You will succeed at business-to-business direct mail sales lead generation if you master three calculations, and your response rate is not one of them. Your response rate tells you only a small part of what you are doing correctly.
I am assuming that you have a sales force, and that you use what is essentially a two-step sales process. First, you generate a sales lead. Then, your sales force closes that lead with a sale. But how do you figure out what level of response rate you want? By looking at three of the most vital numbers in B2B direct mail lead generation, namely, qualified lead rate, appointment rate and close rate.
Qualified lead rate
Your qualified lead rate is the percentage of all inquiries that are ready to meet a sales person. In other words, the percentage of all leads who are also qualified leads. If you have 100 leads but only 25 of them are qualified (can afford your offering, have the authority to buy, need what you are selling and are ready to act within your timeframe), then your qualified lead rate is 25%, the industry average. Good for you!
Appointment rate
Your appointment rate is the percentage of qualified leads that result in a sales appointment or demonstration. For many reasons, not all qualified leads will meet with your salespeople. The industry average is 30%. Thirty percent of all qualified leads should meet with your sales people.
Close rate
Your close rate is the percentage of sales appointments that translate into a sale. Sometimes this number is expressed as a ratio. If you close two out of every four potential customers that you meet, then your close rate is 50%, or two out of four. The average in most industries is 25%, or one out of four.
As you can see, the most important question in B2B direct mail lead generation is not What is our response rate going to be? If you have a small sales force and high close rates, you can be satisfied with low response rates. But if you have a large sales force and low close rates, you need higher response rates.
The secret is to remember that your direct mail response rates tell you how successful you are at generating leads, and no more. How good you are at turning those leads into paying customers is another story.
2006 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this article online and in print provided the links remain live and the content remains unaltered (including the "About the Author" message).
About the author
Alan Sharpe is a direct mail copywriter who helps business owners and marketing managers generate leads, close sales and retain customers using direct mail marketing. Learn more about his creative direct mail writing services and sign up for free weekly tips like this at http://www.sharpecopy.com.
2006 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this article online and in print provided the links remain live and the content remains unaltered (including the "About the author" message).
Nurture Sales Leads with Direct Mail Marketing
Direct mail is a cost-effective way to make sales and generate leads. But its also an excellent way to keep your brand name in front of customers, and to nurture leads until they become customers.At my direct mail lead generation firm, our definition...
Direct Mail Envelope Tips For Successful B2B Lead Generation Sales Letters
In business-to-business direct mail lead generation, more prospects see your mailing envelope than will ever see what is inside. Thats because prospects spend only a few seconds examining your envelope before deciding whether to peruse it or pitch it...
Direct Mail Still Works For Lead Generation
You probably wonder why when you go home to your mailbox everyday and open it up theres dozens and dozens of postcards and other direct mail pieces sitting waiting for you everyday. If youre like me youre probably tired of having to weed all that ju...
Direct Marketing Associations
Direct marketing is the most dynamic solution today for sales promotion, lead generation, and traffic building, as well as mail-order sales and database marketing. Like in any other industry-related service, associations also govern direct marketing....
Direct Mail Sales Letters Flow Better With Subheads
A subscriber to my newsletter asks: "Got any good pointers on writing great sub-heads?" Yes, I do. Here they are.Use subheads to draw attention to your copy
Why do we use subheads anyway? Because you cant just cover the important points in your copy...
Direct Mail Formats: How to Choose the Right One for Your Next Mailing
Which pulls the best response, a postcard, a self-mailer or a letter? The answer, youll be irritated to know, is clear. It depends.The success of your mailing depends on who you mail to (your list), what you promise (your offer), when you mail (your ...
Use Pain Instead of Credentials in Direct Mail Marketing Lead Generation
How do you generate sales leads with direct mail
when you have no credentials?Im talking about the financial planner with much
education but no demonstrated expertise. The brand
new lettershop with no industry experience and zero
publicity. T...
In B2B Direct Mail Lead Generation, Sell Your Offer, Not Your Offering
In business-to-business direct mail lead generation, sell your offer, not your product.This sounds like lethal advice to a sales person, and it is, to a salesperson responsible for closing sales and meeting quota. But your direct mail is not responsi...
Offer Self-Assessments, Not White Papers, in Direct Mail Lead Generation
Are you a business-to-business direct mail marketer
looking for something better to offer than white
papers? Consider self-assessment surveys.But first, lets clarify a few things. Im assuming
youre a B2B direct marketer who uses direct mail to ...
Like Direct Mail, Landing Page Conversion Starts Above The Fold
In the Good Old Days of direct mail, which is to say, before 1997 and the advent of the Internet, I and other direct mail marketers agonized over what to put above the fold.Maybe you did as well.That tiny top panel on a sales letter or self-mailer ha...
