As often as possible, I bring my baby girl when I travel. However, in April when she turns 2 and no longer flies for free, well the season will most likely come to an end. But in the meantime, I’m enjoying every minute of it. Especially, minutes that last 2.5hrs like the one in the Atlanta airport last week as I traveled alone with her from the Comfortech show in Philadelphia. While laying over before our flight home to Chattanooga, I had very few toys to keep her occupied.
If you’ve ever been to the Atlanta airport, there are trains in the dungeon between the terminals…or you can opt to walk on the moving sidewalks. The terminals were crowded so the idea struck me of taking Palmer downstairs between the train stops, to run on the moving sidewalks! Naturally she loved it and we went back and forth a minimum of 9 times between the terminals.
What does this have to do with lead generation and direct mail? Well, your customers should want to buy from you time and time again…and in turn, lead generation should be an enjoyable experience. Like my daughter and the moving sidewalks, the transactions between you and your customer base should be multiple…not just one. Palmer is now a fan of the moving sidewalks for life! And if she could buy them for her backyard, I’m sure she would.
Some of you may be familiar with world renowned marketing consultant Jay Abraham, so you would agree with me that his content deserves repeating. There are only three ways to increase your revenue. Now pay attention, if times are slower than usual and you can actually lift your head up to take a breath, be sure to keep an open eye on what you can do today to increase that revenue.
1: Increase the number of your customers – Get more customers!
2: Increase the average transaction value – Get them to buy more while you are in the home!
3: Increase the frequency of repurchase – Get them to buy again!
1,000 x $100 x 2 = $200,000
Let’s pick one area to start on, such as EASY Postcards!
When the phones are slow, here’s a quick 1, 2, 3 step plan to generate service calls:
- Target a Niche
- What neighborhood is mutually serving?
- Export a list from your QuickBooks or software and narrow it down to specific streets and zones.
Write in the neighborhood or target here: ____________________________
- Mail a Postcard
- Put a catchy image or phrase on the front. Something attention grabbing!
- Example: Do You Have Allergies? It Could Be Mold in Your Duct Work!
Write in your special offer here: __________________________
- Call to Follow-up – Create a Script!
- Hi this is Michelle from Rain or Shine HVAC, Plumbing, & Electrical Service, did you receive the postcard for a free duct inspection we sent you? We have some trucks in the area this week, could we send one to your home for that duct inspection? (Be quick to communicate and not too salesy.)
And there you have it, send out 100 postcards because that’s a tangible number – your teenagers and their friends can call 100 people after school one week, providing they are reading the script of course. Do it this month! Let’s start generating more profitable customers through easy avenues!
People like to check their mail, let’s send them something worth smiling about. (P.S. The teens in your church youth group might be great at hand addressing postcards, especially for a small donation to their group! Whenever possible, hand address for a higher response rate.)
Danielle Putnam
President, The New Flat Rate
Treasurer, Women in HVACR
