

I even sent those prospects a postcard mailing a week before I began my drop-by test.

Now, I could incorporate another strategy of door-knocking the neighborhood where the drop-bys are grouped and the odds are those people would be interested in traditional burial.

Of course, the above statement may or may not be true.  The only way to find out is to test it.

However, if true, I have a new lead source that is within my target market.

The point is; I’ve now combined yet another prospecting strategy with the previous ones.

And, I could also send a postcard mailing to the three or four block radius of my drop-bys before I begin the experiment.

This is how we intertwine strategies of prospecting.

For some of you this might be a little higher level for others you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.

So, if you’re brand new to this site check out the catalog page for starter stuff.

If you’ve been around awhile look for my combined packages of more in depth prospecting strategies.

Finally, if you are in-house sales think about how you can incorporate some of these strategies to what you already do.

It’s a heck-of-a-lot easier to add something to an existing strategy than to start from scratch.

Let’s say you’re in-house sales and will be following up on an at-need family in their home.

Why not send a postcard mailing to a three block radius of your family’s home and door-knock those houses when you go to meet your family?

Further, why not research a three block radius of homes (near your at-need follow-up home) that your cemetery/funeral home has already done business with and include those folks for drop-bys when you go to meet your at-need family?

The more you combine these prospecting strategies the more likely you are to create a snowball effect and bring in even more business in the next 6 months than the last 12.

Happy Selling!

David…

P.S.  Remember, YOU and only YOU make things happen.  No one else will do it for you.  So, why not arm your self with the latest in proven strategies and techniques designed to make you a very successful 6-figure-income-pre-need-seller?

Click here for the catalog page

P.P.S.  If you haven’t already become a subscriber why the heck not?  It’s FREE and I’ll send you a series of emails designed to equip you with the latest high level pre-need selling on the planet.

………

Let’s move the subject to snowballs.

Years ago I lived in a place where it hardly ever snowed.

But, one evening, for no particular reason it snowed quite a bit.

By the way, the snow disappeared by mid-morning the next day which is a lesson in itself to take advantage of opportunities when they arise and don’t wait or dilly dally around as the opportunity may soon disappear.

I had left work about 15 minutes before everyone else and decided to make a bunch of snowballs.

Now, I could have made one or two snowballs and waited for people to exit the building and begin throwing them but if I had as soon as the recipient discovered what I was doing they would be able to retaliate before I could make a sufficient number of new snowballs.

So, instead, I made as many snowballs as I could and when the opportunity arose I immediately began to throw my snowballs non-stop until they were gone.

This is called massive action.

You need a sufficient number of leads (snowballs) for this strategy to work.

Here’s what happened.

All of the folks I threw snowballs at immediately took cover and were forced to defend.

They would defend by making a snowball and throwing it back wildly so they could make another snowball.

While I kept throwing snowballs.  While they were under fire it took several of them several more minutes to determine a new strategy to retaliate.  Hence, the sales associate who laughed when she saw me working 15 – 45 year old leads was left behind because I had a game-plan.

I continued to throw those snowballs and my aim became better and better the more I threw.

Here are the lessons learned in my drop-by test:

If I had only dropped by on a few prospects the system would not have worked (massive action was necessary and I dropped in on 6 – 12 leads a day).  With each new day I would get the number of drop-bys up in the 10 –12 range.

So, obviously I wasn’t as good at this technique when I began but because I had so many leads I could continue to practice and get better.

As I became better at drop-bys, I guess you could call it, more comfortable, I was able to drop-by on 10 – 12 a day consistently.

The more prospects I dropped in on the better I got at speaking to them (after awhile all of my prospects were reacting the same way to my unannounced visit).

Of course, many of these prospects were not home when I dropped by (I made 3 – 4 in-person contacts every day).

I spent maybe 2 – 18 minutes at the door talking.

Each prospect who invited me back at a future time purchased.

I warmed up some leads for a future undetermined time (I have no results from those yet but will let you know in a couple of weeks).

Those massive drop-bys turned into massive action and a snowball effect that allowed me to write new business.

As I continue this experiment for two more weeks I’m willing to bet that I’ll match the results of the first two weeks.

Additionally, I’m willing to bet that a lot of the leads I warmed up the first two weeks will meet with me over the next couple of weeks creating a bigger snowball effect.

I’m sending another note to the remaining folks that were not contacted as well as the ones I attempted who were not home for the initial drop-bys.

By setting up my drop-bys close together I was able to save an enormous amount of time prospecting for new business.

One other note:

When I researched this group of people I made sure ages were within my optimum range and the business would be high probability of traditional casket burials.

As I researched, if it appeared to be cremation I eliminated them from my list.

This is important because 3 out of the 4 agreements I wrote were traditional casket burials.  Segmenting your list of prospects helps you  focus on your target audience.

Next time we’ll talk about list segmentation and how you can put together targeted lists of folks with some commonality that fits within your target market.

By the way, it was the enormous amount of prep-work that I did that made the biggest difference.

You’ve heard me say this before; you’ve got to research the group of people you want to do business with and not allow the market to dictate to you.

I can’t tell you how many sellers of pre-arrangements waiting for business to come in the door.

These sellers have no idea what business is going to come in the door because they aren’t proactive in their prospecting.

Because I was searching for a particular segment of business the responses and attitudes were all pretty similar.

This made it easier for me to communicate with these folks.  Had I not done the early research I would have wasted a lot of time.

Click here for part one of this series.

Happy Selling!

David…

P.S.  We’re in a higher level Prospecting series for the next couple of weeks.  If you’re having trouble go back to my previous posts (Archive Page).

P.P.S.  Also, if you haven’t invested in your self yet you need to now.  No one can take away your education and experience.  If you don’t seek it out no one will do it for you.  The better your understanding of Prospecting the more marketable you are.  The more marketable you are the more valuable you become….you get to call the shots.

Click here for the catalog page of opportunities

BUT, you’ve got to take a little bit of initiative and go do it.  Head over to the catalog page and at least arm your SELF with the starter package, if nothing else.

You can achieve more in the next six months than the last 12 months combined.

Now, go do it.  Click here for the catalog page of opportunities.

If you aren’t a subscriber yet….subscribe today.  It’s easy and I’ll send you a confirm link so be sure and rescue the link from your junk-mail section.

……

I know we’re working through a different series and I’ve interrupted it twice now based on some emails.

I thought I’d address this point before we continue with our series, Selling Opportunities Come From Everywhere, part one:

 http://howtosellpreneed.com/prospecting/selling-opportunities-come-from-everywhere#more-2650

“Someone asked me if I could narrow everything down to one simple
concise “thing” to generate more business NOW
what would that thing be?”

Well, to keep it simple… And there is not magic bullet.  It takes a lot of bullets to succeed in this business.  In fact, you’ve got to keep growing and developing your selling skills and experience.

Anyway, the real answer to the problem of consistent selling and the one “THING” most pre-need sellers forget is…

It’s about your lead box

Many people use different terms to identify what I call the “lead box”.  If you’re the business owner it is about your customer/marketing list.

Well, Pre-Need Sellers are really in business for them SELF.

You really are in business for your SELF.

There’s no other way to describe it. I realize you might be a W-2 employee with the company (or W-4) and maybe even have regular set hours but none-the-less you are in business for your SELF.

For the Pre-Need Seller it really is about your Lead Box (or list of potential customers).

We’ve spoken about how you can tap into your own spheres of influence (these are potential leads and referrals sources).

We’ve spoken about generating new leads through a variety of sources (see previous archive posts)

What you truly want to do is warm up those leads. If you were to imagine all of your leads in one box….the lead box, how warm is your box?

Inside your lead box are various leads and previous customers and potential leads.

A lead is someone who doesn’t own arrangements and open to discussing it.

Your leads can be categorized and organized into different smaller groups with the same characteristics.

Champion Endorser® leads would be organized under a different tab.

Door-Knocking Leads would be organized under a different tab.

Follow-up(s) Leads would be organized under a different tab.

Cemetery Grounds leads would be organized under a different tab.

Stay-in-touch leads would be organized under a different tab.

You get the picture. Label your group no matter how large or small, categorize, and have a system in place that ultimately puts them into a different status in your lead box.

I could go on but hopefully you’re getting the point. Once you input your lead into your “lead box” the system takes over.

Now, I’m using a lead box as an example but the box can be your computer software program.

Your box can be your old fashioned 3×5 card box.

Your lead box can be an elaborate paper filing system.

Whatever it is you need a system to manage your leads because I guarantee you the number one problem with Pre-Need Sellers is FOLLOW-UP.

Most Pre-Need Sellers go for the sale and if they can’t or don’t get it they give up. I know some sellers of pre-arrangements who will call once or twice and forget all about it.

The reason they forget to continue to follow-up is they have no system in place to take over for them.

You can only remember so many names and soon the interest is gone and the note gets misplaced and they forget all about that Prospective New Sale.

So, get this picture in your head.

Organize your leads into categories.  Using time or number of contacts and you can put those leads into a follow-up program (it can be snail-mail, phoning, drop-by, or combinations of all the above) and systematize the program so you don’t have to think about it.

Each day you arrive in the office the system spits out what you need to do next.

Follow-up until your Prospect tells you to quit following up or buys.

Be persistent because I guarantee you no one else stays in touch with Prospects.

When you do the things nobody else will do
you’ll get the things nobody else will get.

Your biggest asset is your Lead Box.

So, for example, our current series covers places you can get leads.

There are plenty of places to get leads.  The bigger issue is; what are you doing with those leads?

Selling Opportunities Come From Everywhere, but successful selling comes from managing your Lead Box.

Remember no one can take away your education and experience.

NO ONE!

But, YOU are the person who’s responsible for getting the education and experience that makes you so valuable you get to call the shots with the company.

In fact,
top producers go from
the passenger to
the driver’s seat.

There are a lot of companies out there (especially with the New Economy) who want top producers. Head over to the catalog page and begin to equip yourself for the New Economy and get more sales in the next 6 months than you did in the last 12.

Take care of your Lead Box and it will take care of you…

Happy Selling!

David…

P.S. In today’s new Economy it is critical to your success to understand how to tap into your spheres of influence and discover new leads sources. You ain’t gonna do it sittin’ around.

So, get up and do something.

Head to the catalog page or become a new subscriber (subscribing is FREE) today….top right hand side of the page and I’ll send you a special offer only subscribers get.

Also, I’ll send you a series of email strategies to sell more pre-arrangements in the next 6 months than the last 12.

Get a move on. That’s right. And don’t forget after you subscribe you gotta hit the confirmation link I send you to confirm you’re you….

A little side note. You might have to rescue my confirmation link from the junk spam garbage can. So, get on with it and quit dilly dallying around…..

…