Customers want to be qualified. They want to be checked out and sized up. Any truly big ‘whale’ client will respond well to qualifying questions mainly because they can empathize with someone that is time restricted and needs to make sure that they are not wasting anyone’s time.

For example, in my industry, I often ask how people have experienced lead companies. If a customer tells me they have had horrible experiences with every lead company they have worked with I tell them straight up that I wouldn’t want to work with them for fear of not performing to a level of their satisfaction and thus potentially affecting my company’s reputation. If a client tells me they have never bought leads before then I take on a defensive role and explain the potential failure of a first time marketing and make sure they are OK with losing before allowing them to purchase data.

Sometimes clients will purchase data with minimum issues as to accuracy and expect it to work within a wide range of results. These, for me, are qualified beyond measure and reinforce the fact that over time, I tend to make 99% of my money from these types of clients verses the teeth pulling kinds of clients.

Every industry has these types of clients and the best thing is to turn them over to your competitors. This will give you more time to focus on qualified clients and give you confidence to say NO instead of just hearing it from those that you might wish to sell. Being picky about your customer is not about whether you like them or not - it comes down to how easy it is going to be to develop a long term, profitable relationship with this person.

Over time pricing will have to come down as loyalty sets in. So make sure you do not price clients down too much too early or you will lose long term business and clients will leave you for a cheaper price when you could have come down more by holding firm earlier.

Not all Qualified leads are the same - and some are barely qualified. However, you can be sure that from a raw lead point of view and from a cold calling point of view, 1/3 of all leads are not qualified for a number of reasons including:

1. Budget issues

2. Timing of request (information only)

3. Shoppers

4. Trust

5. Unreasonable requests

… and many more.

Qualifying a lead means asking questions, engaging, and controlling the flow of the conversation so that the buyer feels as though he or she is there for a purpose.

Qualifying a lead can be creative - it can just be a tone of voice or nature of topic of conversation or line of questioning. The thing to know is that once you qualify or disqualify a prospect, what is the next step?

A qualified customer should be treated like a potential job interview - you are there at that point to try to service the client’s needs. This means running reports, calling whoever the client wants you to call, emailing, presenting, etc… Realize that qualified customers are just 1 step away from a closed deal.

A disqualified prospect should not be treated with disrespect. Rather, a disqualified customer should be redirected or let go with dignity and with tact. If you are uncomfortable with a client, simply tell them you’re not sure if there would be a good fit. If a client is requesting a product or service you can’t do or provide, simply let them know it’s not in your range of services. It’s OK to be direct and forthright if a disqualified prospect persist and becomes an annoyance.

Bottom line is that qualifying leads involves tough questions, quick decisions, and follow-through. By focusing on the qualified leads and quickly dismissing the disqualified leads, you will make more money with less effort and with more focus on the prospects and clients that matter.

These 10 tips are intended to take the “guess work” out of finding a good list consultant and will help you determine within the first 30 seconds the mindset and capabilities of the person you are working with to acquire marketing data. List consulting comes down to 10 major issues and accompanying questions to consider:

1. How experienced and knowledgeable is the List Broker.
   1. What list ideas do they have?
   2. What experience marketing to my target do they have?
2. What is the nature of the questions from the List Consultant?
   1. Are they ‘closing’ questions from a sophisticated script? (BAD)
   2. What am I learning that I don’t already know from this consultant?
3. What type of list is this: Compiled, Response, or Transaction?
   1. Does the list consultant know the difference and nature of why one will work better over the other?
   2. Are these priced accordingly (usually there will be a big price difference between lists and sources)?
   3. Can price difference be explained logically?
4. How is the file updated?
   1. Does the broker disclose which parts of the database are updated when?
   2. Are you getting a ‘blanket’ answer for this question or diversion?
5. Are their less expensive alternative lists options?
   1. Why would the alternatives be as good a choice? (“No alternative” is never a good answer.)
   2. What makes this list unique and why can’t we find a cost effective alternate (make sure this answer has teeth and can be backed up if this is the case)?
6. Does it take more than 1 day to get a specific count request back from the consultant?
7. Does the list broker take all forms of payment easily without asking for alternative methods (i.e. PayPal or Google checkout… a bank backed merchant account means they are in good standing with their bank with regards to credit card purchases, if not this can be a red flag.)
8. Does the consultant make the list sound too good to be true or price it way below what others are selling it for? (This is a red flag warning you that the consultant isn’t busy enough and therefore may have a product that cuts corners or is not fresh).
9. Do you feel pressured to get the list OR are assured the list is going to be delivered according to YOUR schedule? (Pressure from a list broker means they are inexperienced with the process of direct marketing and therefore may not have your interests at heart).
10. What else can you see your list consultant helping you with (make sure that you have enough rapport established to know you are working with someone that you can bounce ideas off of or someone that can give you ideas for other projects you are planning.)
    1. The best list brokers are great marketers first and foremost and thus their emphasis should be on more than just finding a good list though this is their #1 task obviously.

Most of these tips come down to the integrity and strategic thinking of the list broker. In a sense you are buying into the data brokers confidence and their intent on building a real relationship. If you can detect those that are genuine and good at establishing these ties then you will evolve a very close relationship with your list broker and run most of your needs through this person.

Of course the goal for any broker is to have close repeating relationship with their clients but few actually get that this takes work and effort and that most advertisers are willing to look at a new broker at the first sign of disloyalty because there are so many of us out there and so few that actually know the right way to produce data that responds cost effectively.

So what about budget? 99% of new list buyers are concerned about the cost of data. If you have experience buying data you know that a good list is worth way more than you paid for it. New list buyers are a different breed so this is very important information if you are new to buying databases for marketing. DO NOT GET FOOLED BY CHEAP DATA. If you really click with a list broker that has a passing grade for all 10 tips I mentioned above, then you should be OK with the price of the file you are considering. The key is not to negotiate the price of the list down but the minimum test quantity instead.

Most list brokers can bend on this rule of quantity before they can on a rule of price. The reason is that given the opportunity, most list brokers and managers will want to let a good offer try the list especially if their issue is the quantity mailed and not the price of the data.  In otherwords, the cost to mail is much higher than just the price of the data itself obviously.

Myself and my contractor team get calls everyday from buyers and the first thing they do is try to beat us down on price. My common response is simply “how can you beat me up on price if you don’t even know how the list performs. Let’s try a small test (toe in the water) and go from there.” This tactic works well because the price relative to response determines the quality of a list and not an assumed price break before any testing. This can only put you in an antagonistic relationship with the list broker from day one.  Smart, resourceful clients know this and these are the clients that any list broker would be honored to work for.

To further this, every list broker is out to earn money from selling data. If they can drop the price in half or create some kind of amazing discount out of nowhere, realize they may not care about what they are providing and instead give you an ‘in-house’ all profit file while telling you it’s a great file from YZ publication.

Just remember that buying a list is a lot like buying the services of a CPA or financial planner or a lawyer.  The knowledge of the person you are dealing with is far more important than the statistics thrown out about the ‘quality’ of any given file - list brokers should have a large porfolio of data products with sources and pricing as well as criteria options and quantity discounts available upon requeset.  Accuracy rates should also be well known as well as Usage (who is using it), especially if the broker is claiming the file to be a ‘managed’ or ‘exclusive’ database.

Good luck and have a great 4th of July!!

He even asked me if I thought the file was not good enough as to not sell it. I had to stop him dead in his tracks. “we are not selling a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow sir” I said bluntly. It’s funny to think that although so many people buy data these days, there are still people willing to buy blindly without testing a marketing mailing list or telemarketing list.

After speaking with him for about 45 minutes, I realized he had been duped by a couple of mailing list suppliers that were more than happy to do a multi-million record transaction. His pride was damaged but he eventually saw the wisdom in testing small. The thing he finalized was that even though the price per record was going to be close to double on a small order, his cost to test and find out how and if the file would work is more important in the short term than a real ‘deal’ on the database over the long term.

So many people forget this simple fact and then they end up wasting valuable marketing dollars - TEST, TEST, and MORE TEST. Any marketing service/product vendor that says otherwise is simply giving you bad advice!

That is where lead recycling comes in. This can take many forms, up selling, cross selling, card on file, confirmation code questions, free offers, etc… Some companies will simply sell their leads to a competitor and take a % of the profit they do. It really all comes down to the old saying:

“He who controls the lead, controls the business”

You know this intrinsically. It’s why they train mortgage brokers and real estate agents to ’steer’ prospective buyers to their preferred group of appraisers, attorneys/title, inspection, etc… Many businesses lack a big marketing campaign but are very good at recycling and referring leads to congruent businesses and as a result they reap referrals in return. Why am I saying this?

Well I’m really speaking to the ad agency or marketing campaign director that is looking to earn an extra % from this real time data they are creating. Imagine if you have an offer to help people quit smoking and you are doing well selling this product over the phone or internet. Now all of these product buyers are trying to quit smoking so what about all of the other services they may decide to purchase as a result.

The key to successful repurposing of leads is to make sure that you are putting the right congruent offer. So let’s think - what would go well with a person that is quitting smoking… perhaps a system to deodorize your car/home? How about a diet or eating plan geared towards the quitting smoker - how about a set of motivational books or inspirational stories… the list goes on. My point is that for every purchase, there are additional ways to enter the mentality of the buyer. Finding people in a moment is the key to successfully re-marketing them to another, parallel, business.

So the client calls back to finalize the count and unfortunately the cost on this ‘cross’ list is pretty expensive. That seems to be the biggest problem with direct mail is the cost on a test. Reason being is that direct mail gets a lot cheaper as you do more whereas for other mediums that compete for eyeballs (broadcast model) typically get more expensive or have a ‘holding point’ where additional media costs too much. Direct mail seems to be the opposite. This is why I believe direct mail will not go away any time soon. There is no competitive media for direct mail - whereas there are only so many tv and radio spots to put your offer in front of that compete with other media. This competition is what drives big search engines like google and other media stocks through the roof.

For example - I can mail to anyone anywhere no matter how targeted for under 30 cents a letter in bulk. TV, internet, and radio can’t do this - not even with targeted traffic. The problem with direct mail though is finding the right targeted traffic. Which brings us back to the project in the previous email… Is it too expensive to cross both lists together and retail the file for 18 cents per record or 180/M? I think so - why? Because the end user is going to pay double what they should for a list and it may spoil the quality and return on the first results which means the whole project is cancelled even if there is a 3 part mailer to be sent. Most advertisers will fold if the first mailer doesn’t explode with ROI out of the starting gate (all the more reason high ticket items do well with direct mail). ]]> http://www.blackbookdata.com/specialty-mailing-list-update/feed/ http://www.blackbookdata.com/target-marketing-by-creating-unique-mailing-lists/ http://www.blackbookdata.com/target-marketing-by-creating-unique-mailing-lists/#comments Mon, 25 Aug 2008 20:57:53 +0000 admin http://www.blackbookdata.com/?p=397 I recently did some research on mailing lists for a direct mail marketing campaign for a client looking to do target marketing to a combination of people with ailments and a poor credit history…  Through modeling response data, we correlated ailment responders and credit/debt responders to come up with over 81,000 records that matched.   Interestingly enough, there was over half a million in each of these files so the correlation ratio of less than 20% induced the client to test the file.  Stay tuned to find out how the response data performed.

If you look up google, this is the number one natural result for the word brand strategy (in the text of the result).

An effective brand strategy will create a unique identity that will differentiate you from the competition.

So the idea is two steps

First step is to simply take the product you are looking to ‘brand’ and find the unique difference in your product in relation to the competition (something the competition isn’t advertising or even focusing on in their advertising ‘maybe they offer it but don’t mention it in the advertising).

Then find a creative way to express this such as a metaphoric story for a TV commercial or a great sound bite for a radio commercial. A good picture is perfect for a billboard or magazine but again it has to differentiate your product from the competitions (and not copy a competitor… imagine if allstate started offering price comparisons like progressive).

The best brand strategies do this without even mentioning or alluding to the competition - everyone knows that coke is classic, xerox is a copy, etc… A good concept of this is those mac and pc commercials though i personally don’t like feeling alienated by mac for using a PC (they make pc users feel bad so that doesnt’ do apple much good in my opinion – though some would argue that is part of apples marketing strategy which plays on feelings of rejection and being left out ‘save that for another assignment’).

A big part of this ‘branding’ process is finding some unique aspect that really is better than the competition. This aspect or core message must be ubiquitous throughout your whole campaign and keep your focus on this message so that the audience remembers what you do that is special.

A good example of this is lending tree. When banks compete, you win… remember this? Well do the banks really compete? Heck no, lending tree just sells the (lead/mortgage borrower) 4 times and then they hassle them for a mortgage forever - when all along you could have done the research yourself. This is an obvious benefit to consumers for banks to compete though as a consumer you could do this yourself without lending tree pre-determining what banks would be competing for your business.

Think of ways you can help the consumer and differentiate yourself without actually doing much of anything different than what you already do.

For instance, if your product is a toy, make sure you emphasize it’s lead testing or made in the usa with regulated suppliers. If you are selling a service, emphasize your customer service, attention to detail, etc… these are all classic branding positions that you can use to your advantage.

If you are at a loss for unique ideas, one of the best ways to brand is through a personality – ie priceline or your local car dealer. These are images we remember for our life and build trust and loyalty because they are consistent messages. Lesko was a great example of this too though many think he may be over the top (I met him and he is a nice guy!)

blackbookdata’s blog

NOD (Notice of Default) Vs. Pre-Foreclosure Data (60, 90 days late)

The big questions with mailing lists & telemarketing lists always come down to the three ‘Hows’:

How Accurate is the Mailing List?
What is being Targeted on the Mailing List?
How much is the Mailing List going to cost?

Accuracy in a marketing list is usually rated as to how many are contactable.  For mailing lists, this would be the return rate and for telemarketing lists, the disconnect rate.

Targeting is also imperative because every offer has an audience.  Without targeting, the results for a campaign can be detrimental.  One client of mine had a product with mostly women ages 35-55 as clients.  We were able to, without adding any cost, target this audience and lift conversion by 4 times.  Many times the solution to your targeting problem is right under your nose, especially when it comes to Specialty Lists.

We always have a mailing list or telemarketing list for virtually any direct mail or telemarketing campaign.  Many times we will have multiple ways to get the same targeted marketing list.  This leads me to the next question, how much is the mailing list going to cost….?

Costs are based on several factors:

Source(s) of the Telemarketing List or Mailing List
Market Demand
Availability of Source
Broker Profit

With over 100,000 mailing lists and telemarketing lists on the market being purchased, sold, and managed by over 4,000 data and marketing agencies, there are many sources and ways that data comes to businesses.  As a marketing director or business owner, your goal with anything is to get the best price & service.  The advantage to using a broker in many cases is that they can use their experience to help you find the best data so the mark-up is in many cases worth the price.  Also the ability to find targeted lists or determine if a campaign requires a  targeted marketing list is very important.

That is why factoring a broker into the mix is a good idea for anyone looking to use an experienced resource to help them succeed.  Many times a direct mail company will outsource the list themselves so it is always in your best interest to do the mailing list research yourself.

Also as a side-note… Always negotiate your list purchase and don’t be afraid to get a good deal with volume.  This isn’t always possible with all marketing leads though with data, more almost always means a lower price.

What an excellent experience to go to the DMA in Chicago.  I had a great time and what really made the experience memorable was how many list and data companies were there to show off their mailing lists and marketing methods.

There seemed to be a focus on Fortune 500 type clients of course and the big missing gap again was for SMB’s as in most trade shows.  Luckily I did what I normally do and network to meet new and interesting people.

One thing that reafirmed my love for traveling to conferences was that I can meet people that will introduce me to other people that know different industries and of course in marketing you have to rely on experts when you are putting a big campaign together.

Anyone else have some great experiences at the DMA?