Posted flyers...

[tony84]

Hi,

I had some flyers done which i put on here a few weeks back and received some decent feedback.

Theyre basically promoting Income Protection insurance.

I have posted in the region of 1600 and still have another 3000-3500 to go.

I posted about 600 on thursday, maybe another 300 on Fri, and probably another 700 today.

I havnt had 1 call yet.

I have posted these in a number of different areas including some nice parts of manchester (yes there are some before any smart ass says anything ) and some not so nice areas but where there is a likelyhood of young families.

I have read that there is a 1-3% response rate...so i would have expected a couple of calls atleast - even if you dont include todays as its not even 5pm yet. How long would you expect to have to wait before receiving any calls?

 

[MancunianCreative]

Where in Manchester? As in the actual city, there is only Didsbury that's worth bothering with and that gets sooooo many leaflets through the doors with the amount of takeaways locally

 

[tony84]

I live in Heaton Mersey.

I have done Didsbury today. I have also done Heaton Mersey, Heaton Moor, Northenden and a small bit of Cheadle.

I will hopefully be doing Bramhall, Urmston and maybe a bit more of Cheadle later this week.

 

[MancunianCreative]

That's Stockort, Cheshire and a bit of Trafford. Not MCR.....

Alrtincham is usually a decent area to leaflet. Some very nice places round there.

What's the limit you offer income protection at? I'm guessing pro athletes can't have that?

 

[tony84]

Northenden and Didsbury are Manchester although i have only done small areas - ie not the massive houses as those people will most likely have financial advisors already.

Most people can have Income Protection...including Pro Athletes depending on their sport. I also sell Life Insurance, Critical Illness etc although these arnt mentioned on the flyers. Im not thinking i should have mentioned them but hey ho thats part of the learning process.

 

[Leaflet Drop]

The Thing is, your not guaranteed a response. You might not even get one call. Thats the risk you take. Hope you get some though.

 

[WJP]

What a positive, ringing endorsement of your own services Leaflet Drop...

 

[MediYeah]

Leaflet response can be so unpredictable.

One of my clients when he first started his own business did something like 5,000 leaflets for his personal training services. He had a total response of 2 calls and no sales.

But another of my clients had a really successful campaign when they tried leafleting.

Think outside the box a bit. You get so many leaflets through your door these days - whether on their own, with the post, bundled with local papers - you need to have something stand out a bit.

I cannot for the life of me remember the company name, but on smarta.com, in their smarta 100 awards last year they gave an award to a cleaning company that started up by buying a load of cheap sponges and labels, writing the business name/number/contact details on the labels and sticking them on the sponge and putting them through doors.

If someone put a sponge through my door I would probably take notice of it more than the leaflets - and even remember it, whether the service was right for me or not.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

You have to look at your target market and your approach.

I would buy a pizza from a leaflet through the door, but probably not IPI! It would have to be a great leaflet to tempt me (assuming I was after the service).

 

[Leaflet Drop]

What a positive, ringing endorsement of your own services Leaflet Drop...

Its just a fact, Only thing we can guarantee is all material will be delivered. It's actually something we tell each and every customer, simply because a lot of customers blame the delivery company when they get no responses. I could tell them lies and quote figures from around the net. That would just be putting pressure on ourselves. People should be intelligent enough to know the risks of any advertising campaign.

 

[tony84]

I got to around 2500 of the things posted. Ive got the same in a box here.

I wouldnt mind posting them if it was sunny, but now the bad weather has set it i really cant be bothered. If i had 1-2 calls then i would probably make the effort but nothing is quite disheartening.

To be hoenst as i was posting them i realised i should have put something that says we also do life insurance, mortgages etc but hey ho.

I have given it a try i might get something in the future people may save it or whatever but if not then its "only" £80 lost. It wont break the bank. I was just hoping for atleast 1 client from it atleast that would have more than paid for itself.

 

[Feldon]

I use to be a mortgage and protection advisor and posted 10,000 leaflets without one reponse. I'm afraid to say i learnt the hard way that this type of product does not lend itself to leaflets. 1% to 2% response, forget it your not going to get it, and certainly not in this economic climate. I think a more realistic reponse is more likely to be 0.10% to 0.3%, which i managed with a Will Writing leaflet, still a difficult product to sell. Even my current business carpet cleaning only manages around the 0.3%, but you need to get out at least 5,000 per month to make it worthwhile.

When people start cutting back the first thing they look cut back on is the things they don't need "now" and insurance related products are amoungst the first to fall by the wayside.

Sorry to be so harsh but you need to target people who are looking for this type of product and those are likely to be from sourcing leads from moneysupermarket and leadbay etc, however rubbish the leads might be you will still probably have a better response.

For me it was easier to sell related insurance, ie. life, asu, critical & income at the same time as mortgage.

 

[Leaflet Drop]

You need to realise its also about getting your name out there. Also You may get responses, but it might take weeks, even months. Its not a lost cause because after a few days no-one has been in touch.

Also what you might like to do is, do another drop on the same area in a couple of weeks time, then one after that. all to the same houses. This seems to create a bigger response as people recognize the flyer the second and third time and dont bin them as quickly.

 

[Leaflet Drop]

Also you have only posted 2,500. The odds of a response drop dramatically. I wouldn't suggest anything less than 10,000 myself.

 

[Feldon]

Yes in my experience you are likely to get a better response if you continuely drop leaflet to the same addresses every 6 to 8 weeks and it will certainly help with getting your name known. I do get people call me back months after I dropped the leaflet but generally reponse is within a week of the leaflet.

Personally i think there are better ways to target people for income protection and I think a reponse of 1% to 2% if very unlikely for this product.

 

[tony84]

I wasnt even banking on 1% as i would have 25 people calling me by now.

I was just hoping for about 5 people in the whole 5000 so if you said 2.5 people from what i have posted i would be fairly happy as i know i would complete on atleast 1 which would more than pay for itself.

 

[Leaflet Drop]

Yes, but you have only delivered 2,500? and this was only over the last couple of days, Its Friday now, people may call you after the weekend.

 

[tony84]

I started last Thursday. I did some on the friday, monday and Tuesday.

Ive been busy with work since then but those were appointments already booked in before the posting started.

 

[Steve Sellers]

I think a more realistic reponse is more likely to be 0.10% to 0.3%, which i managed with a Will Writing leaflet, still a difficult product to sell.

How many leaflets did you put out for that response and what type of areas? (in terms of how affluent the areas are?)

 

[Feldon]

How many leaflets did you put out for that response and what type of areas? (in terms of how affluent the areas are?)

Hi Steve

I put out 10,000 good quality tri-fold leaflets with free postage tear off response card for further information and dropped to a mix of all types of property. The town was Banbury and I leafleted the whole town twice over a 3 month period. I was hoping for a higher response but it did not materialize and I no longer opporate as a Will Writer as I just did not generate enough enquires.

 

[Steve Sellers]

I couldn't be cheeky an ask for a copy of the leaflet(if you still have it), not to copy just to see how yours looked and what type of copy you had in it....If you can let me know if it ok to pm you with my email address?

Thanks

Steve

 

[S-Marketing]

Income protection, will writing, insurance and all associated financial services are not difficult to market, but equally it is easy to do it wrong.

It's a lucrative area of business but if you want to reap the rewards you really need to change up a gear in your marketing. Wandering the streets with leaflets isn't the way to do it.

 

[Feldon]

I couldn't be cheeky an ask for a copy of the leaflet(if you still have it), not to copy just to see how yours looked and what type of copy you had in it....If you can let me know if it ok to pm you with my email address?

Thanks

Steve

Hi Steve

Sorry this was back in 2009 and no longer have any copies. As I was a member of the Institute of Professional Will Writers I used their leaflet that other members said they had a good return on printed up with my details on. If you do wills and are not a member of the IPW would strongly recommend them as they are very professional.

 

[Steve Sellers]

Hi Steve

Sorry this was back in 2009 and no longer have any copies. As I was a member of the Institute of Professional Will Writers I used their leaflet that other members said they had a good return on printed up with my details on. If you do wills and are not a member of the IPW would strongly recommend them as they are very professional.

Thank you. I am not a member of the IPW. In all honesty I am sceptical of paying money to be part of an organisation who are toothless and whose entry requirements are minimal. I could be wrong though. I would certainly join if as a very minimum and LL.B or LPC qualification was needed to join (i know that qualifies for certain grades of membership). I find it wholly appalling that somebody with no previous legal experience or knowledge can attend a 1-2 day course and then write wills & trusts etc.

 

[tony84]

Thank you. I am not a member of the IPW. In all honesty I am sceptical of paying money to be part of an organisation who are toothless and whose entry requirements are minimal. I could be wrong though. I would certainly join if as a very minimum and LL.B or LPC qualification was needed to join (i know that qualifies for certain grades of membership). I find it wholly appalling that somebody with no previous legal experience or knowledge can attend a 1-2 day course and then write wills & trusts etc.

I agree, ive been asked by a few people if i do wills and ive put it off. Ive always said to contact a solicitor but i am seriously debating doing some sort of course as its a decent money earner and could be a way to get more clients in the long run.

 

[Steve Sellers]

Income protection, will writing, insurance and all associated financial services are not difficult to market, but equally it is easy to do it wrong.

It's a lucrative area of business but if you want to reap the rewards you really need to change up a gear in your marketing. Wandering the streets with leaflets isn't the way to do it.

Any suggestion with that?

 

[Steve Sellers]

I agree, ive been asked by a few people if i do wills and ive put it off. Ive always said to contact a solicitor but i am seriously debating doing some sort of course as its a decent money earner and could be a way to get more clients in the long run.

In your line of work the opportunity of upselling if you do Wills is there. Equally in my line of work the opportunity to make money in referral fees is there. Will writing isn't an easy buck though. If done incorrectly there could be a time bomb waiting to explore when the client dies. Sometimes it's better to be be a master of a few trades rather than a jack of all trades.

 

[Feldon]

Thank you. I am not a member of the IPW. In all honesty I am sceptical of paying money to be part of an organisation who are toothless and whose entry requirements are minimal. I could be wrong though. I would certainly join if as a very minimum and LL.B or LPC qualification was needed to join (i know that qualifies for certain grades of membership). I find it wholly appalling that somebody with no previous legal experience or knowledge can attend a 1-2 day course and then write wills & trusts etc.

The IPW is actively seeking regulation as there are a lot of people without any formal training. I have also worked for one of the largest probate companies in the U.K and as for Wills written by solicitors well lets just say some of them were terrible and were not fit for purpose.

Whilst doing my two day training (actually you have to do quite a bit more studing at home than just the two days to pass the exam which I would put on a par with CeMAP exams in terms of level of dificulty)

The IPW also has several solictors as members as they see it as a valuable organisation in its own right. Whilst doing one of there courses there was a highly qualified solicitor who said that he was taking the course as it was so good at teaching the construction of Wills where as in is own words the legal profession don't teach you how write them just the case law etc, hence the amount of crap Wills out there which are so badly written.

 

[Steve Sellers]

The IPW is actively seeking regulation as there are a lot of people without any formal training. I have also worked for one of the largest probate companies in the U.K and as for Wills written by solicitors well lets just say some of them were terrible and were not fit for purpose.

Agree, in them circumstances it's normally solicitors who do it without experience/proper training.

own words the legal profession don't teach you how write them just the case law etc, hence the amount of crap Wills out there which are so badly written.

I think when I did my LPC I had about 4 hours on wills & probate - and this was not subject to assessment. Experience is the most important thing, but with the added case law knowledge, and general legal drafting experience Wills can be drafted to a much higher standard and that will negate far more potential pitfalls. I did some research on the Society of Will Writers and they seem to use software to create Wills.....not sure about the IPW?

 

[Feldon]

I looked at both the IPW and Society of Will Writers before deciding which outfit to go with and in my opion the IPW won by a mile. The IPW uses a good, but simple, will writing progam with trusts and clauses from Parkers, not foolproof, but close.

 

[patientlady]

Hi Tony84
I remember you posting the flyer before. I do think this is a hard sell, by flyer, however

• Have you flyered all the houses in your road
• Then knocked on there doors say a couple of days later to see if they read it, put it in the bin, kept it for a rainy day, even remember seeing it.
• Call back on each and every door if they were out the first time, until they answer your question, and use it as a survey

If nothing else you will have networked all your neighbours and met them and maybe you might get an honest answer from each one as a neighbour ...

Tony I think that networking meetings could be an 'easier' way to sales for Income protection insurance.
Good luck with the flyers tho I hope you do get some response

 

[tony84]

Thanks for the response.

I havnt knocked on the doors. I spent a good 20-30 hours posting them. If i then went networking i would be looking at about 3 weeks worth of talking to people.

Thankfully im not that quiet to have the time to do that. I would struggle to find time to post the other 2500 in the next week or 2.

I think i will just give the rest out to clients and ask them to put them up on their office noticeboard etc.

Im just sorry now i didnt get Critical Illness printed on the otherside and say we also do mortgages, life insurance etc.

Nevermind you live and learn. I dont think i will go flyer posting again. I have read what people have said with regards to doing 2-3 times but i dont have the time to keep finding a week to go out posting. I was thinking if i had 5 phone calls (1 per thousand) and managed to sell to 3 of them i would be happy.

Not to worry, you live and learn. As much as i dont think it is a viable business model for the long term, i think i might just go back to buying in leads or look at other ways of getting people onboard. I suppose all it takes is 1 of those 2000 to go off sick and say i wish i called Tony to some of his neighbours .... i dont really wish any of them gets sick.

 

[joecranejoe]

I must say that the other leaflet drop member on here isn't all too enthusiastic about his services...

As said before it is very hard to advertise a company that sells insurance via leaflets, but it may just be the leaflet hasn’t got enough appeal to it.

Could you post up a copy of your leaflet for us to take a look at?

 

[Leaflet Drop]

Its not that fact i'm not encouraging my services, its just that some people make up ratio's of responses. sometimes you may get 50% sometimes 0%, its the same with any advertising campaign. It was also the fact he has posted 2,500 and was expecting a response within a few days. He got wound up because he didnt.

 

[Leaflet Drop]

Also as Joe has stated, it could be down to the layout of the Flyer itself. you need to get peoples attention, you only have a small window to achieve this.

 

[ADAMATKIN84]

As mentioned on here leaflet distirbution sometimes can be unpredicatable but if you've got what people want and your advertising in the right area it can be amazing.
600 here and 500 there dosen't usualy yeald much. The best way is to do A few thousand on one place then move on to another.
We had a customer who used ourselves and complained he got no responses yet his own campaign he had done himself had no responses also. We had mentioned to him he was choosing the wrong areas. After some advice from ourselves on areas his next drop was much more effective.
So all i would say is make sure you know your clientel and that they are in the areas you are targetting.

 

[joecranejoe]

And as mentioned it probably all comes down the following factors:

Poorly designed leaflet (maximum 10 second viewing time)
Small quantities
Bad selection of areas

maybe you should be looking into a Face2Face drop. And only targeting the kind of people who look like they would use your service, after all you can’t see who lives inside the house?

And if that doesn't work, try a different type of advertising...just remember not everything can be sold via a leaflet (just most things )