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- Jun 14, 2009
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So it's been a while since I've posted any methods or tutorials here, and that's primarily because the majority of what I'm working on these days is offline and 100% "white hat". To be honest, there really isn't much to it; providing online services for offline clients isn't exactly rocket science. That being said, a quick read around BHW and other IM forums will show you that the problem most people are facing has little to do with the "what" and everything to do with the "how". Getting your offer out to prospects in a way that grabs their attention and provokes action on their part.
So here's one example of how I'm getting my message out to my prospects. This particular snail mail campaign took me about 4 hours to execute (not all in one sitting of course), cost me $38.94, and produced just shy of $17,000 in profit. I was even offered a full time job by one of the prospects I ended up signing.
I only reached out to 22 prospects. Of those 22 prospects 5 called me, I met with 3 and closed 3. I'm still working the other 2 and planning follow up letters to those that never made contact.
Ok so a quick backstory - a while back I was talking to Jesusback about reputation management. It's not something I had ever considered offering, but after taking a quick look into it and educating myself a bit, I decided to pitch it to a few existing clients - and they ate it right up. Long story short, I decided to start offering it as a stand alone service.
I landed on snail mail for this campaign for a couple of reasons.
1. I knew I'd be investing time into prospects before they ever received my message, and I wanted to make sure that all that effort was at least going to result in a read.
2. I wanted to personalize every aspect of my initial contact.
See, selling ORM is relatively easy once you push the "this is costing you money" button. Show your prospects how their customers perceive them and how it's hurting the bottom line and they'll be all ears long enough for you to pitch your solution. Don't be afraid to take a swing either. The big dogs charge the moon for ORM - as they should because it's a shitload of work - so you should too. You can always wiggle down to squeeze a fence-rider in.
So where do you find prospects?
Personally I use Google maps and notepad. I know a lot of ORM companies are just F5'ing ripoffreport all day but to each his own. Other methods like bulk email might call for some automation but for our purposes this does just fine.
Here's what you're looking for: Businesses with high lifetime customer value that have poor ratings on their Maps page.
Since G removed all 3rd party ratings from Maps this is super easy to do. Pick a niche, find poor reviews, jot it down. Once you've noted the business name and address, head over to Manta.com and get the owner's name (it's free). Once you've amassed a couple dozen prospects you'll be ready to compose your letters.
My first contact letter is loosely (and I do mean loosely) based on a prospecting letter from the "magic mailers" something or other WSO. I've downloaded a few copywriting cheat sheets like this from the guy Bruce that produces them and while I think they're great for getting the wheels turning, I also think it's worthwhile to mention that they're much less valuable if you aren't putting your own spin on them. The last thing you want is to invest time into a campaign then strike out because some nub is using the same letter right out of the box. With some fluff removed and a heavy emphasis on pushing the prospects money-buttons, here's my revised version:
Now here's what really boosts the effectiveness of this letter - take a screenshot of their bad reviews and print it out. Get as many on the page as you can fit. I print them out to fill the entire page, and write on them in red marker in BIG red letters. "You have 10 '1-star' reviews on the first page of Google....this is what your potential customers see when they search for your business!!!" I circle the worst parts and make sure that I'm really driving the point home. You'd be surprised how many businesses aren't even aware that they're getting slammed publicly like this. It really, really pushes their buttons.
Next, take the first contact letter and the printout of the bad reviews and bundle them up in a standard envelope with two, six sided dice. Why? Simply because lumpy mail works. I didn't come up with it, but I've used it before and I know it kills. It also gives your prospect a token that differentiates you from the dozens of other letters they'll likely read that day. Fold your dice into the letter so they can be seen as soon as the envelope is opened. The dice also make the letters to big for automated processing, and they now need to be mailed as a parcel. Even though they'll cost you $1.77 each like this IT'S WORTH IT. They now get a huge barcode label and are very, very unlikely to be thrown out as marketing mail since very few letters arrive with parcel stickers. Hand address your envelopes and use a personal return address, not your business.
Here's an example:
That should be enough to get you started. If there's any interest I'll write up another installment on preparing your ORM proposal, pricing, contracts, and CLOSING etc. Good luck.
So here's one example of how I'm getting my message out to my prospects. This particular snail mail campaign took me about 4 hours to execute (not all in one sitting of course), cost me $38.94, and produced just shy of $17,000 in profit. I was even offered a full time job by one of the prospects I ended up signing.
I only reached out to 22 prospects. Of those 22 prospects 5 called me, I met with 3 and closed 3. I'm still working the other 2 and planning follow up letters to those that never made contact.Ok so a quick backstory - a while back I was talking to Jesusback about reputation management. It's not something I had ever considered offering, but after taking a quick look into it and educating myself a bit, I decided to pitch it to a few existing clients - and they ate it right up. Long story short, I decided to start offering it as a stand alone service.
I landed on snail mail for this campaign for a couple of reasons.
1. I knew I'd be investing time into prospects before they ever received my message, and I wanted to make sure that all that effort was at least going to result in a read.
2. I wanted to personalize every aspect of my initial contact.
See, selling ORM is relatively easy once you push the "this is costing you money" button. Show your prospects how their customers perceive them and how it's hurting the bottom line and they'll be all ears long enough for you to pitch your solution. Don't be afraid to take a swing either. The big dogs charge the moon for ORM - as they should because it's a shitload of work - so you should too. You can always wiggle down to squeeze a fence-rider in.
So where do you find prospects?
Personally I use Google maps and notepad. I know a lot of ORM companies are just F5'ing ripoffreport all day but to each his own. Other methods like bulk email might call for some automation but for our purposes this does just fine.
Here's what you're looking for: Businesses with high lifetime customer value that have poor ratings on their Maps page.
Since G removed all 3rd party ratings from Maps this is super easy to do. Pick a niche, find poor reviews, jot it down. Once you've noted the business name and address, head over to Manta.com and get the owner's name (it's free). Once you've amassed a couple dozen prospects you'll be ready to compose your letters.
My first contact letter is loosely (and I do mean loosely) based on a prospecting letter from the "magic mailers" something or other WSO. I've downloaded a few copywriting cheat sheets like this from the guy Bruce that produces them and while I think they're great for getting the wheels turning, I also think it's worthwhile to mention that they're much less valuable if you aren't putting your own spin on them. The last thing you want is to invest time into a campaign then strike out because some nub is using the same letter right out of the box. With some fluff removed and a heavy emphasis on pushing the prospects money-buttons, here's my revised version:
Straight to the point, just like it should be. Make sure to sign it by hand with blue ink, no handwriting fonts.
Now here's what really boosts the effectiveness of this letter - take a screenshot of their bad reviews and print it out. Get as many on the page as you can fit. I print them out to fill the entire page, and write on them in red marker in BIG red letters. "You have 10 '1-star' reviews on the first page of Google....this is what your potential customers see when they search for your business!!!" I circle the worst parts and make sure that I'm really driving the point home. You'd be surprised how many businesses aren't even aware that they're getting slammed publicly like this. It really, really pushes their buttons.
Next, take the first contact letter and the printout of the bad reviews and bundle them up in a standard envelope with two, six sided dice. Why? Simply because lumpy mail works. I didn't come up with it, but I've used it before and I know it kills. It also gives your prospect a token that differentiates you from the dozens of other letters they'll likely read that day. Fold your dice into the letter so they can be seen as soon as the envelope is opened. The dice also make the letters to big for automated processing, and they now need to be mailed as a parcel. Even though they'll cost you $1.77 each like this IT'S WORTH IT. They now get a huge barcode label and are very, very unlikely to be thrown out as marketing mail since very few letters arrive with parcel stickers. Hand address your envelopes and use a personal return address, not your business.
Here's an example:
That should be enough to get you started. If there's any interest I'll write up another installment on preparing your ORM proposal, pricing, contracts, and CLOSING etc. Good luck.
EDIT:
Part 2:
http://www.blackhatworld.com/blackhat-seo/offline-marketing/354896-22-letters-17-000-profit-3-weeks-post3547900.html#post3547900
Part 3:
http://www.blackhatworld.com/blackhat-seo/offline-marketing/354896-22-letters-17-000-profit-3-weeks-post3614903.html#post3614903
Part 2:
http://www.blackhatworld.com/blackhat-seo/offline-marketing/354896-22-letters-17-000-profit-3-weeks-post3547900.html#post3547900
Part 3:
http://www.blackhatworld.com/blackhat-seo/offline-marketing/354896-22-letters-17-000-profit-3-weeks-post3614903.html#post3614903
