New Ways to Reach Out to Planning Prospects

I'm always seeking new and creative ways to reach out to planning prospects.

Recently, I was introduced to Konrad Martin.

I'm at a Florida CPA conference as an exhibitor. I'm sitting at the booth with my colleague Derek Miele, who said, "You need to meet my friend Konrad Martin. He's at the booth behind us, and he's incredible."

Derek was right. According to Konrad, president of Tech Advisors, an IT support and cloud management firm, innovative marketing has been the key to growth. And he was willing to share his marketing ideas.

Here are five creative techniques that Konrad uses as part of his firm's direct mail and marketing campaigns.

(Of course, before trying these at home, run them by your compliance advisors.)

1. He sends an aspirin.

The message: "Is your current IT company giving you a headache?"

2. He sends a box with the firm's logo to interested prospects.

He mails it first class, so that the box arrives the night before they are meeting.

Contents include his book and some information about the company.

And he puts in a $100,000 chocolate bar with this message: "This is what a criminal hack can cost your company."

The message: "We translate geek talk into English."

3. He sends a magnifying glass.

The message: "It's time to take a closer look at your IT challenges."

4. Godfather. (He sends $1.)

The message: "Here's a dollar. I'm making an offer you can't refuse."

5. He sends a poker chip with his logo.

The message: "Don't trust your IT to luck."

Methods

Here are more details about how he coordinates the firm's direct mail campaigns.

The Strategy:

They make five phone calls and send six emails after a letter is sent.
They're doing 11 touches after the initial mailing.
It's a three-week cycle from the first mailing to the end of the first campaign.
If there's no interest, in four months they'll begin another campaign.

The Process:

Week 1: They first scrub the list by sending a postcard. They want to make sure the address is correct.

Week 2: They start with a phone call on Tuesday. They then switch to a turbo dialer.

Wednesday or Thursday is the best day to mail a letter.

The key messages: We are different. We are detailed. We can do it better.

Margie Barrie, an agent with ACSIA Partners, has been writing the LTCI Insider column since 2000. She is the author of two books and a frequent conference speaker.