Junk mail? How about getting RICH on it with cold letters to mega-wealthy prospects.

19 replies
First... thank you to "The Big Bee" for posting a month ago about the largest life insurance policy every written... not surprisingly acquired via direct mail. Dovi Frances, who sold the policy, has been my hero lately and I've been following everything I can about him.

While many of you think people trash every piece of mail nowadays and that everyone would rather scan QR codes or look at facebook ads... Guys like Dovi Frances are busy writing letters to billionaires and raking in more cash than everyone you know combined.

About a week prior to this story, I had released a podcast about the power of mailing to business owners home addresses, rather than to their business. The extra research to find their addresses has always paid off for me and it's nice to see these compelling stories about how effective it really can be.

Not only did Dovi land a record-breaking insurance policy by using direct mail, but his sales letters have also roped in other billionaire clients from scratch. In fact he started his company by sending letters to wealthy people just a few years ago.

And this guy is not some 'pro' copywriter who spent two years meticulously copying "they laughed at me when I sat at the piano" by hand whilst wearing Gary Halbert's underwear.

from this article....

Frances spent 4 1/2 years in the Israeli army (the requirement is 3 years for men). During that time, he was in the infantry and attended the officers' academy. He went on to graduate from business school, and then followed his older brother to Deutsche Bank in San Francisco in June 2008.

He was a junior-level bank employee when he woke up and watched the news of the Lehman Brothers' collapse that September.

However, when the government rolled out the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), his competitive advantage was destroyed. Other banks had started extending credit, and his pipeline was gone overnight.

He didn't give up, though. Instead, he thought of a new idea to get clients.

"With that, I needed to figure out a way to reinvent myself as a banker. I decided to do something no banker has done before — direct letters to people who are not clients who reside in properties in excess of $5 million."

Frances worked with Deutsche's legal and compliance to draft the letter. He sent out 2,000 and received two responses. One of those responses was from Sergey Grishin, a Russian billionaire.

Frances said Grishin's chief of staff saw the letter and opened it. Grishin thought "Dovi Frances" was an interesting name. That's when the billionaire decided to reach out.

Frances got an email from Grishin about 3 a.m., saying, "Hey, Dovi, I got the letter. I want to meet. I just bought this house for $27 million in cash! When are you available?" They met that same morning in Santa Barbara.

After, he managed to bring Grishin on board as a client. They did some deals together, and eight months later Frances left the bank to launch SG, LLC. (SG stands for Sergey Grishin.)


Some points to ponder:

1. Response rate doesn't mean squat. 2,000 letters and two responses could mean massive failure or massive success. 'Response rate' should never be solely how you determine a campaign's success.

2. The smallest things can pique someone's interest. In this case, the man's name "Dovi Frances" sounded interesting enough to get the letter opened.

3. Even billionaires respond to what most people would call "junk mail".

4. Never underestimate the power of direct mail to reach even the highest level and most seemingly-difficult-to-reach prospect.

5. When someone is hot for your service.... ACT IMMEDIATELY ON IT. When the iron's hot you need to strike. The longer you wait the quicker their interest will fade. Dovi got the email at 3am and met the billionaire THAT MORNING. I'm willing to bet that most of you would think that you'd seem desperate if you responded that fast. Not true one bit, it shows you're on your game and that what you have is important. Essentially it shows you are not f****g around.

P.S. Also worth noting is that he did this while working as a Junior Level Bank Employee, he didn't even have his own company launched yet. Not only did he do this in his spare time, but he ended up quitting and naming his company subtly after his 'whale' of a first client!
#billionaires #junk #mail #problem #responding
  • Profile picture of the author David B.
    Is there such a list available, of business owners home address?
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    • Profile picture of the author bob ross
      Originally Posted by David B. View Post

      Is there such a list available, of business owners home address?
      There probably is but I've had success with it simply doing research and looking for them manually. Easily done with an assistant's help.
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      • Profile picture of the author RRG
        Originally Posted by bob ross View Post

        There probably is but I've had success with it simply doing research and looking for them manually. Easily done with an assistant's help.
        Definitely worth it to it manually and find as many as you can.

        I do remember being in an online Mastermind group a couple years ago. There was a list broker who said he could get the home mailing addresses for business contacts.

        Probably not a cheap list, but worth it for the probably higher "open rates" you could expect by bypassing the office gate keeper.

        I will do a search of my email to see if I can find this broker.
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  • Profile picture of the author AmericanMuscleTA
    So true!

    You can basically do a Google search on the super wealthy and their addesses will pop up.

    As Dan Kennedy would say, "We bank money not response rates."
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    • Profile picture of the author tints
      I can supply a list of business owners home addresses and cell numbers. PM me if your interested in my service.
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      • Profile picture of the author Ron Lafuddy
        Originally Posted by tints View Post

        I can supply a list of business owners home addresses and cell numbers. PM me if your interested in my service.
        Yes, and since it's not the "business number" there is some risk with the Do Not Call Registry. Not advisable in the U.S.

        Business owners home address can be gotten from the local county, where sole proprietorships are registered; or from the state office, where corporations/LLC's are registered.

        In some cases, new registrations are published in the local (county) legal newspaper

        Easy Peasy
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        • Profile picture of the author tints
          Originally Posted by Ron Lafuddy View Post

          Yes, and since it's not the "business number" there is some risk with the Do Not Call Registry. Not advisable in the U.S.

          Business owners home address can be gotten from the local county, where sole proprietorships are registered; or from the state office, where corporations/LLC's are registered.

          In some cases, new registrations are published in the local (county) legal newspaper

          Easy Peasy
          All numbers are scrubbed against national DNC. I didn't know obtaining cell phone numbers was so easy. They also have whole registry companies who can register a business to keep contact info private. Also most business owners use a PO box when registering.

          I can obtain cell phone numbers, land lines, home addresses, credit history, family members, much much more.
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          • Profile picture of the author Ron Lafuddy
            Originally Posted by tints View Post

            All numbers are scrubbed against national DNC. I didn't know obtaining cell phone numbers was so easy. They also have whole registry companies who can register a business to keep contact info private. Also most business owners use a PO box when registering.

            I can obtain cell phone numbers, land lines, home addresses, credit history, family members, much much more.
            How often are the numbers scrubbed? Anything over 30 days is old news.

            Cell phone/land line numbers can be had from the providers - yeah, they sell their customer list.Whoopie Fizz.

            Also, I get the list of new business registrations from several states. Most business owners Do Not use a P O box when registering.
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      • Profile picture of the author Underground
        Originally Posted by tints View Post

        I can supply a list of business owners home addresses and cell numbers. PM me if your interested in my service.
        In the US only?
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  • Profile picture of the author tints
    Lol major cell phone companies will not provide lists of cellphone numbers.
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  • Profile picture of the author misterme
    Yes, so let's not miss all the Black Swan serendipitous type stuff that happened here.
    That his name was such that it piqued someone's interest.
    And that it piqued interest enough to actually open the letter.
    And that someone wasn't the billionaire but his Chief of Staff.
    But that after reading it thought his boss needed to see it so he showed it to him. Whew, that was close.

    And that Deutsche bank was somehow okay with a junior level employee using their name to mail out letters to billionaires. How does THAT happen? Because I was a junior level employee at a bank when I was in college and I was lucky if they let me use the frickin' bathroom let alone communicate with their wealthiest prospects.
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    • Profile picture of the author bob ross
      Originally Posted by misterme View Post

      Yes, so let's not miss all the Black Swan serendipitous type stuff that happened here.
      That his name was such that it piqued someone's interest.
      And that it piqued interest enough to actually open the letter.
      And that someone wasn't the billionaire but his Chief of Staff.
      But that after reading it thought his boss needed to see it so he showed it to him. Whew, that was close.

      And that Deutsche bank was somehow okay with a junior level employee using their name to mail out letters to billionaires. How does THAT happen? Because I was a junior level employee at a bank when I was in college and I was lucky if they let me use the frickin' bathroom let alone communicate with their wealthiest prospects.
      Interesting that the record-breaking life insurance policy billionaire was acquired via a letter as well so I kind of have a hard time believing it's some kind of freak luck.

      I wish we had more and more details.
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      • Profile picture of the author misterme
        Originally Posted by bob ross View Post

        Interesting that the record-breaking life insurance policy billionaire was acquired via a letter as well so I kind of have a hard time believing it's some kind of freak luck.
        It must be that they're all long shots - but with huge upside potentials if one hits.
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  • Profile picture of the author SirThomas
    From what I know, that original letter was not about insurance policy and it happened two years earlier. BTW, I don't think we will ever know how it happened, but it doesn't change the fact that direct mail works when targeted properly and done consistently.
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    • Profile picture of the author XponentSYS
      Originally Posted by SirThomas View Post

      .....but it doesn't change the fact that direct mail works when targeted properly and done consistently.
      What you said.

      Everyone is so caught up in FaceBook, Google, QR codes, etc that they FORGET that direct mail WORKS.

      Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing online marketing..... I use the hell out of it.

      Im saying that don't FORGET about DIRECY MAIL as another way to reach your market.

      On second thought.... PLEASE DO FORGET. I use it extensively and LOVE the fact that it works so well for me and my competition is so low because other marketers in my space are busy plastering QR codes on billboards for their prospects to attempt to SCAN while driving 80mph - "because direct mail doesn't work".
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  • Profile picture of the author joe golfer
    Lotsa lessons in there: how fast the guy adapted to new situations and realities, thought of ways to reinvent himself, figured how to zig when others were zagging, and then when he got his shot, he overdelivered so much his client helped him open a new company.

    "Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity
    To seize everything you ever wanted. one moment
    Would you capture it or just let it slip?
    Yo"
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    • Profile picture of the author ItsMikeyC
      Think about the amount of junk mail that comes through your email. As internet marketers, how many lists have you gotten onto to check out a free ebook? I know I've got about 4,000 unread messages at the moment!

      On the other hand, I received a well crafted letter in the post a few weeks ago - it stood out because it was the only one that wasn't a bill It was for an internet marketing 1/2 day seminar with the usual upsell at the end. My credit card was $2,500 lighter by the end of that day because that letter + a half day sales pitch had such a strong impact, while those 4,000 auto responder emails still lurk in Outlook and will probably stay there until I delete them without ever reading them.

      Something to think about Have a great weekend!

      Michael.
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  • Profile picture of the author McKattry
    You know, I actually enjoy looking at direct mail pieces. Mind you, not those newspaper fliers, or valu packs, those get tossed without a glance, but rather anything that's either a letter, or a post card, always gets checked out. Now I may not be interested in whatever their offering, but I'll look at it. Not so with most emails. The only ones I open are from people I trust, or businesses whom I know that I've signed up for. Indeed, if you email me with your name, or some funky sounding or looking business name, it gets immediately put in the spam folder; junk mailers beware!

    Anyway, DM works, probably because people think that it doesn't!
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  • Profile picture of the author squidface
    Banned
    1 customer? That could have been blind luck?
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