Residential Marketing Techniques

[James]

James your reply drove home some good points.

My community is middle class and we require a $200 fee and city council approval to pass out flyers. Bit steep in my eyes but has cut down drasticaly on trash and a constant flow of people knocking on our door.

Now this isn't so bad, for $200 you are a "Authorize" distributor!

 

[NHB_MMA]

And you accuse me of smoking crack!

Only on the election comment, and I would maintain that you smoked a rock the size of a basketball, as I could see this coming for a long time. :wink: I don't say that gloating either. I'm a Republican and voted almost entirely for GOP candidates, but the party has become an embarassment that probably has Reagan rolling over in his grave. When the neo-con in the Whitehouse made Clinton look like a fiscal conservative by comparison and talked about what amounts to amnesty for illegals, the tired gay-marriage warcry proved to not be enough to bring them to the polls.

Lets see, so far you have done nothing and now you want not to Market but Brand your Name, yet you work for NYL that has excellent Branding within the Industry with great name presense!

I might have been looking at it wrong, but I want people to know there is a NYL agent in the town, as they don't see it like they do a half dozen SF agencies. No matter what you sell, you have to sell yourself and that won't change. In no way was I meaning I am bigger than NYL.

Lets face it, if you go R2R, 80-90% of the people you will actually say Hi too will not be interested in your product! In other words you will effectively be donating 80-90% your time, energy and money towards people that have no use for your product.

Very true, but it would probably be 95% of my time donated if I relied solely on telemarketing, for an example. The idea, in my thinking, is picking up those that would have otherwise not responded. People have a certain amount of reluctance and intimidation to them. The more direct and "in your face" (referring to personal contact, not pushiness, although that too is a factor) the marketing, the higher the percentages go. When you sit down and go through a presentation with a prospect, 20% to 80% will buy something (based on numbers I've heard here). Why do only 1/4% to 1/2% of people respond to your ad. The quick answer is that the rest aren't interested, and indeed many are not, but there is also something to be said about it's harder for them to say "no" to you standing at their door, in the flesh, versus saying "no" to your advertisement. Some of them that agree to see you will end up seeing the need before it's all said and done.

I realize I'm not telling you anything you don't know with my above comments, so don't think I'm patronizing. The two factors that determine sensible marketing are (1) What will I be able to do or feel comfortable with? and (2) What is most effcient? It's a trial and error game.

What I think is that you are seriously looking at this completely wrong! What you are describing is Branding, if you was running a Cereal Company like Kellogs I would say great idea! Yet you are not, you sell Insurance so go out and prospect!

Believe me, I appreciate your input and any suggestions you offer, but I'm a little confused. Are you saying I'm putting too much focus on me and not NYL? Can you break it down a little more?

Market to people that have the need and ability to pay for the product you wish to sell too. Around here most gated communities do not allow R2R, most upper scaled neighborhoods will have the cops checking/running you out if you start door to door. Basically leaving you (at least around here) to middle to lower middle class neighborhoods.

That's a good point. How do you propose one breaks into the upper income market? They probably have their number unpublished and hidden from many lists. I could do the direct mail route, but that is low percentage and will end up being expensive. To me, it seems like networking is the only way. Guess I better pencil-in the wine-tasting event on my calendar.

Anyway, the middle-class market will always be my bread and butter, I would imagine.

NYL=WL, that is not a product for those that are living under 50 grand but likely buyers will be those that have a need and make more then 100 grand in general.

There might be some opportunity for relatively small WL sales there. As I've said before, and I think you specifically would agree with me, I think most people should own a small amount of it. That being said, 50K to 100K earners are basically candidates for mutual funds, which will pay next to nothing, unless they're putting in a large amount or rolling over. However, they can be a source of referrals for LTC and annuity clients, the two other areas NYL has an established reputation in.

So I would highly suggest figuring out the best way to identify these people and how to approach them in the most favorable light. So now explain to me when are they home? What time is best to hit them when they are at home?

In the freakin' evening when I'm at my primary job. :x

Ps, I just want you to know in my house and alot of others the Frig is prime realstate! In other words in my house, who should I piss off my wife or son as I would have to take something down of thiers too place your magnet.

Really? You have the whole thing covered or something? Looking at my fridge I count 18 small magnets and they're probably about 1"x1", on average. There are a couple of papers on there, but I don't take anything down but rather just put the magnets all the way around the edge of the paper. Only the top part has anything on it and not the bottom. Maybe I'm not thinking and maybe the fridge magnet is not quite as hot of an item as I envisioned. I know I like the things and it's not like I've ever walked into anyone's home and been thinking "#&*^!!! Could this dude have any more magnets on his refrigerator?" Maybe I'll have to steer towards calendars.

 

[NHB_MMA]

My community is middle class and we require a $200 fee and city council approval to pass out flyers. Bit steep in my eyes but has cut down drasticaly on trash and a constant flow of people knocking on our door.

In Pennsylvania, no municipality, borough, or like entity can make anyone that has a valid insurance license purchase a solicitation permit for insurance purposes. Much of my work will be in the border states of WV and OH. I don't know if they could tell me if there is a similar law if I called the DOI or whether I would get someone clueless.

 

[James]

Really? You have the whole thing covered or something? Looking at my fridge I count 18 small magnets and they're probably about 1"x1", on average. There are a couple of papers on there, but I don't take anything down but rather just put the magnets all the way around the edge of the paper. Only the top part has anything on it and not the bottom. Maybe I'm not thinking and maybe the fridge magnet is not quite as hot of an item as I envisioned. I know I like the things and it's not like I've ever walked into anyone's home and been thinking "#&*^!!! Could this dude have any more magnets on his refrigerator?" Maybe I'll have to steer towards calendars.

Yes my frig is covered! I'm not kidding, oh well you have another problem. A friend of mine has one of them new ones with a built in TV! I love it! Gonna have to get one. TV with ice and water dispenser, I mean what the hell else could one want from a Frig?

 

[James]

That's a good point. How do you propose one breaks into the upper income market? They probably have their number unpublished and hidden from many lists. I could do the direct mail route, but that is low percentage and will end up being expensive. To me, it seems like networking is the only way. Guess I better pencil-in the wine-tasting event on my calendar.

Anyway, the middle-class market will always be my bread and butter, I would imagine.

I would agree that the top part of the middle class including the upper middle class will be your bread and butter with NYL and the obvious W/L you have. The LTC is something that I also would agree would be a big mover if present it right esp. if you get your 7 license and start acting as a FP more so then a Ins Agent.

I'm all for Networking and trying to perfect it myself. Yet I'm not sure how your "circle of influence" that you can start with? I find many look at that quite wrongly, like trying to sell specifically to your COI (circle of influence), what I mean is using it to acquire conections your circle can place you with! I have one close friend of the family that was able to get me into a fairly large clinic, a orthopedic group with a lot of Nurses and Therapist including a fairly good size home health agency that I was able to market a Voluntary Benefits, mainly LTC. From there it netted a lot of side business such as life and health.

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

Guys, I think a lot of your are missing the point. I have a very good high school buddy who sells medical equipment. He tries to land about 4 to 6 new accounts per year at hospitals and other medical facilities. His territory is 4 states and he cold-calls on medical facilities, tries to get his foot in the door and set up a meeting. It's about 10 hours a day of work. He also made slightly over $200,000 last year.....for 4 to 6 accounts.

It's not about 80%, 95% or 99% being interested. It's about how much time you spend at work versus how much you're making. How about a salesman who works a solid 8 hours a day, sells one item per week but that item earns him $5,000? I'd say he's doing well.

For about three years I sold home improvements. I ran 3 appointments per day five days a week. Landing three deals was a good week and made me between $1,500 to $2,000 a week. That's closing 3 out of 15 deals.

So it doesn't matter if you're going Residential or BtoB - only a very small percentage are going to be interested in anything you're selling. But if you're doing 2 to 3 hours a day or marketing, then spending the rest of your time closing deals and end up making six figures that's all that matters.

Listen, you can't give stuff away for free. I go to New York very often and marketers are often on the sidewalks giving away free samples of some new product. And when the markets are there you can see this huge sea of people moving so they can avoid getting the free sample. Last time I was at the mall a smoothie place was offering free samples. It was a huge mass of hundreds of people simply walking right by and just a few stopping for the sample. Far less than 1% stopped......for a free smoothie shot. And we're selling insurance.

 

[James]

It's not about 80%, 95% or 99% being interested. It's about how much time you spend at work versus how much you're making. How about a salesman who works a solid 8 hours a day, sells one item per week but that item earns him $5,000? I'd say he's doing well.

Okay let me ask this simple question, he is trying to peddle NYL Insurance and then wants to move over to Financial Planning with them. Now we all know basically what NYL is selling hopefully that is not a point of contention. So we know it takes about the same amount of time hitting a X number of homes or businesses (depending upon area). Now you tell me, exactly which one would you venture to guess would pan out better?

Outside of that you can hit businesses in the AM right on thru to the PM, yet to hit homes exactly what time would you hit them? How much time can you actually spend hitting residential targets compare to business targets? Its a no brainer! Yea sure show up at a residence at 7-8 AM or hell maybe 4 PM, just how succesful would that be?

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

Sometimes you actually have to try it instead of just posting about it on the internet. If it works it works and if it doesn't it doesn't. I've had many failed marketing concepts.

Residential sales are a time-proven sales system. Will it work with his concept? Dunno - go out there and try it.

 

[NHB_MMA]

Yes my frig is covered! I'm not kidding, oh well you have another problem. A friend of mine has one of them new ones with a built in TV! I love it! Gonna have to get one. TV with ice and water dispenser, I mean what the hell else could one want from a Frig?

I haven't heard of that one. I guess I do remember years ago hearing about how, in the future, the fridge and microwave will have screens on them with touchscreen web browsers. That one is an exaggeration, me thinks.

 

[NHB_MMA]

Listen, you can't give stuff away for free. I go to New York very often and marketers are often on the sidewalks giving away free samples of some new product. And when the markets are there you can see this huge sea of people moving so they can avoid getting the free sample. Last time I was at the mall a smoothie place was offering free samples. It was a huge mass of hundreds of people simply walking right by and just a few stopping for the sample. Far less than 1% stopped......for a free smoothie shot. And we're selling insurance.

It's a little different situation if I'm giving the mug or magnet at the house, cause they can't avoid me once they answer the door. :wink: It goes back to the reluctance and intimidation thing. You can't set up a little table and chair and wait for people to come up and get your promo item. You have to hand it to them.

If it doesn't work well within the residential community, I'll just go handing them out to businesses.