The Ultimate Sales Machine - Chet Holmes [97]
Once when I ran a trade show, the salesperson who sold us all of our incentives—binders, bags, and so on—stopped by and gave me a flashlight pen as a thank-you gift. I put it in my jacket pocket, thinking I would give it to my kids later. That was the day of the 1989 San Francisco earthquake. I was sitting in my office on the phone with a friend in New York when the earthquake struck. Everything started shaking and the office was in a panic, with people running helter-skelter. Being new to California, I was more prepared than the folks who lived there because I actually paid attention to the “what to do in an earthquake” public service announcements. I ran to my door frame and yelled to every one, “Get in a door frame.” Since I was the voice of authority in a panic, 25 people suddenly ran to my door frame.
With my entire staff in tow, we headed to the emergency exit, descending 13 stories in a concrete-encased, windowless stairwell. The emergency lights didn’t work and the stairwell was pitch-black. So here we were, feeling our way along the walls and trying to find the next landing or set of stairs. I suddenly remembered the flashlight in my pocket. I pulled it out and clicked it on. I can still see all the faces light up in the total blackness. Someone said, “You carry a flashlight in your pocket?” I wasn’t just a good executive but also a good Boy Scout, prepared for all emergencies. (Not really. Just a rare case of serendipity.)
The point is, you never know when your gift is going to come in handy. And you can bet I called the salesperson the next day to tell her the story. We used that salesperson every time after that for all our incentive needs.
The goal is to stand out in the marketing crowd and to breed more brand awareness. Even if prospects do not take you up on the offers, the effort still dramatically raises your visibility and solidifies your brand.
Here’s a quick list of great gift ideas—inexpensive knockoffs manufactured in China at ridiculous rates and purchased on a Web site:
Magnifying glass, 100 for $60
Calculator, 120 for $200
Miniature tool kit, 120 for $120
Paddleball, 120 for $50
Glider, 1,000 for $70
Rubik’s Cube, 120 for $40
Metal whistle, 120 for $100
Plastic dinosaur, 100 for $26
Step 3: Create Your Dream 100 Letter
A letter should accompany every gift you send. The letter should be short so the prospects will read it. It should tie into the gift in some clever way. You need to offer something to which they can easily say yes. The letter must include a call to action so they know exactly what you want them to do next.
The success of your Dream 100 effort depends on what you decide to offer them. Remember what you learned in Chapter Four: strategy before tactics. If your effort is tactical, your letter might say, “We sell the best widgets known to man.” This tactical approach will work eventually as well, but not as effectively as making your first offer a chance to get in front of the prospects in some way that serves them first, before you.
If you’re selling to a business, what you really want is an appointment or the chance to walk it through a Web seminar (as explained in previous chapters). One strategy I use with these mailers is to make the letter vague. The letter itself is probably not going to make the sale, but the follow-up phone calls will get you what you want. We’ll get to that in step 5.
Here’s a letter that could accompany a stopwatch:
Dear [personalized],
Every second that you do not get our free executive briefing, The Five Most Critical Insights in [blank industry] Today,