I've seen response rates on a national basis really increase for direct mail campaigns. This increase is always very predictable when we have the type of market volatility we've seen lately. People are scared and in search of answers their present advisors are not giving them.
For those of you doing seminars, expect your response rates to climb as long as this market volatility lasts. Seminars are going to be very productive for many years to come and even more productive when we see spikes in response rates. We really are in a recession-proof business with a growing demographic of potential clients.
The mailing company you use should have a 24-hour live answering service to take your reservations. You don't want those calls coming in to your office. It is totally non-productive, and many people will call after hours and on weekends.
So let's say the mailing company drops your mail, now all you have to do is wait for a few days and all of a sudden people are calling in to make reservations to your event. This is really exciting, mostly because you don't have to do anything. Simply go to the Web site provided by the answering service and watch the numbers grow. A few days prior to your event you have to go back to work on the seminar process.
