by qu4rk
8 replies
This is a thread for Claude. In your book you write about a method called follow the salesman, but you don't mention how you get other salespeople's list.

You kind of stumbled upon it. I got how you stumbled upon it. But then you mention that you were following these other guys with no mention of how you got their client lists.

Can you shed some light on this?
#follow #saleman
  • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
    Originally Posted by qu4rk View Post

    This is a thread for Claude. In your book you write about a method called follow the salesman, but you don't mention how you get other salespeople's list.

    You kind of stumbled upon it. I got how you stumbled upon it. But then you mention that you were following these other guys with no mention of how you got their client lists.

    Can you shed some light on this?
    The first time, I stumbled on it. Once I realized how absolutely profitable it was, I decided to talk to a few salesmen in similar fields.

    In a nutshell, here is how it worked;
    I was selling vacuum cleaners for maybe $1,000 (this is in the 1980s), I found a customer that bought, a year before, a water filtration system for a few thousand dollars.

    They started giving me referrals. They asked if I wanted the same names they gave the water filtration guy. I had an epiphany, and said "Do you know who bought from him? Just give me those names"

    So I was only seeing people that were used to an in home salesman calling them....used to buying from him..and were used to giving him referrals.

    My closing percentage shot up to almost 100%. The problem was, I was only seeing the other salesman's buyers. And it was a shorter list than his prospects.

    So...in six months or so, I wasn't following a year behind him, but only a month or so.

    So....I went to other salespeople I knew. I asked for the names of a few home owners that were easy to sell. I went to a life insurance man, and a fire alarm guy (I think). I also gave each of them a few names of people I suspected would buy from them too.


    And...when I saw a prospect, I would ask them if they ever bought another product from an in home salesperson. They might say "Well, we did buy a security system" and I would be off, running down their "security system referrals".


    the reason this worked so very well is;

    Few people will let an in home salesman in their home.
    Fewer will ever buy from an in home salesperson.
    Fewer will give a good list of referrals that will also buy.

    I was only seeing, that small percentage of people that were very highly likely to buy from me.

    I worked with just this method for a few years. It started getting harder,because I live in a market areas of only 100,000 total. That's maybe 20,000 homeowners. Maybe 5-6% of those are highly likely prospects for me. That's about 1,000 total prospects.

    So, I had to start selling outside my market area. And then I started closing sales for other companies......

    But I've used the same method selling local online marketing systems. I find "Referral buyer strings" from other advertising media...and work those.

    I only see people that are proven to buy from guys like me.

    And if it's a cold call (not often anymore) one of my most important questions is "Tell me about the other marketing media you've bought in the past"

    I hope that helped. I'll be happy to clarify any point..


    Originally Posted by qu4rk View Post

    But then you mention that you were following these other guys with no mention of how you got their client lists.
    Mostly, not customer lists. I was going to see one of their customers. The buy would give me a list of referrals. And I would go from their. The customers were building my lists for me.
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    • Profile picture of the author ewenmack
      Claude, what you did is what has been shown to be true
      in the mailing list rental biz for decades.

      You probably already know it.

      Others reading may not.

      Anyway it goes like this, list owners charge premiums
      for their list segment of those that brought recently.

      Those that mail out frequently in large numbers
      know they are high responders.

      The other list segments are similar type of product
      similar price point and same media they brought from.

      Translated into your home sales, the media would mean
      bought from a in home salesman.

      Best,
      Doctor E. Vile
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      • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
        Originally Posted by ewenmack View Post

        Claude, what you did is what has been shown to be true
        in the mailing list rental biz for decades.

        You probably already know it.

        Others reading may not.

        Anyway it goes like this, list owners charge premiums
        for their list segment of those that brought recently.

        Those that mail out frequently in large numbers
        know they are high responders.

        The other list segments are similar type of product
        similar price point and same media they brought from.

        Translated into your home sales, the media would mean
        bought from a in home salesman.

        Best,
        Doctor E. Vile
        Exactly. And pretty insightful.

        Imagine you sell portable safes by mail. Now, you get a list of people who, in the last few months, have bought gold coin collections, by mail. You send your offer of portable safes to the list. You mention that you know that they have a coin collection. And if you know, others do too. They need a safe, and you're the guy. 10% buy. Maybe 20%.

        Had you sent your offer to the general public, you may have sold one out of 5,000.
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        • Profile picture of the author ewenmack
          Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

          Exactly. And pretty insightful.

          Imagine you sell portable safes by mail. Now, you get a list of people who, in the last few months, have bought gold coin collections, by mail.
          Another point, is you wouldn't mail out to a list that have bought off tv infomercials.

          You go after the list who have performed the same behaviour as before,
          bought off mail.

          If you are selling advertising and the advertisers are repeatedly running
          image ads, then you would never talk about response,
          just more exposure to the right people.

          Best,
          Doctor E. Vile
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          • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
            Originally Posted by ewenmack View Post

            Another point, is you wouldn't mail out to a list that have bought off tv infomercials.

            You go after the list who have performed the same behaviour as before,
            bought off mail.

            If you are selling advertising and the advertisers are repeatedly running
            image ads, then you would never talk about response,
            just more exposure to the right people.

            Best,
            Doctor E. Vile
            Real Gold there. And you want to know what they paid. If they paid $10, you may not want to offer them a $1,000 product, right out of the gate. But if they paid $5,000? Sure.

            Yeah, direct mail buyers, are direct mail buyers.
            TV infomercial buyers are used to that media.
            In home buyers are used to buying that way.


            If I were selling $3,000 sales training seminars (a possibility), I would buy lists of similar sales training attendees. I would pay quite a lot for the buyers of the Klaff or Belfort course buyers.
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            • Profile picture of the author ewenmack
              Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post



              If I were selling $3,000 sales training seminars (a possibility), I would buy lists of similar sales training attendees. I would pay quite a lot for the buyers of the Klaff or Belfort course buyers.
              A client of mine had a list of property investors
              who had paid at least $5,000 on training.

              He was offering a turn key, done-for-you system
              designed for that list.

              Best,
              Doctor E. Vile
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        • Profile picture of the author Rearden
          That's a damn good idea.

          So simple yet brilliant.

          People buy the way they are accustomed to buying.
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  • Profile picture of the author AmericanMuscleTA
    I love you guys!!!!! **Eric Cartman voice**


    This is why I love coming here... always seems to expand the horizon!


    The Doc and Claude gave a great example of how what works in one form of media (buying lists for mailings) works in another form of media (in-home salesman).


    Same concept, just a different form of media (delivery).


    That's why Dan Kennedy has never used the internet, but makes millions from the internet. Offline marketing translates to online marketing.
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