Make $5000 per month and be a hero.

BUFFALOBT · 12th May 2012, 04:09 PM

Originally Posted by KabirC

Almost done with my mock-up, but I am wondering. Where do you get the files for the retail EDDM labels? The local postal customer and then the box for the postage.

You don't...just copy Bob's EDDM label info from his WSO-

AfteraDream · 12th May 2012, 04:20 PM

Originally Posted by snakez0r

If a business advertises regularly (every card you post out) they are showing their customers that they are stable and reliable. This is especially important for the non-food businesses.

Besides, can you fill every spot on the card if some businesses are only advertising once every 2 months?

I don't think constant mailing signifies stable business. I mean, that it may not be viable to business to release coupons every month since it's the same people over and over again. Will get boring to the people to see same ads over and over again too.

hourstoincome · 12th May 2012, 07:00 PM

Well I finally got everything together and I'm ready to hit the pavement on Monday morning. I get the feeling that selling my first campaign is gonna be a challenge but I'm excited as well. If anyone has any tips or extra selling points to help me succedd, please do share. Also would like to hear any success stories that anyone may have. I'll let you all know how Monday turns out for me! Thanks to you all

Doran Peck · 12th May 2012, 08:57 PM

Originally Posted by AfteraDream

I don't think constant mailing signifies stable business. I mean, that it may not be viable to business to release coupons every month since it's the same people over and over again. Will get boring to the people to see same ads over and over again too.

This was understood from the onset...that is why merchants are encouraged to change up their ads, and or advertise on alternating months.

Also...the next months mailing doesn't necessarily get mailed to the same exact area...this is also changed up frequently.

ewenmack · 12th May 2012, 10:38 PM

For those of you who live in rural or small town areas,
then this might help.

Also for those that want to target advertisers.

Look online for community newspapers and their online editions.

You'll see those that advertise a lot and then call them.

My call would start out like this...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Hi Mary, Ewen here, just calling to see if I can get you people a better deal on your advertising, who should I be speaking to about this?"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That opener works a charm for me in my business I bought that sells point of sale paper rolls...both over the phone and cold walk in's.

I just replaced the paper rolls for advertising in this example.

Once I get to the person who I should be talking to,
my next line is the same opener...

Hi John, Ewen here, just calling to see if I can get you a better deal on your
x."

That one line opener gets down to business right away.

Prices are given out and tell why what I have is superior to what they are using and
he buys down the track when he's nearly out of paper rolls.

So with this advertising you are selling,
you tell the interested person why your jumbo mailer is superior to what they have used...

*Gets read because it's not buried in amongst pages of advertisers

* Money isn't wasted on those who don't see your ad

* Your competitor won't be advertising in it because there will only be one
butcher in it.

BTW, when I look online for all the community newspaper advertisers,
very few are food places, many are training schools which results have shown
get great response to giant postcards.

Best,
Ewen

BUFFALOBT · 13th May 2012, 06:48 AM

Originally Posted by hourstoincome

Well I finally got everything together and I'm ready to hit the pavement on Monday morning. I get the feeling that selling my first campaign is gonna be a challenge but I'm excited as well. If anyone has any tips or extra selling points to help me succedd, please do share. Also would like to hear any success stories that anyone may have. I'll let you all know how Monday turns out for me! Thanks to you all

My only bit of advice for you my friend...share don't sell!

Selling sucks...share your program and how it can help a business.

Your goal is to find the ones who "get it"...don't waste any time with the ones who don't.

Have fun and good luck!

hourstoincome · 13th May 2012, 02:33 PM

Great opener! Im gonna have to try this one. Thanks for sharing.

Originally Posted by ewenmack

For those of you who live in rural or small town areas,
then this might help.

Also for those that want to target advertisers.

Look online for community newspapers and their online editions.

You'll see those that advertise a lot and then call them.

My call would start out like this...

"Hi Mary, Ewen here, just calling to see if I can get you people a better deal on your advertising, who should I be speaking to about this?"

That opener works a charm for me in my business I bought that sells point of sale paper rolls...both over the phone and cold walk in's.

I just replaced the paper rolls for advertising in this example.

Once I get to the person who I should be talking to,
me next line is the same opener...

Hi John, Ewen here, just calling to see if I can get you a better deal on your
x."

That one line opener gets down to business right away.

Prices are given out and tell why what I have is superior to what they are using and
he buys down the track when he's nearly out of paper rolls.

So with this advertising you are selling,
you tell the interested person why your jumbo mailer is superior to what they have used...

*Gets read because it's not buried in amongst pages of advertisers

* Money isn't wasted on those who don't see your ad

* Your competitor won't be advertising in it because there will only be one
butcher in it.

BTW, when I look online for all the community newspaper advertisers,
very few are food places, many are training schools which results have shown
get great response to giant postcards.

Best,
Ewen

hourstoincome · 13th May 2012, 02:36 PM

I agree that sharing is the way to go. I kinda figured the same thing... If they "get it", cool. If not, then NEXT! Thanks for the positive advice. I'll definitely keep this in mind when I'm out there tomorrow.

Originally Posted by BUFFALOBT

My only bit of advice for you my friend...share don't sell!

Selling sucks...share your program and how it can help a business.

Your goal is to find the ones who "get it"...don't waste any time with the ones who don't.

Have fun and good luck!

Smalls91 · 13th May 2012, 06:48 PM

Excellent idea! How many people have tried this and been successful? Has anyone been able to do this without a well known reputation? I've been thinking about giving this a try.

KabirC · 13th May 2012, 07:06 PM

Originally Posted by Smalls91

Excellent idea! How many people have tried this and been successful? Has anyone been able to do this without a well known reputation? I've been thinking about giving this a try.

Quite a few people throughout this thread have been successful, I will be trying it out within the next month or so. Advertising a client of mine as well where we have a revenue split so that should be double the success for me.

Taniwha · 13th May 2012, 07:10 PM

Wouldn't people want a contract so they know you're not going to take their money and run?

Smalls91 · 13th May 2012, 07:16 PM

Originally Posted by Taniwha

Wouldn't people want a contract so they know you're not going to take their money and run?

That may make closing the sale a lot easier. I can't say for sure though since I haven't quite gotten around to this yet.

Taniwha · 13th May 2012, 09:00 PM

I've spent the past 2 days researching ALL the print and mailing companies around where I live.

The cheapest rates I've got so far are:

Print (10,000 double sided glossy/color A4 size): $1279 NZD
Mail (10,000 residential houses in a single area): $567 NZD

Are these the ratios that everyone else have been receiving?
The Print seems expensive as they ranged from $1300 to $2000, but the Mailing seems quite cheap (though I'm not complaining).

I'm so excited to get this going.

BUFFALOBT · 13th May 2012, 09:37 PM

Originally Posted by Smalls91

Excellent idea! How many people have tried this and been successful? Has anyone been able to do this without a well known reputation? I've been thinking about giving this a try.

Yep my wife and I have done 2 so far...never done it before...no reputation needed.

BUFFALOBT · 13th May 2012, 09:39 PM

Originally Posted by Taniwha

Wouldn't people want a contract so they know you're not going to take their money and run?

No contracts for us...we don't even take an upfront deposit. When they respond to our email and want to advertise with us, we send them an ad layout with each ad numbered and ask them to pick a spot.

It says at the top full payment is due when final proof is signed off by them.

It may sound risky, but when they see all of the work and effort we put into their ad design, they are more than happy to pay us...haven't had any problems doing it this way.

Clean, simple and easy.

BUFFALOBT · 13th May 2012, 09:42 PM

Originally Posted by Taniwha

I've spent the past 2 days researching ALL the print and mailing companies around where I live.

The cheapest rates I've got so far are:

Print (10,000 double sided glossy/color A4 size): $1279 NZD
Mail (10,000 residential houses in a single area): $567 NZD

Are these the ratios that everyone else have been receiving?
The Print seems expensive as they ranged from $1300 to $2000, but the Mailing seems quite cheap (though I'm not complaining).

I'm so excited to get this going.

Yep this is good- depending of course on how much you sell your ads for.

Out total cost per edition is around $3,000 US, and we take in around $6,000. So $3,000 profit per edition- not bad buys a few extra diapers.

sodomojo · 13th May 2012, 09:58 PM

Originally Posted by RedShifted

BuffaloBt what does your method involve? Can you speak a little bit about it here? (assuming you're under the 50 post count rule). You don't have to give all the details away, but when I was getting my prospects by email, the closing rates were a lot lower, and I was exhausting my list of prospects rather fast.

This was important to me because the list I use to pitch my prospects is ULTRA targeted, I want to PRESERVE that list for the long term, and when I started sending too many emails, over a few weeks, you will condition a lot of local businesses to IGNORE YOU.

So my question is: Are you getting targeted leads or are you just marketing by numbers?
Do you have to do a bunch of follow up calls after you send the email?

A part of me doesn't like the idea of getting ALL your prospects by email. These are LOCAL businesses you are ideally trying to market to. If these businesses keep getting emails from you every week offering your services, pretty soon a good portion of them will just ignore you. THEN if you try to go in person, because you didn't work on that trust from the begining, it makes it that much harder imo. I just prefer the route of working on trust from the first impression, which is why I stopped using email myself and now use a personalized report, that I drop off to targeted businesses. No pitch involved, and you close a lot more local businesses than emailing everyone in your state.

All I'm saying is for newbies trying this, you DO want to try going into these businesses. Do not be tricked into thinking you can run this entire business by email, you're going to HAVE to talk to the owners at one point or another, so really, why not make a good first impression and just go in?

I have my own method that allows you to do this, w/out pitching a thing to the business owner. You waste less leads, you don't get tons of businesses becoming conditioned to ignore you, this also allows you to stay much more local. I feel in a way like I'm trying to compete against BuffaloBT, I'm not. I just honestly believe for the long term, you need to a more personalized method than email. It motivates your clients that much more to wanna use you, trust you, and stick with you long term.

-Red

ps. heres one more fact to consider. These local businesses get approached almost EVERYDAY by sales reps for valpak, money mailer, and super coups. These sales reps often GO IN to these businesses to sell their service in person. If this is what your competition is doing, and you're just sending emails, its going to make it that much harder. Valpak does everything, they cold call, email, do walkins, so you really need to be going into these businesses to compete against giants like this and steal their clients. You don't need to be pushy, but you DO need to be bold, and thats hard enough to do with email alone.

Red, can you share the personalized report that you drop off? How many do you put together? What is in it? Can you scan and attach it? How long does it take? What percent of people call you from it?

hourstoincome · 13th May 2012, 10:26 PM

Originally Posted by Taniwha

Wouldn't people want a contract so they know you're not going to take their money and run?

I went to walmart and grabbed a receipt book for this tonight. I will be requiring a deposit of $50-$100 to hold the ad spot for them. I will write them a receipt that will state that it is a non refundable deposit and we will both sign it. Once they sign the ad proof, I will collect the rest of the payment and will give them a receipt for it as well. I think this will help build some trust and it will also cover my ass so that I wont have to worry about them skipping out on our deal at the last minute.

sodomojo · 13th May 2012, 10:29 PM

Originally Posted by anto20007

please explain detail for your action make 5000usd per month

He musta meant $5000 gross, cuz net is around $2500-$3000.

sodomojo · 13th May 2012, 10:30 PM

Originally Posted by hourstoincome

I went to walmart and grabbed a receipt book for this tonight. I will be requiring a deposit of $50-$100 to hold the ad spot for them. I will write them a receipt that will state that it is a non refundable deposit and we will both sign it. Once they sign the ad proof, I will collect the rest of the payment and will give them a receipt for it as well. I think this will help build some trust and it will also cover my ass so that I wont have to worry about them skipping out on our deal at the last minute.

Good luck tomorrow, be sure to report back how it went when you get back in.

KabirC · 13th May 2012, 10:34 PM

Originally Posted by Tydowns

He musta meant $5000 gross, cuz net is around $2500-$3000.

$495 * 16 = $7,920

$7,920 - $1,420 (shipping at the time of thread start) = $6,500

$6,500 - $1,200 (printing) = $5,300

He didn't mean $5,000 gross.

hourstoincome · 13th May 2012, 11:51 PM

Originally Posted by Tydowns

Good luck tomorrow, be sure to report back how it went when you get back in.

Will do Ty! Gotta admit , I'm a little nervous. This is all new to me and I don't have a background in sales, but I think I'll do well. I can only fail if I stop trying !

One thing that is kind of disappointing is all the taxes I'll be paying. In my state, I have to pay gross sales tax on all ad spaces I sell plus I figure I'll tuck away 35% of the net sales just to pay income tax with. After all that, your'e not netting anywhere near $5,000 but I guess that's just business for ya. I'll still make a healthy monthly income though so I'm happy.

Mack Attack 77 · 14th May 2012, 06:59 AM

I'm an SEO guy who randomly stumbled on this section of the forum, and I think this idea is great!

I have a buddy in sales who I'm going to partner up with, and we are going to execute this to the best of our abilities.

I'm super pumped about this and appreciate all of the information that everyone has shared so far.

hourstoincome · 14th May 2012, 03:59 PM

Alright guys so I spent most of the day trying to sell my ads door to door. I hit about 12 different businesses. I ran into a looooooot of "the owners not in today" . Also had an objection to pricing due to the fact that there is a lady nearby who owns a UPS store. She ios doing something very similar except for 20,000 homes and is only charging $160 per ad space. The reason she can afford this is because she probably gets her printing and shipping at a wholesale price and she is only doing this to cut down on the cost of her own advertisement (The other side of the card is a full size add for her own UPS store). Out of all that effort, I may have one owner interested. He owns a dry cleaning company. I'll be following up on that soon. So now I'm completely reevaluating this whole idea. Seems to me like I need to offer more for less. Only problem is how?? I plan to try sending emails to these business owners and I might even do some cold calling and direct mail soon.

Anyone else been successful at this idea? Any steady results? Thanks guys

tinyreal · 14th May 2012, 04:22 PM

Be more specific. What is "something similar"? There is similar, and then there is this. this crushes any other type of direct response blast mail offering out there. Unless you are doing lumpy mail that is target specific you won't get better results. Price difference for businesses? Lumpy mail about .80 a piece (if you are lucky) this? about 5 cents a piece

My partner and I have been running this for 7 days now. We have 16 spots on a 17 spot card sold already. We hired a saleslady, she trained one day with me, one day with my partner. Total training about 6 hours. She started on her own today and sold 1 business, cold called them and got the paid in full amount. She also connected with 10 other businesses. Will they all buy? YES! Duh, no of course not, but if just a few do, she will be doing cartwheels.

Bob Ross rocks. This WSO rocks.

I can't say this is the first WSO that returned my investment, because I've done some sales with an accumulation of things I've learned form a combination of others, but as far as pure return on just one purchase, this takes the cake.

Get it, and just decide to do the work involved. You will be happy you did.

Mike

Originally Posted by hourstoincome

Alright guys so I spent most of the day trying to sell my ads door to door. I hit about 12 different businesses. I ran into a looooooot of "the owners not in today" . Also had an objection to pricing due to the fact that there is a lady nearby who owns a UPS store. She ios doing something very similar except for 20,000 homes and is only charging $160 per ad space. The reason she can afford this is because she probably gets her printing and shipping at a wholesale price and she is only doing this to cut down on the cost of her own advertisement (The other side of the card is a full size add for her own UPS store). Out of all that effort, I may have one owner interested. He owns a dry cleaning company. I'll be following up on that soon. So now I'm completely reevaluating this whole idea. Seems to me like I need to offer more for less. Only problem is how?? I plan to try sending emails to these business owners and I might even do some cold calling and direct mail soon.

Anyone else been successful at this idea? Any steady results? Thanks guys

sodomojo · 14th May 2012, 04:26 PM

Originally Posted by hourstoincome

Alright guys so I spent most of the day trying to sell my ads door to door. I hit about 12 different businesses. I ran into a looooooot of "the owners not in today" . Also had an objection to pricing due to the fact that there is a lady nearby who owns a UPS store. She ios doing something very similar except for 20,000 homes and is only charging $160 per ad space. The reason she can afford this is because she probably gets her printing and shipping at a wholesale price and she is only doing this to cut down on the cost of her own advertisement (The other side of the card is a full size add for her own UPS store). Out of all that effort, I may have one owner interested. He owns a dry cleaning company. I'll be following up on that soon. So now I'm completely reevaluating this whole idea. Seems to me like I need to offer more for less. Only problem is how?? I plan to try sending emails to these business owners and I might even do some cold calling and direct mail soon.

Anyone else been successful at this idea? Any steady results? Thanks guys

Most of the day and you hit 12 businesses? How did you target businesses? What was your pitch?

hourstoincome · 14th May 2012, 04:34 PM

Originally Posted by tinyreal

Be more specific. What is "something similar"? There is similar, and then there is this. this crushes any other type of direct response blast mail offering out there. Unless you are doing lumpy mail that is target specific you won't get better results. Price difference for businesses? Lumpy mail about .80 a piece (if you are lucky) this? about 5 cents a piece

My partner and I have been running this for 7 days now. We have 16 spots on a 17 spot card sold already. We hired a saleslady, she trained one day with me, one day with my partner. Total training about 6 hours. She started on her own today and sold 1 business, cold called them and got the paid in full amount. She also connected with 10 other businesses. Will they all buy? YES! Duh, no of course not, but if just a few do, she will be doing cartwheels.

Bob Ross rocks. This WSO rocks.

I can't say this is the first WSO that returned my investment, because I've done some sales with an accumulation of things I've learned form a combination of others, but as far as pure return on just one purchase, this takes the cake.

Get it, and just decide to do the work involved. You will be happy you did.

Mike

Basically this! The card was about the same size and had 6 spots to buy on one side and 1 huge ad for the ladies UPS store on the other. That's awesome man! May I ask how you guys sold 16 ad spots in 7 days? My biggest problem was that the owners weren't around. Or at least I was told. I agree .... Bob Ross does rock! I'm just off to a rough start i guess

alfid · 14th May 2012, 04:37 PM

Wow, this is a really great thread. I am glad I found it. I am going to try out some of these methods and see if I can make some $!

hourstoincome · 14th May 2012, 04:46 PM

Originally Posted by Tydowns

Most of the day and you hit 12 businesses? How did you target businesses? What was your pitch?

Yeah I know 12 isn't that many but for me it was a good start. I'm new at door to door sales so it took me a minute to get motivated. Well first thing I did was ask for the owner . Even when people said the owner was away at the moment, I would still explain the what I had to offer and the benefits of it. Here's how it went.

Hi my names Robert. I'm the owner of Lead marketing here in town and right now we are in process of reaching 10,000 households with our jumbo size postcard. I would then hand it to them to feel. I then explain to them that it is a unique form of advertising their bisuness and would explain why it is beneficial to them. I would tell them that their ad is exclusive and would speak of the dominate size of the card as well as compare it to vlapak. I also explained that it is nearly 100% exposure since it is a flat. They would usually find it interesting and would ask for a card or I would hand them one . At this point pricing was rarely discussed because the individual I was talking to was not even the owner . They would say "I'll let the owner know" at which point I would say thank you for your time and walk out. Now I'm thinking the next step is to email the same owners .

AfteraDream · 14th May 2012, 04:47 PM

Originally Posted by hourstoincome

Alright guys so I spent most of the day trying to sell my ads door to door. I hit about 12 different businesses. I ran into a looooooot of "the owners not in today" . Also had an objection to pricing due to the fact that there is a lady nearby who owns a UPS store. She ios doing something very similar except for 20,000 homes and is only charging $160 per ad space. The reason she can afford this is because she probably gets her printing and shipping at a wholesale price and she is only doing this to cut down on the cost of her own advertisement (The other side of the card is a full size add for her own UPS store). Out of all that effort, I may have one owner interested. He owns a dry cleaning company. I'll be following up on that soon. So now I'm completely reevaluating this whole idea. Seems to me like I need to offer more for less. Only problem is how?? I plan to try sending emails to these business owners and I might even do some cold calling and direct mail soon.

Anyone else been successful at this idea? Any steady results? Thanks guys

If there is direct competitor doing the same, maybe you should do it in different neighborhood? No need to get into pricing war that results into whose margins get lowest...

hourstoincome · 14th May 2012, 04:50 PM

By the way, I am asking between $375 and $495 for my ad spaces. Just depends on the size. Asking to much perhaps? What have you guys been selling your spaces for if you don't mind me asking? Thanks a ton

hourstoincome · 14th May 2012, 04:51 PM

Originally Posted by AfteraDream

If there is direct competitor doing the same, maybe you should do it in different neighborhood? No need to get into pricing war that results into whose margins get lowest...

That's very true and something I am considering doing. I am also considering trying smaller local towns around my area. Chances are that they have never seen anything quite like this in a small town. Thanks for your input

AfteraDream · 14th May 2012, 04:55 PM

Originally Posted by hourstoincome

That's very true and something I am considering doing. I am also considering trying smaller local towns around my area. Chances are that they have never seen anything quite like this in a small town. Thanks for your input

Definitely man. Go for it. If the woman has lower costs and can easily undercut you then just take over other areas until she decides to expand and go there too.

Some suggested that you could ask for half the price(say ($300) as it's the first issue but stress to the owner that it will be 595 bucks next time.

Also, try counting with them how much new clients would bring to them. Let's say out of 10k sends they get 0.5 percent response. That's 50 customers. For some businesses that will be enough, esp. considering some customers will come back. Now double that for 1 percent response and what if he get's 5 percent response!?! I do not know percentages sadly, but reading Bob's WSO I guess 0.5 percent is low response rate. Other people need to step up here with their experience.

hourstoincome · 14th May 2012, 05:01 PM

Originally Posted by AfteraDream

Definitely man. Go for it. If the woman has lower costs and can easily undercut you then just take over other areas until she decides to expand and go there too.

Some suggested that you could ask for half the price(say ($300) as it's the first issue but stress to the owner that it will be 595 bucks next time.

Well the business owner I talked to that signed up with her said that she was basically only targeting that one side of town because ultimitaly what its all about for her is advertising for her UPS store. I don't think she is gonna expand and also I noticed that she didn't brand her card. I think I have plenty of room to work with. I'm just having a hard time getting the attention of the owners themselves. I'm gonna try emailing some companies this evening and tomorrow with a pic of the mockup and a small explanation of the benefits. Have you been trying this idea lately as well? If sop, how have things been going for you? Thanks again

hourstoincome · 14th May 2012, 05:05 PM

Hey AfteraDream. I did that today as well! I basically said that direct mail generally gets around 1-5% response and then I would say "lets look at this on the low end... If you get a 1% response, that's 100 customers! would that make this worth your time? " They seemed to like this idea and agreed that it would be a decent deal, but again these were managers and employees I was dealing with. Unfortunately NOT owners ....

AfteraDream · 14th May 2012, 05:07 PM

Originally Posted by hourstoincome

Well the business owner I talked to that signed up with her said that she was basically only targeting that one side of town because ultimitaly what its all about for her is advertising for her UPS store. I don't think she is gonna expand and also I noticed that she didn't brand her card. I think I have plenty of room to work with. I'm just having a hard time getting the attention of the owners themselves. I'm gonna try emailing some companies this evening and tomorrow with a pic of the mockup and a small explanation of the benefits. Have you been trying this idea lately as well? If sop, how have things been going for you? Thanks again

Sadly, I can't incorporate yet and I have to wait a month or so but I got some business owners I know and ask them about this. I'm itching to start but until I have a company I don't want to do it.

I also know a guy on other marketing forum that is doing this according to Bob's WSO and doing well, gonna send out cards in 4-6 weeks and has closed some clients. He's branding it too I think and opportunities are big!

Eddie Spangler · 14th May 2012, 05:20 PM

Originally Posted by hourstoincome

Alright guys so I spent most of the day trying to sell my ads door to door. I hit about 12 different businesses. I ran into a looooooot of "the owners not in today" . Also had an objection to pricing due to the fact that there is a lady nearby who owns a UPS store. She ios doing something very similar except for 20,000 homes and is only charging $160 per ad space. The reason she can afford this is because she probably gets her printing and shipping at a wholesale price and she is only doing this to cut down on the cost of her own advertisement (The other side of the card is a full size add for her own UPS store). Out of all that effort, I may have one owner interested. He owns a dry cleaning company. I'll be following up on that soon. So now I'm completely reevaluating this whole idea. Seems to me like I need to offer more for less. Only problem is how?? I plan to try sending emails to these business owners and I might even do some cold calling and direct mail soon.

Anyone else been successful at this idea? Any steady results? Thanks guys

So you spent a couple hours going out, got 1 price objection, missed most owners and now you are ready to reevaluate?

I assumed you wrote this wanting someone to tell you how weak this is or maybe you just need some encouragement. So pick whichever of the 2 responses best fit your situation

A. You didnt even do any real work and are already crying and doubting that this will work despite the mountain of evidence to the contrary. Come on man you talked to almost nobody and made it seem like you really put in an ALL DAY effort. If the dry cleaner was interested he would give you a check, screw followups for a few hundred dollars, get the money!!

B. It can be tough at first to do something new, You made an attempt, got some feedback, good job for taking action. Keep at it and before you know it the sales will come rolling in.

But seriously , if you will go back through this thread from the beginning there is more than enough good advice about ALL aspects of the program.

hourstoincome · 14th May 2012, 05:36 PM

Originally Posted by AfteraDream

Sadly, I can't incorporate yet and I have to wait a month or so but I got some business owners I know and ask them about this. I'm itching to start but until I have a company I don't want to do it.

I also know a guy on other marketing forum that is doing this according to Bob's WSO and doing well, gonna send out cards in 4-6 weeks and has closed some clients. He's branding it too I think and opportunities are big!

That's awesome man. That's where I was at about a month ago. I had to get all my ducks in a row before I could get started but I'm sure I'll make a success of it eventually. Go for it ! Hope you do well and keep us all updated on your success

hourstoincome · 14th May 2012, 05:44 PM

Originally Posted by Eddie Spangler

So you spent a couple hours going out, got 1 price objection, missed most owners and now you are ready to reevaluate?

I assumed you wrote this wanting someone to tell you how weak this is or maybe you just need some encouragement. So pick whichever of the 2 responses best fit your situation

A. You didnt even do any real work and are already crying and doubting that this will work despite the mountain of evidence to the contrary. Come on man you talked to almost nobody and made it seem like you really put in an ALL DAY effort. If the dry cleaner was interested he would give you a check, screw followups for a few hundred dollars, get the money!!

B. It can be tough at first to do something new, You made an attempt, got some feedback, good job for taking action. Keep at it and before you know it the sales will come rolling in.

But seriously , if you will go back through this thread from the beginning there is more than enough good advice about ALL aspects of the program.

You sir ... are a dbag hahaha jk

. You do seem like the type that likes to get a rise out of folks and that's cool I guess. As for "reevaluating" the whole thing, what I meant was reevaluating my printing and shipping cost to offer these ads at a lower price so that I can compete. I didn't mean that I am questioning whether this works or not. I already know it does from reading the whole thread from beginning to end. Many folks on here have been helpful and I am thankful for that . Sure would be nice to here some recent success stories and sales methods people have been using though. I'll keep you all updated and believe me, after all the effort I put out to start this business in the last month, I am in no way ready to give up this easy! Just need to get past a few road vlocks such as owners not being available . Thank you for the positive words in part B . I'll keep pushing forth!

KabirC · 14th May 2012, 05:47 PM

Just bought my domain name, have an email ready to send out to around 8 different places right now and will be preparing a lot more. Those 8 are currently advertising with ValPak, just finishing up my logo as well for the postcard. Ready to get this all on the road!

moneylab · 14th May 2012, 06:05 PM

Just a heads up, there are many UPS stores (franchisees) that are offering EDDM postal mailings. If you check the UPS website they have a whole page dedicated to it. They are handling carrier route selection, the whole enchilada. So they can probably get it done pretty cheap and no doubt, as you mentioned, have a wholesale printing source as well.

Fortunately for me, the local UPS store here isn't interested in getting into that program, so I'm going for it.

On a second note regarding emailing for leads; my first attempt got one result - an outright 'not interested'! But I'm revising my strategy there and believing I simply did not try contacting enough businesses. It truly is a numbers game.

@hourstoincome; I'm willing to go as low as half price on this first card, because once the first one's out and it's proven (be sure to get testimonials later on), it'll be SO much easier to sell and at a higher price.

One thing I think is important, and this is just my opinion; I walk in/approach them and and let them know, very confidently, that I am a local business owner (a peer, and my time is just as important as theirs), and I have something important to talk about to their owner if he/she has a minute. I do NOT want to come across as 'a salesman making a cold call'.

If the clerk/manager whoever gives me the runaround, and wants to know what it's about, I'd just look at my watch and say, "that's alright, I might try to catch them some other time", turn around and start walking.

If the owner is there, and the clerk thinks, oh oh, this may have been important and it's my ass now for chasing this guy off, they might suddenly 'find' the owner!

And if the owner isn't there, no loss - no sense wasting time pitching to someone who can't write you a check anyway.

Remember: "Fellow Business Owner" - not 'salesman' ;-)

Eddie Spangler · 14th May 2012, 06:10 PM

Originally Posted by hourstoincome

You sir ... are a dbag hahaha jk

. You do seem like the type that likes to get a rise out of folks and that's cool I guess.

I just like to see who really wants help and who just wants pandering to, which is the majority of people on here looking for "help"

As for "reevaluating" the whole thing, what I meant was reevaluating my printing and shipping cost to offer these ads at a lower price so that I can compete.
You should already know who you are going to choose as a provider, confused as to why that needs reevaluation.
You dont have to lower your prices to compete, you just have to raise the proposition value, which BTW is already pretty high, so its really the way you are presenting it that needs work.

I didn't mean that I am questioning whether this works or not. I already know it does from reading the whole thread from beginning to end. Many folks on here have been helpful and I am thankful for that . Sure would be nice to here some recent success stories and sales methods people have been using though.

There has been plenty of recent success, the whole thread is only a few months old so not sure this is a valid point. Sounds like a faint excuse to me. Before you get all defensive and tell me "hey Im just saying that it would be nice."
The fact is ONCE again there have been many sales methods discussed since the beginning, doubt anyone is going to add anything new that hasnt been said before, so just pick the one(s) you feel comfortable doing and go from there.

Just need to get past a few road vlocks such as owners not being available .
Thats easy you just have to make more calls
Thank you for the positive words in part B . I'll keep pushing forth!
Excellent!

How fast are you going to sell your first card?

hourstoincome · 14th May 2012, 06:32 PM

Originally Posted by Eddie Spangler

How fast are you going to sell your first card?

"You should already know who you are going to choose as a provider, confused as to why that needs reevaluation." I agree and I have already chose my providers. What I mean is I was thinking about maybe cutting out the UV coating on both sides and possibly printing on a 12pt or 100#. Thought maybe this would be cheaper. On second thought though, I am gonna just say screw that part of town all together and move on . There's tons of territory to be covered where I live . I just thought since it was close, that it would be a good starting point.

"You dont have to lower your prices to compete, you just have to raise the proposition value, which BTW is already pretty high, so its really the way you are presenting it that needs work." Makes sense, I'll keep this in mind when I'm out there being a warrior

No excuses.. I just like hearing success stories and honestly I only have heard a few on here. Basically you here guys say they started and they got their first campaign going and then it seems like they fall off the face of the earth lol . Any way no biggie I'll do my best to keep you all updated on my own success. I think its good for the WF's Moral. Keeps us all going!

hourstoincome · 14th May 2012, 06:40 PM

Originally Posted by moneylab

Just a heads up, there are many UPS stores (franchisees) that are offering EDDM postal mailings. If you check the UPS website they have a whole page dedicated to it. They are handling carrier route selection, the whole enchilada. So they can probably get it done pretty cheap and no doubt, as you mentioned, have a wholesale printing source as well.

Fortunately for me, the local UPS store here isn't interested in getting into that program, so I'm going for it.

On a second note regarding emailing for leads; my first attempt got one result - an outright 'not interested'! But I'm revising my strategy there and believing I simply did not try contacting enough businesses. It truly is a numbers game.

@hourstoincome; I'm willing to go as low as half price on this first card, because once the first one's out and it's proven (be sure to get testimonials later on), it'll be SO much easier to sell and at a higher price.

One thing I think is important, and this is just my opinion; I walk in/approach them and and let them know, very confidently, that I am a local business owner (a peer, and my time is just as important as theirs), and I have something important to talk about to their owner if he/she has a minute. I do NOT want to come across as 'a salesman making a cold call'.

If the clerk/manager whoever gives me the runaround, and wants to know what it's about, I'd just look at my watch and say, "that's alright, I might try to catch them some other time", turn around and start walking.

If the owner is there, and the clerk thinks, oh oh, this may have been important and it's my ass now for chasing this guy off, they might suddenly 'find' the owner!

And if the owner isn't there, no loss - no sense wasting time pitching to someone who can't write you a check anyway.

Remember: "Fellow Business Owner" - not 'salesman' ;-)

Selling at half off totally makes sense. I am willing to haggle a price as well. I am thinking about doing something like $100 off your first time. Bet that will get their attention!

I also have been letting them know that I am the owner of my biz. Next time I will make the "time being important" part clear as well. The last part about getting the owners attention by blowing them off rocks!! Gonna have to try that one. This is the stuff I love hearing. Great advice! Thank you

AfteraDream · 14th May 2012, 06:42 PM

Originally Posted by hourstoincome

That's awesome man. That's where I was at about a month ago. I had to get all my ducks in a row before I could get started but I'm sure I'll make a success of it eventually. Go for it ! Hope you do well and keep us all updated on your success

Thanx man. I'm finishing a web design course (7 months long) and then going for incorporation. I might be able to sell some ad designs or even websites too in addition to the ads in future too so I hope this will be an added bonus to businesses and my revenue! hehe..

tinyreal · 14th May 2012, 11:12 PM

Originally Posted by hourstoincome

Basically this! The card was about the same size and had 6 spots to buy on one side and 1 huge ad for the ladies UPS store on the other. That's awesome man! May I ask how you guys sold 16 ad spots in 7 days? My biggest problem was that the owners weren't around. Or at least I was told. I agree .... Bob Ross does rock! I'm just off to a rough start i guess

Know this:

30-40% of those saying the owners not being around are the owners!

We sold them by hustling. Seeing everyone. If they were a business, they were pitched. We went back 2,3 times. Someone even yelled at us (it wont be the last)!

Walked into a place "we aren't interested", we didn't turn around and leave, we pitched the idea anyway. guess what? Sold, plus a referral.

They arent interested in val pak, american coupon, the endless books that have 20 of their businesses already in there. Quick question for your prospect: You want clients/patrons/customers/diners/ whatever to notice you? BE NOTICABLE! One of a kind or one of many?

Them: "I already do Val Pak/Shopper/something else" Me: "We love Val pak, they put us in business!"

There is NO COMPETITION FOR THIS. No matter what anyone else brings to the table, they don't bring you. You are helping them get more clients/customers/money.

Consult consult consult. Help them help them help them. We design the ad, we lay out the ad. It's only you, all the eyeballs are focused on just your pizzeria Tony or your diner Joe or your Carpet cleaning business Frank. whatever.

Sell benefits not features. Its double UV coated . SO WHAT! Its 9 X 12. SO WHAT! Only 15 Ads. SO WHAT!

When you walk in and they tell you they arent interested, you ask them in the most confused tone you can muster: "You aren't interested in making more money?"

First sale:

Gold buyers. Partner walks in, guy tells us how ads dont work for him. he pitches and then stands there. Finally my partner says ok, I was told to come here first, but if you don't want a spot, I have to go elsewhere. He says "no, I want in, I just have to figure out how many spots I want". He took 3

Ok, that's it, $17 please, paypal is accepted

hourstoincome · 14th May 2012, 11:50 PM

Originally Posted by tinyreal

Know this:

30-40% of those saying the owners not being around are the owners!

We sold them by hustling. Seeing everyone. If they were a business, they were pitched. We went back 2,3 times. Someone even yelled at us (it wont be the last)!

Walked into a place "we aren't interested", we didn't turn around and leave, we pitched the idea anyway. guess what? Sold, plus a referral.

They arent interested in val pak, american coupon, the endless books that have 20 of their businesses already in there. Quick question for your prospect: You want clients/patrons/customers/diners/ whatever to notice you? BE NOTICABLE! One of a kind or one of many?

Them: "I already do Val Pak/Shopper/something else" Me: "We love Val pak, they put us in business!"

There is NO COMPETITION FOR THIS. No matter what anyone else brings to the table, they don't bring you. You are helping them get more clients/customers/money.

Consult consult consult. Help them help them help them. We design the ad, we lay out the ad. It's only you, all the eyeballs are focused on just your pizzeria Tony or your diner Joe or your Carpet cleaning business Frank. whatever.

Sell benefits not features. Its double UV coated . SO WHAT! Its 9 X 12. SO WHAT! Only 15 Ads. SO WHAT!

When you walk in and they tell you they arent interested, you ask them in the most confused tone you can muster: "You aren't interested in making more money?"

First sale:

Gold buyers. Partner walks in, guy tells us how ads dont work for him. he pitches and then stands there. Finally my partner says ok, I was told to come here first, but if you don't want a spot, I have to go elsewhere. He says "no, I want in, I just have to figure out how many spots I want". He took 3

Ok, that's it, $17 please, paypal is accepted

I kinda figured the owners were lieing to me too. I was like come on guys!? One of you f***ers have to be the owner! lol

Great advice man . I like your way of thinking. Apparently I need to work on my salesmanship (which I know because I am completely new at this) and hit the pavement harder tomorrow.Thanks for the inspirational words of advice man, It really helps! I'll keep ya updated on my progress. $17?! Ouch! haha

hourstoincome · 14th May 2012, 11:59 PM

tinyreal, I have one more question that maybe you can help me with. Have you guys been collecting a down payment to seal the deal or are you guys just collecting full payment once they sign off on the ad proof? Thanks again for all your input

Eddie Spangler · 15th May 2012, 01:08 AM

@hours

check out post 326 in this thread for a cold walkin in example.

If you can develop your own "script" using that general formula and actually have the gumption to ask for a decision you will do well.

You really need to walk in with the attitude that you have something awesome and that it is in their best interest to listen to you.

tinyreal · 15th May 2012, 11:41 AM

Originally Posted by hourstoincome

tinyreal, I have one more question that maybe you can help me with. Have you guys been collecting a down payment to seal the deal or are you guys just collecting full payment once they sign off on the ad proof? Thanks again for all your input

A deposit is a commitment. Always get a deposit or there is no real commitment

Mike

12th May 2012, 07:00 PM	#1203
hourstoincome Active Warrior Join Date: 2009 Posts: 77 Thanks: 5 Thanked 9 Times in 8 Posts	Re: Make $5000 per month and be a hero. Share on: Well I finally got everything together and I'm ready to hit the pavement on Monday morning. I get the feeling that selling my first campaign is gonna be a challenge but I'm excited as well. If anyone has any tips or extra selling points to help me succedd, please do share. Also would like to hear any success stories that anyone may have. I'll let you all know how Monday turns out for me! Thanks to you all
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12th May 2012, 10:38 PM	#1205
ewenmack VIP Warrior War Room Member Join Date: 2006 Location: Auckland, New Zealand Posts: 6,600 Thanks: 3,456 Thanked 6,446 Times in 2,869 Posts	Re: Make $5000 per month and be a hero. Share on: For those of you who live in rural or small town areas, then this might help. Also for those that want to target advertisers. Look online for community newspapers and their online editions. You'll see those that advertise a lot and then call them. My call would start out like this... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Hi Mary, Ewen here, just calling to see if I can get you people a better deal on your advertising, who should I be speaking to about this?" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- That opener works a charm for me in my business I bought that sells point of sale paper rolls...both over the phone and cold walk in's. I just replaced the paper rolls for advertising in this example. Once I get to the person who I should be talking to, my next line is the same opener... Hi John, Ewen here, just calling to see if I can get you a better deal on your x." That one line opener gets down to business right away. Prices are given out and tell why what I have is superior to what they are using and he buys down the track when he's nearly out of paper rolls. So with this advertising you are selling, you tell the interested person why your jumbo mailer is superior to what they have used... Gets read because it's not buried in amongst pages of advertisers Money isn't wasted on those who don't see your ad * Your competitor won't be advertising in it because there will only be one butcher in it. BTW, when I look online for all the community newspaper advertisers, very few are food places, many are training schools which results have shown get great response to giant postcards. Best, Ewen

13th May 2012, 06:48 PM	#1209
Smalls91 Active Warrior War Room Member Join Date: 2012 Posts: 73 Thanks: 37 Thanked 12 Times in 8 Posts	Re: Make $5000 per month and be a hero. Share on: Excellent idea! How many people have tried this and been successful? Has anyone been able to do this without a well known reputation? I've been thinking about giving this a try.

13th May 2012, 07:10 PM	#1211
Taniwha aka Evan Atter War Room Member Join Date: 2012 Location: Auckland, New Zealand Posts: 581 Thanks: 59 Thanked 168 Times in 112 Posts	Re: Make $5000 per month and be a hero. Share on: Wouldn't people want a contract so they know you're not going to take their money and run?

13th May 2012, 09:00 PM	#1213
Taniwha aka Evan Atter War Room Member Join Date: 2012 Location: Auckland, New Zealand Posts: 581 Thanks: 59 Thanked 168 Times in 112 Posts	Re: Make $5000 per month and be a hero. Share on: I've spent the past 2 days researching ALL the print and mailing companies around where I live. The cheapest rates I've got so far are: Print (10,000 double sided glossy/color A4 size): $1279 NZD Mail (10,000 residential houses in a single area): $567 NZD Are these the ratios that everyone else have been receiving? The Print seems expensive as they ranged from $1300 to $2000, but the Mailing seems quite cheap (though I'm not complaining). I'm so excited to get this going.

14th May 2012, 06:59 AM	#1223
Mack Attack 77 Active Warrior War Room Member Join Date: 2012 Location: Michigan Posts: 79 Thanks: 7 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Make $5000 per month and be a hero. Share on: I'm an SEO guy who randomly stumbled on this section of the forum, and I think this idea is great! I have a buddy in sales who I'm going to partner up with, and we are going to execute this to the best of our abilities. I'm super pumped about this and appreciate all of the information that everyone has shared so far.
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14th May 2012, 03:59 PM	#1224
hourstoincome Active Warrior Join Date: 2009 Posts: 77 Thanks: 5 Thanked 9 Times in 8 Posts	Re: Make $5000 per month and be a hero. Share on: Alright guys so I spent most of the day trying to sell my ads door to door. I hit about 12 different businesses. I ran into a looooooot of "the owners not in today" . Also had an objection to pricing due to the fact that there is a lady nearby who owns a UPS store. She ios doing something very similar except for 20,000 homes and is only charging $160 per ad space. The reason she can afford this is because she probably gets her printing and shipping at a wholesale price and she is only doing this to cut down on the cost of her own advertisement (The other side of the card is a full size add for her own UPS store). Out of all that effort, I may have one owner interested. He owns a dry cleaning company. I'll be following up on that soon. So now I'm completely reevaluating this whole idea. Seems to me like I need to offer more for less. Only problem is how?? I plan to try sending emails to these business owners and I might even do some cold calling and direct mail soon. Anyone else been successful at this idea? Any steady results? Thanks guys
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14th May 2012, 04:37 PM	#1228
alfid HyperActive Warrior Join Date: 2011 Posts: 288 Thanks: 10 Thanked 26 Times in 26 Posts	Re: Make $5000 per month and be a hero. Share on: Wow, this is a really great thread. I am glad I found it. I am going to try out some of these methods and see if I can make some $!

14th May 2012, 04:50 PM	#1231
hourstoincome Active Warrior Join Date: 2009 Posts: 77 Thanks: 5 Thanked 9 Times in 8 Posts	Re: Make $5000 per month and be a hero. Share on: By the way, I am asking between $375 and $495 for my ad spaces. Just depends on the size. Asking to much perhaps? What have you guys been selling your spaces for if you don't mind me asking? Thanks a ton
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14th May 2012, 05:05 PM	#1235
hourstoincome Active Warrior Join Date: 2009 Posts: 77 Thanks: 5 Thanked 9 Times in 8 Posts	Re: Make $5000 per month and be a hero. Share on: Hey AfteraDream. I did that today as well! I basically said that direct mail generally gets around 1-5% response and then I would say "lets look at this on the low end... If you get a 1% response, that's 100 customers! would that make this worth your time? " They seemed to like this idea and agreed that it would be a decent deal, but again these were managers and employees I was dealing with. Unfortunately NOT owners ....
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14th May 2012, 05:47 PM	#1240
KabirC HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: 2011 Posts: 279 Thanks: 223 Thanked 30 Times in 27 Posts	Re: Make $5000 per month and be a hero. Share on: Just bought my domain name, have an email ready to send out to around 8 different places right now and will be preparing a lot more. Those 8 are currently advertising with ValPak, just finishing up my logo as well for the postcard. Ready to get this all on the road!

14th May 2012, 06:05 PM	#1241
moneylab Active Warrior Join Date: 2012 Location: Florida, USA Posts: 47 Thanks: 38 Thanked 12 Times in 8 Posts	Re: Make $5000 per month and be a hero. Share on: Just a heads up, there are many UPS stores (franchisees) that are offering EDDM postal mailings. If you check the UPS website they have a whole page dedicated to it. They are handling carrier route selection, the whole enchilada. So they can probably get it done pretty cheap and no doubt, as you mentioned, have a wholesale printing source as well. Fortunately for me, the local UPS store here isn't interested in getting into that program, so I'm going for it. On a second note regarding emailing for leads; my first attempt got one result - an outright 'not interested'! But I'm revising my strategy there and believing I simply did not try contacting enough businesses. It truly is a numbers game. @hourstoincome; I'm willing to go as low as half price on this first card, because once the first one's out and it's proven (be sure to get testimonials later on), it'll be SO much easier to sell and at a higher price. One thing I think is important, and this is just my opinion; I walk in/approach them and and let them know, very confidently, that I am a local business owner (a peer, and my time is just as important as theirs), and I have something important to talk about to their owner if he/she has a minute. I do NOT want to come across as 'a salesman making a cold call'. If the clerk/manager whoever gives me the runaround, and wants to know what it's about, I'd just look at my watch and say, "that's alright, I might try to catch them some other time", turn around and start walking. If the owner is there, and the clerk thinks, oh oh, this may have been important and it's my ass now for chasing this guy off, they might suddenly 'find' the owner! And if the owner isn't there, no loss - no sense wasting time pitching to someone who can't write you a check anyway. Remember: "Fellow Business Owner" - not 'salesman' ;-)

14th May 2012, 11:59 PM	#1248
hourstoincome Active Warrior Join Date: 2009 Posts: 77 Thanks: 5 Thanked 9 Times in 8 Posts	Re: Make $5000 per month and be a hero. Share on: tinyreal, I have one more question that maybe you can help me with. Have you guys been collecting a down payment to seal the deal or are you guys just collecting full payment once they sign off on the ad proof? Thanks again for all your input
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15th May 2012, 01:08 AM	#1249
Eddie Spangler Multi-Thousandaire Join Date: 2011 Posts: 1,073 Thanks: 362 Thanked 866 Times in 441 Posts	Re: Make $5000 per month and be a hero. Share on: @hours check out post 326 in this thread for a cold walkin in example. If you can develop your own "script" using that general formula and actually have the gumption to ask for a decision you will do well. You really need to walk in with the attitude that you have something awesome and that it is in their best interest to listen to you.