Direct Mail Marketing

[GNSBRG]

I agree that the best lead program is one which is active every week.
Mail every week, rotate your mailings by zipcode, county, etc, and remail. Change up the mail piece to see which one gets more response.

 

[seopositive2]

No i have no idea for this

 

[atlantainsguy]

In answer to gmcclain's original question -- most home office produced mailers will get between .2% and .5% if you're lucky. They are normally developed by some advertising "whiz" just out of college who has never been licensed or sold an insurance policy in their lives. They frequently create mailers and other stuff to win awards like "Adies" or whatever. As we all know, the only award that counts is an issued and paid app.

The rest of the posts are a mixed bag of facts and opinions.

BrandonN is incorrect in asserting that "a lot" of lead companies short your mailings. This is just another "urban legend". If they did, they wouldn't be in business for very long. The "report" , by the way, is called a Form 3602 that gives proof of mailing, as long as the lead company doesn't co-mingle jobs for a higher-density pre-sort lower postage rate. And if they do, so what? They will still mail all 1,000 pieces you paid for.

Most lead companies will give you an "exclusive", but only on that particular lead. It's called a "lock-out". If one lead company has your area locked-out, the agent will just call another lead company to mail the area. Which means just about anywhere in the USA is "market saturation". My opinion is that the whole country is saturated, and has been for years. It's simply getting more saturated than ever before.

But, that doesn't mean you still can't get a decent return and make money. There are Medicare leads out there that consistently get 2.5%-5+%. A cost-per-lead of $10-$15 is not unusual if you know what you're doing.

The key to direct mail prospecting success is knowing your area well (the "geo" side of the equation), plus selecting the right demographics (age, income, homeownership, presence of children, net worth, invested assets, etc.). If you have a product just for Korean War vets, you can specifically target them. You can target just about anybody for anything in a decent database. Demographics and geo are far more important than the paper color, size of mailer, etc.

Timing is also important, but sometimes hard to control. There's a general rule that says you can mail the same thing to the same people 3 times, and get a similar result. This is the timing issue at work.

Someone also suggested getting a copy of your mail file, and then calling the 996 who didn't respond. That sounds good, until you consider that only about 10% of any database today has scrubbed phones you can still call. In reality, you will get about 100 phones. I'm not saying that's bad, it's just the way it is today with cell phones and Do-Not-Call.

It takes far less than 2 months to get direct mail leads back. If properly distributed through the postal system, your leads should start coming back in 1 1/2 weeks from about anywhere in the country.

If you want a consistent supply of leads, place your next order the same day the first lead from the last drop returned. That way your supply will be smooth and dependable.

Carroll got .6% on a Med Supp mailing, which is extremely low. There are mailers out there that would have easily given her over 30 leads. Unfortunately, she talked to the wrong people. It's experiences like this that give direct mail leads a bad reputation. Fortunately, it doesn't have to be that way.

The oversized postcard idea is valid, but you're limited to phone and e-mail responses only. Unless your equipped to handle phone calls 24/7, I'd think twice about doing this, because most people won't call you back a second time if they don't get serviced right the first time.

I know Frank will vehemently disagree with much of this post -- but in reality we are both right. His system works wonderfully if done properly...and I also know that direct mail lead generation also works wonderfully if done properly. My belief is that you should have a "balanced" prospecting program -- use direct mail, make calls, get some internet leads, and ask for referrals. Each should have a valid place in your business plan.

atlantainsguy

 

[Frank Stastny]

In answer to gmcclain's original question -- most home office produced mailers will get between .2% and .5% if you're lucky. They are normally developed by some advertising "whiz" just out of college who has never been licensed or sold an insurance policy in their lives. They frequently create mailers and other stuff to win awards like "Adies" or whatever. As we all know, the only award that counts is an issued and paid app.

The rest of the posts are a mixed bag of facts and opinions.

BrandonN is incorrect in asserting that "a lot" of lead companies short your mailings. This is just another "urban legend". If they did, they wouldn't be in business for very long. The "report" , by the way, is called a Form 3602 that gives proof of mailing, as long as the lead company doesn't co-mingle jobs for a higher-density pre-sort lower postage rate. And if they do, so what? They will still mail all 1,000 pieces you paid for.

Most lead companies will give you an "exclusive", but only on that particular lead. It's called a "lock-out". If one lead company has your area locked-out, the agent will just call another lead company to mail the area. Which means just about anywhere in the USA is "market saturation". My opinion is that the whole country is saturated, and has been for years. It's simply getting more saturated than ever before.

But, that doesn't mean you still can't get a decent return and make money. There are Medicare leads out there that consistently get 2.5%-5+%. A cost-per-lead of $10-$15 is not unusual if you know what you're doing.

The key to direct mail prospecting success is knowing your area well (the "geo" side of the equation), plus selecting the right demographics (age, income, homeownership, presence of children, net worth, invested assets, etc.). If you have a product just for Korean War vets, you can specifically target them. You can target just about anybody for anything in a decent database. Demographics and geo are far more important than the paper color, size of mailer, etc.

Timing is also important, but sometimes hard to control. There's a general rule that says you can mail the same thing to the same people 3 times, and get a similar result. This is the timing issue at work.

Someone also suggested getting a copy of your mail file, and then calling the 996 who didn't respond. That sounds good, until you consider that only about 10% of any database today has scrubbed phones you can still call. In reality, you will get about 100 phones. I'm not saying that's bad, it's just the way it is today with cell phones and Do-Not-Call.

It takes far less than 2 months to get direct mail leads back. If properly distributed through the postal system, your leads should start coming back in 1 1/2 weeks from about anywhere in the country.

If you want a consistent supply of leads, place your next order the same day the first lead from the last drop returned. That way your supply will be smooth and dependable.

Carroll got .6% on a Med Supp mailing, which is extremely low. There are mailers out there that would have easily given her over 30 leads. Unfortunately, she talked to the wrong people. It's experiences like this that give direct mail leads a bad reputation. Fortunately, it doesn't have to be that way.

The oversized postcard idea is valid, but you're limited to phone and e-mail responses only. Unless your equipped to handle phone calls 24/7, I'd think twice about doing this, because most people won't call you back a second time if they don't get serviced right the first time.

I know Frank will vehemently disagree with much of this post -- but in reality we are both right. His system works wonderfully if done properly...and I also know that direct mail lead generation also works wonderfully if done properly. My belief is that you should have a "balanced" prospecting program -- use direct mail, make calls, get some internet leads, and ask for referrals. Each should have a valid place in your business plan.

atlantainsguy

I really don't vehemently disagree with you. In fact, I agree with most of what you said. You are obviously receiving a much better return on your direct mail pieces than I ever have had. One even once have I gotten a 2.5%-5+% return. I know the state of Missouri extremely well and have specifically targeted the areas where I know my best chances are to sell a policy.

I just can't justify spending $400+ on a mailing when I know from experience that a 1.5% return is going to be the exception, not the rule. That would put the cost of that "lead" around $27.

I also go after referrals aggressively but in a very passive way.

What you are doing apparently is working for you. If you are getting a high enough return on the money you are spending for leads then, if it ain't broke for you there is no reason to try to fix it.

The way I market and sell Med Supps I make a lot more sales generating my own leads than I ever did when I was buying leads. That puts my ROI very close to 100%. This means that I have to sell a lot fewer policies than the agent who is buying leads in order for me to make the same amount of net profit that he does.

 

[theinsuranceman]

The way I market and sell Med Supps I make a lot more sales generating my own leads than I ever did when I was buying leads. That puts my ROI very close to 100%. This means that I have to sell a lot fewer policies than the agent who is buying leads in order for me to make the same amount of net profit that he does.[/quote]

If you only made one sell a week you would still have nearly 100% ROI. The key is what makes you the most $$ (profit) per week.

 

[Frank Stastny]

The way I market and sell Med Supps I make a lot more sales generating my own leads than I ever did when I was buying leads. That puts my ROI very close to 100%. This means that I have to sell a lot fewer policies than the agent who is buying leads in order for me to make the same amount of net profit that he does.

If you only made one sell a week you would still have nearly 100% ROI. The key is what makes you the most $$ (profit) per week.[/quote]

I'm not addressing weekly or monthly sales, I am speaking about annual sales and not just for one year. I have not purchased a lead of any kind for at least the last eight years, maybe even longer.

During the best month I have had selling Med Supps, I wrote approx $80,000 in annual premium. Every sale I made was from a cold call, not one lead accounted for that total. It was a very unique situation that I haven't experienced since then. However, the opportunity presented itself and because of the way I prospect I was able to take advantage of it.

 

[atlantainsguy]

I thought Frank would drill me a new one, but he was kind. Thanks! What he and theinsuranceman say is spot-on, however. We know the training is first-class, and the system works well if properly used. And, yes, they have a near 100% ROI. I don't doubt any of that for a second.

My only issue with dialing is that you're only able to get about 10% or so of the universe. You are obviously missing the other 90% because of Do-Not-Call.

So, I'm happy to invert the equation -- do Frank's system first, and then supplement as needed with direct mail and other sources for prospects. Referrals should always be an "automatic given" as your best source of new business.

Only one of the leads I mentioned earlier dropped in MO, and it had a cost-per-lead of $12.37. If you can do the same or better by dialing, then you'd be crazy not to do that.

atlantainsguly

 

[Frank Stastny]

Only one of the leads I mentioned earlier dropped in MO, and it had a cost-per-lead of $12.37. If you can do the same or better by dialing, then you'd be crazy not to do that.

atlantainsguly

I'm impressed, really. I have never received that kind of response. You better keep that "close the the chest".
Where in Missouri are you sending them?

 

[briko3]

1 in 30 or so send them in? That would be a good day

 

[atlantainsguy]

Frank -- I'll have to look-up the exact counties in MO the mailer went to. Will let you know in a PM. I don't want people to think I'm spamming on here.

atlantainsguy