Secrets to Improve Your Sales and Profit With Direct Mail

Written for AutoSuccess Magazine
January 2002

By Scott Joseph

For as wide-open as direct mail seems, it really can be reduced down to only two marketing models. The first is lead generation and conversion, which deals with the process of acquiring prospects and, at the dealership, turning them into customers. The second model is the invitation to contract, which directly solicits customers for an immediate commitment to business.

Few consumers will make the immediate commitment to a large investment through direct mail. With expensive products like autos, the consumer will typically take a slower, more cautious approach to the purchase. So, when using direct mail in the automotive industry, the slower paced, two-step approach of lead generation and conversion will always be more profitable. This allows us to set up the offer through the direct mail piece, and then finalize the sale in person at the dealership.

The best way to plan a lead generation campaign is to start at the point of sale and work backward towards targeting the prospect. Examine the conversations that the salespeople have with every up through the door, and ask yourself- what information would help close this sale? How does the salesperson get the buyer to say yes, and what objections are they overcoming to get to that sale? The answers to these questions will give you a basis for the type of prospect you are receiving, the amount and kind of information that should be included in the direct mail piece, and the parts of the sales process that the salespeople are uncomfortable with.

Next, clearly define the steps of your sales procedure. Determine who is responsible for managing and controlling each step of the process, and ensure that everyone on every level in the dealership understands not only the process itself, but their place and responsibility in the process. From the receptionist answering the phone to the twenty-year sales veteran, everyone must have conviction and fulfill their role to ensure success of this promotion! Set realistic expectations for everyone’s role, and then see that everyone effectively deals with their responsibilities. Remember- everyone in the dealership takes their lead from the top down. Any promotion without complete support from management will never maximize its profit potential! The difference between an average promotion and a remarkably successful one is the amount of dealership commitment to it.

One last word on gaining buy-in from your people- the class war between marketing and sales is a primary reason for promotion failure. It is critical that sales and marketing work together, and it is management that has to be responsible for making sure that prospects are converted to customers.

Now, has your sales force been trained properly to handle all the situations that could arise before, during, and after your promotion? Make sure you train your people on specific strategies and techniques to promote employee preparation and enthusiasm, to make the most of your campaign.

Before every event, a meeting should be held with all the salespeople and the management team. Most meetings only need to last from 10 to 15 minutes, and should cover the importance of greeting and registering every prospect, the process itself, and how it benefits the salespeople.

So, we have the entire dealership on board with the lead-generation campaign. Now, let’s make sure your sales force is ready for your promotion and ready to handle all those leads. Try to match your leads to your sales capacity. If your dealership has 10 salespeople, you will want between 75 and 100 ups in one day. It may take a few promotions to get this right, but work to hit this delicate balance. If you have too many leads you could overwhelm your sales force. At the same time, with too few leads, morale can become a problem and kill the atmosphere of your promotion. You want the atmosphere to excite the customers and salespeople alike.

And finally, beware the pitfalls of the lead generation and conversion promotions. Once you have created the perfect campaign and attained that delicate balance of ups to salespeople, watch to make sure that the sales force is doing their part to convert those ups into happy customers. Left to their own devices, some sales reps (of course, not yours) will over-qualify leads, hoping for easy sales. We’ve all been guilty at one time or another of blowing people off or making quick judgments as to whether a customer is a buyer or not. This is especially easy to do if there are plenty of ups circulating, and the salespeople don’t have to work to catch people. Be sure that every prospect is spoken to and given a buying opportunity. Why would you want to disqualify people from the sales process before they understand what your deal is all about?


Quick Tips for Your Lead Generation Direct Mail Promotion

When seeking qualified leads, sell the offer, not the product.

• In lead generation, the more you tell, the less you sell. Your verbiage (copy) should focus on generating a lead, not closing a sale. (That’s for your sales force!) When you say too much, you often create reasons not to respond. Your only goal is to get to the next step- getting them to call or show up in your showroom. When you try to skip steps, you break the sales chain and scare away qualified buyers.
  
• Tease the prospect into wanting to know more. Be strong on emotional benefits- leave the advantages to your sales rep.
  
• You don’t want to put price in a lead generation package. Let your salespeople introduce price later.
  
• Pretty packages soothe and ugly disturbs. Pretty is not necessary to have a good response. (In fact, disturbed people respond better than peaceful people.)
  
• Prospects don’t care about you or your product. They want to know what’s in it for them.
  
• Use great motivators: greed, anger, fear, guilt, and exclusivity. Fear of loss or missing out and desire for gain or a great deal have sold more cars than all other offers combined.
  
• Appeal to everyone and miss them all. When a package fails, it’s attempting to change the offer to “appeal to everybody.” Instead, your effort looses focus, and you end up appealing to nobody. So, ignore the 90-95 percent who will never respond, and concentrate your efforts on converting just one or two more deals for each 100 pieces you mail.
  
  
  

Next month: How to sell one to two more deals for each 100 pieces of mail you send!


Read another AutoSuccess article:

April 2001:
Seven Advantages of Direct Mail for the Automotive Industry

June 2001:

Testing and Measuring the Effectiveness of Your Advertising to Improve Your Profit

July 2001:

Killer List Strategies For Your Direct Mail Promotion

September 2001:
How to Make Them an Offer They Can't Refuse!

October 2001:
The Secret of Out-Performing All Your Other Advertising!

November 2001:
The Number One Strategy to Out-Market Your Competition

December 2001:
Creative That Gets Results!

February 2002:
How to Sell One to Two More Deals for Each 100 Pieces of Mail You Send!

March 2002:
The Seven Biggest Marketing Mistakes Everbody is Making, and How to Avoid Them!

April 2002:
Business Rules to Grow By!

May 2002:
The Only Three Ways to Grow Your Business

June 2002:
Your Customers are Speaking To You. Do You Hear Them?

July 2002
How to Attract Quality Traffic

August 2002
Make Money on Your Sales Event Before it Even Begins!

September 2002
Marketing Lists That Work!