2 Step Marketing
Do it Right!
I receive postcards all the time. The other day I received a postcard trying to sell me
a copy machine. It had tiny, tiny lettering slathered all over the front and a large portion
of the back of the card. It was extremely hard to read, so hard in fact that I threw it away.
Several days later I received a postcard with 32 words on it telling me that I could get
complete information on unrestricted long distance telephone service for 5.5 cents a
minute with no additional monthly fee by calling the 800 number on the card.
I did call. I got the information, had my questions answered and ordered my long
distance service changed. The company who offered me the long distance service
was using a time tested 2 step selling process:
Step 1.
Generate a lead –
Get me to call their 800 number.
Step 2.
Provide the requested information –
Provided to me on the phone by one of their sales representatives, who was able
to answer my questions and make me feel confident that I could save quite a bit of
money on my long distance bill and that the service would be as good or better.
What’s So Good About 2 Steps?
It is much easier to create interest (a lead) than it is to get a person through an entire
buying process (a sale). You aren’t getting the prospect or existing customer to part with
any money just yet. You can use postcards to inexpensively promote to your target
prospects and customers and generate leads (inquiries about your products and services)
to then be followed up on and converted to sales.
This 2 step process also helps you to create a list of people who were interested enough
in what you offered to contact you. You can then recontact the one’s who you didn’t
complete a sale with when they first inquired, preferably until they do buy from you.
IMPORTANT: Be sure to get the information you will need to recontact
the people who responded to your postcard offering.
Repetitive follow-ups with the people who contacted you will result in increased sales.
Make it a company policy to follow up with those people who contacted you about your
products and services.
The Most Effective Use of Postcards:
The purpose of your postcard’s message is to generate a sufficient level of interest in
the mind of your prospect to get him/her to contact you to ask you about your offer.
You are generating interest, not collecting their money (not yet anyway). That is what
the 2 step marketing process is about. Generating interested prospects and customers
who contact you for more information. Your message needs 3 parts to be most effective:
A clear statement of the biggest benefit of your product or
service (in the long distance example, it was cost savings).
A good reason for them to contact you NOW.
A simple, easy way for them to respond (an 800 number for example).
Your message should be short and to the point. Short messages
on postcards produce more leads than long ones.
For example:
Call 800-555-1212 for Your Copy of Our Free Report:
What 99% of Business Owners Don’t Know and Will Never
Find Out About Using Postcards to Explode Their Profits …
Offer ends 5-5-01
(Print a date 3 weeks from your mailing date to create some urgency)
Lots of people will respond to find out what they might not know. Don’t forget,
they responded, which is least some interest in the information you have created
a curiosity about. This method works and is sure to produce a large number of
inquiries if sent to your proper market. This 2 Step Marketing process works!
Use the tips you have read here to create your next postcard’s message
and see what happens. You will generate a bunch of leads from people
who are truly interested in your products and services.
