Returning calls from direct mail

[Curt Lampron]

Hello All,

I just mailed the first part of my 6 month long direct mail campaign to absentee owners in three local towns. I sent out 500 “yellow letters†out of my list of 922 to start and received 36 calls so far since yesterday. Right now I am using an answering service that takes down basic property information and emails it to me for a call back.

The problem is that I work for an IT reseller from 8:30am – 5:30pm and can only call people back at lunch time or after hours/weekends. These warm leads are very important to me and I want to be able to get back to them as quickly as possible. My goal is to return all calls within 24 hours tops and as of right now that is seemingly impossible with my current time constraints.

I’m wondering how other people handle this situation. My only thought is to reduce the amount of mail being sent by being more targeted or splitting the 500 up next time into multiple mailings. Keep in mind I have 922 addresses in this campaign so I’ve already split it in half.

Do others hire people to return phone calls to filter out the tire kickers from the motivated sellers? Do you handle it all yourself and just deal with going over 24 hours? I need to figure out something soon before I launch my other campaign which is also about 6 months long.

Any thoughts or advice will be appreciated.

Thank you

[Jeff M.]

Hi Curt,

Congrats on your "problem". Ringing phones are the worst! ;) Here are some thoughts:

1. Expand the script your answering service is using. Asking the right questions on the first call is a great deal-filter. Go beyond basic prop info...dig deeper with more personal questions. They called you, they're ready to talk. Grab as much info as possible! Nothing weeds out the duds faster than a solid pre-screening call.

2. Quickly call back prospects who meet your pre-screening qualifications. By asking those extra questions, you'll have a better picture of time wasters vs. time investors. Call the sweet deals within 24hrs. The others can wait, if you're DIY.

3. Don't call anyone back. Who wants to hassle with that!? Outsource the sales calls to virtual assistants you train. Let the VAs take the prospects through 90% of the process and then forward the call to you for the final close. Not every seller will survive the trip. You'll only pickup your phone for the strongest contenders.

4. Don't stress over spending a little $$$ to hire help. You've already seen the value of an answering service. Take it to the next level with an assistant and watch your biz grow! You can't close on the deals you can't make. Obviously, time is a huge factor. Since you can't clone Curt, train VAs to be Curt-like.

5. Finally, don't you dare think of slowing down your lead machine. Do you think you're the only one using that list?? The day a prospect doesn't receive your yellow letter is the day they get mine. Keep those yellow letters moving and scale your biz up to handle the results.

To our success!
Jeff