The Mail-Five-Letters-a-Day Plan
The purpose of this report is to outline a simple, step-by-step program that will enable you to start making "sales by mail" immediately!
The first thing you must do is invest at least ten dollars in commission circulars. Order from at least twenty or thirty different dealers, each of whom will send you 100 small circulars for about .50 to $1.00. You will also find dealers who will give you FREE circulars, if you are willing to pay the postage on them. It would also be wise to obtain a few larger size circulars, such as 6 x 9 or 8 1/2 x 11's.
Be sure to order form DIFFERENT dealers. This is the only way to find out which dealers give fast service. It will also enable you to include a good variety of offerings in your mailings.
Regardless of how small your orders are, keep a record of them. You will find the information invaluable to you in the future. Your records should include:
The DATE of your order.
Name and ADDRESS of the dealer
AMOUNT of your purchase
The date on which your circulars ARRIVE.
Most circulars will arrive in about three weeks, due to the slow pace of third class mail. While you are waiting for your circulars to arrive, there are three more things you must obtain:
Small rubber stamp. (Small because many circulars leave very little space for your imprint).
Envelopes - Printed if possible, but not necessary in the beginning.
A small mailing list of "opportunity seekers". Order 100 different names from three different dealers. You can buy them on printed lists and address the envelopes yourself, or you can buy the names on gummed or peel and stick labels.
Some dealers offer "free" mailing lists, asking only that you pay for postage. The names on these lists are homeworkers and opportunity seekers who have paid to be listed. As long as your circulars are geared toward Opportunity seekers and New Mail Order dealers, you can make sales using these names. I have used them successfully myself. It is best to send a small mailing first, though. Some lists are quite old, and others have been worked to death.
As soon as your circulars start to arrive, set up a loose-leaf notebook to keep track of them. In your notebook, record the following information:
The NAME and ADDRESS of the SUPPLIER
DROP-SHIP INFORMATION - With most circulars, you keep 50% from each sales as your commission and forward the other 50% to the supplier, along with a shipping label addressed to your customer. However, there are variations; so you should keep a close record of each item you are trying to sell by mail.
CIRCULAR INFORMATION - Note how to obtain more circulars. Are they cheaper in larger quantities? Are they available with your name and address PRINTED on them?
Once you have about twelve to fifteen circulars, and have recorded the details in your notebook, YOU ARE READY TO START!
Take five envelopes, address them to names on your mailing list. Put one copy of each circular in each envelope. If it weighs over an ounce, but less than two ounces, postage required is 45 cents. It is not advisable to mail more than two ounces to new names. The postage costs are simply too high.
MAIL FIVE LETTERS EVERY DAY! (If you do not work on Sunday, mail ten letters on Saturday.)
Don't expect to get rich overnight. YOU WON'T. But if you mail every day, sooner or later you will start getting orders. Some people lay circulars aside and don't order from them until months later.
As soon as you receive an order, sit down and take care of it. Check your notebook for the name and address of the supplier. Prepare a shipping label and forward the correct amount to the drop-shipper. As soon as that is complete, ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR ORDER!
Be courteous, businesslike, and friendly - but not overly friendly. Tell your customer that you appreciate the order and that it is being shipped "under separate label direct from the supplier". (Most opportunity seekers understand the drop-ship process. Don't try to kid them!)
Along with your acknowledgment, INCLUDE SOME MORE CIRCULARS+even if you know the customer has already seen them! You will be surprised at how many follow-up orders this will bring you.
PLAN REGULAR MONTHLY MAILINGS TO EACH PERSON WHO MAKES A PURCHASE FROM YOU! This is a basic law of mail order selling, and yet 75% of all mail order dealers fail to use it. How many times have you purchased something by mail and then never heard from the dealer again? And...how many times has a letter arrived from someone you "knew", and you made another purchase because the first experience was such a good one? I have and I am sure you have, too.
YOUR BEST PROSPECTS ARE CUSTOMERS WHO HAVE ALREADY MADE A PURCHASE FROM YOU. Whenever someone makes a purchase from you, send him another mailing each month for at least three months. (If you are constantly requesting new commission circulars, you will always have something new to sell!) If no purchase is made after three months, lay the name aside for about six months, and them a make one more mailing. You will find that 90% of your customer will make repeat purchases from you, if you will follow this procedure religiously.
Keep testing new circulars. Re-Order the ones that produce sales for you. Eliminate the "duds". When you find a circular that produces a few orders for you, try to have it printed with YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS PRINTED on it.
The longer you mail circulars, the more profitable it will become+for several reasons:
Gradually you will develop a CUSTOMER LIST. This will ALWAYS produce more orders than a cold, untried list. You should keep mailing NEW circulars to this list REGULARLY.
Your envelopes will be carrying more good circulars and less duds. By constant experimentation, you can gradually develop a real money-making Mail Order package. When you find something that works, stick with it!
The Mail Order business has no limits - if you have a lot of drive and imagination. You can gradually increase the number of your mailings. And as the weeks and months pass, you can also increase the quality of your mailings.
As your reputation as a reliable Mail Order Dealer spreads, wholesalers and drop-ship sources will start sending you new offers - almost daily. TAKE TIME TO STUDY THOSE OFFERS - and then act upon the better ones.
Make up your mind to get into the Mail Order business with both feet - and then STAY IN IT! It will be the most rewarding and exciting experience of your lifetime!
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