by Kirby Hasseman
I was making “sales calls” with Robbie Kehl from Hasseman Brewing yesterday. I use the quotation marks, because these were less about sales and more about checking in. We were popping in to places that are already offering our beer, just to see how it’s going. Obviously, if they are out of beer (or if they want other kinds) we can sell more. But these are hardly the kind of cold calls that we all know and love! As we walked into a place that just recently got our offerings, I got “the vibe” from the owner. It’s the feeling most of us in sales know. It’s the one that says “Oh…these guys again? Weren’t they just here? What do they want?” If you are in sales…you know the feeling. So I took a moment to flip the script. After a few seconds of chit chat, I told him I was here to help him. (Scary words from a salesperson, right?). I told him I wanted to take . his picture (holding our beer of course) and promote his establishment through our social media presence. We wanted to use our influence to send business to him. As you might expect, the tone of the conversation changed. We walked out of the establishment (without asking to sell anything by the way), having created value for a customer. We decided to Give First. I have talked about this concept in detail here. But this is a very real world example of how this can work. And the reality is, you can do this in your business too. The rule is…Sometimes you need to go to your customer when you are NOT asking for money. It’s not about making a sale today. It’s about creating a relationship. This is a tactic and philosophy that creates “20 year customers.” And that, my friends, is how 20 year companies are built. How can we give to you today? Make sure you never miss an update. Sign up for our VIP newsletter today here. We send out a weekly email where you can catch up on all the content we create each week!
by Kirby Hasseman
I have a place here in town where I love the Pizza. It’s old school and it’s great. You even have to go and pick it up yourself, if you can believe that. And when you call it can often take between 30-45 minutes (because they are always busy). It’s really good pizza. But every once in a while, I am in a hurry. I want that particular pizza, but I show up early. I go in and look at my watch. I pay early in order to let them know I am there…and I am waiting. So they rush to try and get me taken care of faster. And when they do…it’s never quite as good. It’s still really good, mind you. But it’s not quite the same. It’s not cut quite as perfectly. The cheese is not quite as melty. The crust is not exactly as perfect. It’s good…but not quite as good. And it’s totally my fault. The Pizza Maker is an artist. Yes they are in business. But they have perfected making a pizza that is exactly the way I like it. They have a process. They have a time that this process takes. Quality takes time. The only variable changing this transaction, taking it from “perfect” to “very good”…is me. I changed the transaction. And I end up disappointed. We do that sometimes, don’t we? We have our “go to” pizza place, hair salon, realtor, or whatever. They take care of us just they way we like it. We like their process. We like their style. Then we ask THEM to change for us…and we are disappointed. It’s our fault. When I got in business in the Promo industry a wise teacher told me once that “there are three ways you can get it. Cheap. Fast. Correct. You get to pick two out of three!” There is certainly wisdom in those words in our industry…but in most others as well. For me I am going to take this to heart. When I find someone doing things the way I love it…I will try and play by their rules. I am going to make a pact to not rush the Pizza Maker. Let me know what you think! Agree or disagree? Either way, make sure you sign up for our VIP newsletter here. We keep you up with all of our content and we have special offers as well.
by Kirby Hasseman
Today is my dad, Rod Hasseman’s, birthday. So it seems appropriate to flashback to a piece of content I created about a year ago! Take a look. Take a listen. Enjoy!
In the past, I have taken a look at 5 Lessons we can learn from someone in the sports, business, or entertainment world. This week we stick with the “5 Lessons” theme but I get a little more personal. Today we look at 5 Lessons that I learned (and you can too) from my Dad. Listen in here.
Be a Reader: Many of you know that last year I read 50 books for business and personal development. My love and interest in reading was modeled by my dad. He was always reading and I learned early that if I wanted to be smart, I needed to read. Thank goodness for that!
Have An Open Mind: My dad was (and is) a very intelligent guy. But that does not mean he always feels like he knows all the answers. He is a questioner. He is a bit of a contrarian. I get that from him. In order to question opinions, including your own, you need to have an open mind. You need to be willing to admit when you are wrong. It’s not easy for anyone. But Dad was willing to sit back and say “okay…that makes sense.”
Have a Sense of Humor: One of the things I love about my dad is his laugh. Because he has a great sense of humor, I got to hear it a lot growing up. People love other people that make them feel good. One of the best ways to make other feel good is to make them laugh.
Be a Good Storyteller: Oh what a yarn he can weave! I grew up listening to Dad tell stories. It turns out that this is not just good for around campfires. The best marketers and salespeople are those that tell good stories. Remember…people buy stories, not just stats.
Be Willing To Re-Create Yourself: After a career in business and sales, my dad hit a bit of a wall when he moved back to Ohio. In order to make a living, he started a second career. He went back to college to get his Master’s in teaching and started over teaching High School. He has made the most of this 2nd career, but it’s tough to start over. Sometimes you have to be willing to re-create yourself for a better tomorrow!
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by Kirby Hasseman
When it comes to a successful education, old timers will tell us about the 3 R’s of education. The idea is that a focus on “Readin, wRitin, and aRithmatic” would help create a good student. And though that is hopefully not the entire focus of our education system today, we know that those are the basics for success. When it comes to business, there are also the THREE “R’s” that are a great piece of any successful, long term business. We have already spent an entire blog post on one of the R’s—Retention. So let’s talk about the other Two R’s in a great business! Those are:
- Repeat Customers
- Referrals
All successful business owners want to have a steady stream of repeat customers that come to our door. These repeat customers are the backbone of any vibrant business. They are the “holy grail.” These customers come back again and again and (hopefully) have a loyalty to spending their time and money with us!They are also our best source for the other R—Referrals—but I will get to that in a minute. These repeat customers are so great because we have already won them. It takes a great deal of time, energy and money to capture a customer. In fact, it’s much harder to convert a non-customer into a customer, than it is to sell to a current customer. Depending on which study you believe, it costs 6 to 7 times more to capture a new customer than to sell to a current customer. It’s one of the main mistakes I think many businesses make. We spend most of our time and money on the clients that are hardest to reach! So we have a base of repeat customers. Great! Now what do we do with them? I think it’s safe to say the goal is to grow that base. But how? The first way is to get these repeat customers to come and do business with us more often! If we can increase the number of times these customers do business with us, we increase sales. Duh…right? Well in two separate studies (in 1993 and 1994 respectively) promotional products were shown to improve repeat business. Study One—Food Delivery ServiceIn this study, conducted by Southern Methodist University, 900 people were divided equally into 9 groups. These nine groups were broken down by type of customer (existing residential, new residential, and business customer) and what they received (promotional product, coupon, or nothing). The promotional products and coupons were both valued at $2. *Customers who received promotional products ordered up to 18% sooner than those who received coupons! *Customers who received promotional products also averaged up to 18% more orders than those receiving coupons. In other words, the customers that received the promotional products ordered more quickly and more often than those that received coupons…or nothing. Study Two—Dry CleanerThis study, also conducted by Southern Methodist University, tracked the activity of 300 new customers at two locations of a dry cleaner. These customers were randomly assigned one of three groups, all of who received a welcome letter. Two of these groups received, in addition to the letter, a promotional product or a coupon—both valued at $5. *Over an 8 month period, new customers that received a promotional product spent 27% more than those who received coupons, and 139% more than those who received only a welcome letter. *Promotional products recipients were 49% more likely than coupon recipients and 75% more likely than letter recipients to patronize the dry cleaner in each of the eight months studied. Again, those that received promotional products were spent more and were more regular customers than those that did not. If repeat customers are the “Holy Grail” to business success, then you need to consider how cementing that relationship with a promotional product can help you grow. ReferralsAnother huge part of any successful business is the second R…Referrals. As a business friend once told me, “The best way to get referrals is to deserve them!” That is so true! But I am going to assume that you are running a business that is worthy of referrals. Now let’s talk about how to get more of them! As I mentioned earlier, your current customer base is often the best place to look for growth in your business. It’s also the place that many business owners and marketers ignore. Let’s face it, your current client base already “gets” you. They understand what you are all about. So they can be a fantastic source of other potential customers. The problem with referrals is, no really likes to ask for them! Admit it. You don’t like asking. Most people don’t. Nearly every time I speak to a group, everyone agrees that getting referrals is a great way to grow your business. And just as consistently, most groups admit to failing to “consistently ask” for referrals. See the problem? How do we make it easier? Give a promotional gift before asking for the referral.A study done in 1993 by Baylor University shows that customers who receive a promotional product are more willing to provide referrals than those that don’t. The study was conducted with 20 Mary Kay beauty consultants, half of whom distributed a promotional gift to customers; the other 10 offered no promotional gift. The results were impressive. *Customers who received a promotional product were 14% more likely to provide leads than those that did not. *Salespeople who gave promotional products to their customers received 22% more referrals than the salespeople who did not use the promotional gift.Providing even a small promotional gift to customers will increase the likelihood that they will provide you with great referrals. Combine that with the fact that you have a business worth referring…and you have business gold! Create a Referral ProgramAre you still struggling to ask for that referral? What about creating a program that asks for you? It would go something like this: Create a flyer that could be emailed, mailed, faxed (sent via smoke signal) to your current customer base. This flyer would advertise a nice “Referral Gift.” This gift could be anything from a nice watch to a piece of luggage (use your imagination). The gift does not have to break the bank, but it does need to be nice enough to garner attention. Send the flyer letting customers know that if they provide a referral that turns into business for you, they will receive this fabulous gift. Boom.Here are some things to consider on a referral program.
- The gift needs to be nice enough to get your customer to act.
- Make the first purchase minimum enough that the proceeds from that sale will cover the cost of the item.That way you might break even on this transaction, but now you have a customer for life!
- Make it feel somehow “exclusive.”Maybe you only send it out in groups to your top 20% of clients.They are the most likely to give you the best referrals anyway!
This simple program will take “the ask” out of the referral! You have gone from asking them for a referral to giving them an opportunity for a great gift!Either way, you want to have a strong case of the Three R’s if you want a successful business. Now you know how promotional products can help you! Want more great content like this? Sign up for our VIP list! Get access to our weekly content and special deals…by simply going here! Sign up today!
by Kirby Hasseman
Gary Vaynerchuk said “Marketers ruin everything!” Keep in mind that Vaynerchuk is a marketing guy. But he points out that as soon as marketers find something that works, they (we) tend to use it to death until it becomes a nuisance.
Consider email. We used to get excited each and every time we got an email. We read every single one! Now we can’t wait to hit the “delete” button so we can get rid of the nuisances.
The same can be true for many forms of Direct Mail. Direct mail is historically a great marketing tool for small businesses. It still can be. The problem is, this is a case where some marketers have ruined it for the rest of us. We know this as consumers. Where do you open your mail? Many of us answer that question, “Over the trash can.” We are standing there (mentally) hitting the delete button on marketers. Tell the truth, you are probably almost stunned these days when you get a real, sincere piece of mail!
So what can you and your company do? You can stand out…that’s what.
One way you can stand out is to get noticed before you hit the “circular file.” To do this, some marketers will create direct mail that looks like a real card. Some will even go to the lengths of having someone hand write out the envelope. This is a good news/bad news proposition. The good news is, handwritten envelopes DO tend to get opened. And if you have a small group you need to send a message to, this is a great way to make sure they see it. The bad news with this tactic is if your customer opens mail thinking they are getting a personal piece of mail, and it’s just an ad, it can backfire. You seem disingenuous, and the customer will likely (sometimes subconsciously) resent you and your company for it.
Another obvious way to get your message seen before it hits the trash pile is to scrap the envelope. You can send a colorful postcard or a flyer without putting it in an envelope. I actually like this tactic for some campaigns. But this idea too, has shortcomings. First, you are usually limited to what you can include on the space you have to imprint (especially with a postcard) AND you are never quite sure what condition your marketing pieces is going to arrive in! Again, sometimes this is fine. But sometimes these limitations are just too annoying.
One of the best ways to ensure a successful direct mail campaign is to incorporate promotional products WITH your direct mail. The results of this math equation should really get your attention. Direct Mail + Promo = Marketing Gold! But why does this combination work so well? Let’s get to it.
Getting It Open
First and foremost, using a promotional product can help you create what I call “bumpy mail!” Bumpy mail (or dimensional mailers) are packages that are odd shaped or bumpy. This unique shape calls to the customer or prospect “open me!” Curiosity will help you “kill the cat” because your potential client will want to know what is in the package.
But don’t just take my word for it! Let’s take a look at a study done in 1993. This study, done by Baylor University, sent packages to 3000 school administrators. They were divided into three groups. The first group received an envelope with a sales letter, sales collateral and postage-paid business reply card The second group received an envelope with similar contents plus a promotional product. The third group received all of the contents listed above, delivered in a box with a die cut slot, instead of an envelope. The results (as you might expect) were impressive.
Those who received a promotional product in a dimensional package responded at a rate that was 57% higher than those who received the same promotional product in an envelope!• Response rates for the dimensional package recipients were 75% higher than for the group who received only a sales letter! In case you were skimming, you might want to read that last line again. Response rates for the dimensional package recipients were 75% higher! Wow!
Now I can hear those “Yeah-But” folks now. “Yeah but the cost of shipping is going to be higher for that piece.” Of course it will be! But how much is a 75% increase in response rates worth to you? Remember a key word here. This is not a 75% increase in OPEN rates. This is RESPONSE rates! If you can’t increase your sales (and overcome in the increase in shipping) with that kind of response rate, you need to seriously reconsider your sales offer!
The Lasting Impact
Here’s the thing…if I ended the post with the above information it would be enough. But the best part about adding a promotional product to your direct mail is I get to say “But that’s not all folks!” I have always wanted to say that! The fact is, when you add Promo to your Direct Mail, you get all of the other benefits of promotional products AFTER your customer opens the offer!
- Remember the Rule of Reciprocity: Customers feel good about you and your company when they receive something from you. By adding something of value to the direct mail offer, you create a sense of value. This creates a better opportunity to sell to this client long term.
- Totally Targeted: This promotional piece is still super targeted. You have reached directly into this prospects home or office…and are communicating to them there.
- Lasting Impression: You have now created a long term advertising message (if you chose the product correctly) long after the postcard, letter or flyer has been thrown away.
Find Your Watermelon
Years ago I was in a sales training seminar with a Promotional Products Industry expert, Cliff Quicksell Jr. He told a story about a young industry professional that needed to get a message to only 6 people. She needed to get it to them…and she needed to make sure they did NOT throw the letter away by mistake. This young pro, as Cliff tells it, took a Sharpie and wrote the message on six watermelons…and sent them! “She had a tough time with the post office,” Cliff said. “But she finally got them to take them. So I ask you. You come in Monday morning and there is a watermelon on your desk. Do you read it?”
I love that story! The message is clear. Find your watermelon! While you may not have to send giant fruit (though that would be awesome), you better stand out. Promotional products can help you do that in a cost effective, results-based way!
This post is an excerpt from the book Delivering Marketing Joy. You can purchase that here on Amazon.
