Premium Wrap Up

We’re picking up our discussion on premiums.  The two-part premium is a great way to increase your response rates, and more importantly, your ROI.

Two part premiums are a great way to cut the clutter, AND make sure you get the follow up response you’re looking for.  One of the best I ever was for a financial group.  It went to a highly selected list of CEO’s and CFO’s.  They were sent a glass case and in it was an autographed baseball with spots for two more.  If the prospect called and schedule an appointment they received the second ball.  They were given the third ball when the sale was finalized.

And they didn’t go on the cheap here either.  The balls were signed by Hall of Famers Stan Musial, Hank Aaron and Willy Mays!  The total cost for the signed baseballs and mailing was around $17,000, but it generated over $60,000,000.00 in business for the group.  This certainly cut the clutter, built a relationship and helped close the deal.

This is just one of many ‘Two-Part’ premiums you can offer.  Sending part of something demands the reader to respond for the second part.  Here are a couple more ideas:

• Mail the headphones only, when they respond they get a free iPod and guess whose sales message is on there!
• Mail an empty tool kit case.  When they call or an appointment they get the tools.

If you haven’t already, you need to find out the lifetime value (LTV) of your average client.  You need this vital information about your business.  Going into a marketing campaign without knowing your LTV, is like entering an archery contest and not knowing where the target is located!  How do you know where to shoot?  How hard?  How high?  How low?  Pretty tough.

For example, Let’s say, my average sale from a first time client is $100.00.  I know that they’ll be worth $200 each year for 5 more years, the average length of a professional relationship in my business.  That client is worth $1,100 to me.  I now have a basis of where I can start my marketing campaign.

It is also vital to know your average sale.  $5, $50, $5,000?  How much of that are you willing to give away for a purchase?  Or an appointment?  Do you close well?  If so, you just need to get more appointments and  premium may be just what you need to give you  that bump.    You simply need to find the premium to match your budget.  If your LTV is smaller, use an appropriate smaller premium.  If you have a large transaction size, a more lavish or expensive premium may be in order.

Here are some questions to ask yourself when adding premiums to your offer.

• Do(es) the bonus(es) have a high perceived value?
• Can you make bonuses by breaking out parts of your product?
• Are you going to use non-linked bonuses?
• Are the bonuses set up to be more desired than the product?
• Are you using bonuses to enhance purchase of upgrade (deluxe) product choice?
• Are you creating or buying multiple bonuses, instead of just one?
• Can you link bonuses to fast response? (time, limited quantity, first time buyers, etc)
• Are you offering unannounced bonuses either at purchase or after?