So Why is Everyone Waiting To Correctly Market Themselves To Seniors
Tuesday, 03 November 2009 08:55
Articles - Sales and Marketing
For years I have been shocked to see how POORLY many Reverse Mortgage agents and their companies were at promoting their services to the senior market - a market that is continuously bombarded with junk mail, offers and solicitations from so many organizations wanting to reach this very sensitive and guarded audience (and rightfully so, by the way).
How about using the most proven old-fashioned way to personally send those folks an important message, in the most “American-type” format and one of the most powerful promotional and emotional vehicles in the world-YES, DIRECT MAIL LETTERS (done the correct way that is).
Other than a referral, direct mail is still the most personal, emotional and accepted medium to make a connection with people. Not the direct mail that you see out there in the industry; not those flimsy flyers, cheap postcards, and not those tiny newspaper ads. Think of this, you are marketing a very special product (backed by the government) that needs to be immediately associated with TRUST, CREDIBILITY, and REPUTATION. So you use cheap methods to promote it? Why? Do you understand how important your image is when you are asking seniors to listen to your advice and then to meet with you, a total stranger?
The way you look in the mailbox will tell a lot about you and your services. Does that make sense to you? That is the very first impression that you make with your targeted audience. What do you want them to think or perceive? I see agents with nice business clothes, nice cars, nice homes, nice offices, and nice presentation materials, yet their marketing looks CHEAP!
Have you ever seen a wedding invitation in a postcard format? How about Hallmark? Do you see cheap looking postcards in the greeting card aisles? The answer is NO. You see personalized and emotion-eliciting messages on nice stationery that is delivered in an envelope. Personalized is the critical word here. Generic does not cut it in today’s world. “You will never save your way into success”, ever heard that before?
“Other than a referral, direct mail is still the most personal, emotional and accepted medium to make a connection with people.”
The same goes for marketing. Good marketing that works costs money. Good marketing is an investment not an expense. If it is an expense to you, STOP doing it the wrong way. Bad marketing is very expensive. Most do not use mail because they claim that it did not work for them. Of course it didn’t because it was done wrong to begin with. A local printer or letter-shop is not a marketing company. They usually print what you tell them to print. So you are now a marketer also? I thought you sold Revere Mortgages? Stick to selling, that is where the real money is made. Hire professional and experienced marketers to handle your promotions.
You can fill seminars with qualified 62-year-old seniors, you can generate lots of calls to your office, or you can meet face to face with interested prospects if you know how to use the art of highly personalized mail.
By the way, 98% of your competition will never do this so that is a huge advantage for you.
I wanted to write this article to talk you out of spending money in foolish marketing and to help the RM industry’s credibility by adding a personal touch when marketing to that highly respected senior population that really needs your product and your help. It’s the way you present it that will help Reverse Mortgages gain more understanding and popularity in that community. Help stop the poor image and low quality advertising that agents are using to promote your industry because it’s hurting all of you.
The direct mail industry has come a long way. There are better mailing lists today. There is advanced printing equipment that will help you look great with clever packaging. There are imaging techniques that calculate the amount of money each prospect in your mailing list could receive using your Reverse Mortgage product. The dollar amounts (payments, lump sum, charts, etc.) get printed on each individual letter and it’s different for every household you mail to. Each mail piece is personalized specifically to your prospect. That will make a huge difference to your success in the mailbox and add incredible impact to your message.
Remember, it all starts with you. You have to do things the right way. You need to understand mail (how’s, do’s and don’ts), you have to be willing to spend money and then you have to be willing to stick to the best practices - NO JUNK MAIL.
I love that show The Dog Whisperer on TV. Have you seen it? I often use it as a life & and business analogy. It’s about a fellow Mexican - a dog trainer - who seems to fix any dog, anywhere, any place with any behavioral problem. He walks into homes and within an hour, sometimes minutes, and cures the animal from its real bad even dangerous habits. Here is the clue on how he does it: he really cures the people that own the dogs. He says it all of the time. “I am not really fixing your pet, he just wants to be a dog. I am really fixing YOU because his or her behavior is occurring because of you.”
You see it’s not the mail. It’s not the industry, and it’s not the seniors. It’s YOU that we need to fix and how you market yourself and Reverse Mortgages. Get it?
Yes, no doubt, the industry’s recent changes with payouts and the economy have hurt everyone but the fact is there is still a need for your product and there are millions of seniors who are qualified to receive it. Are you just going to walk away from everything? Are you going to quit? That is definitely an option but if you want to stay in the business
“You see it’s not the mail. It’s not the industry, and it’s not the seniors. It’s YOU that we need to fix and how you market yourself and Reverse Mortgages. Get it?”
you better learn how to make your marketing more effective and how to get the most ROI from your promo dollars. Doing things wrong is not an option; you cannot afford to go down that road. Yet I see many irresponsible marketers out there peddling undesirable “junk mail looks” to make a buck. Remember what happened to the forward mortgage market? A lot of bad brokers ruined it for the rest and gave the industry a bad name with their poor marketing schemes.
So, a nice looking, well written and personalized old-fashioned American letter done the old fashioned way is the way to go. Let’s remember, these are seniors you are talking to. My mom and dada, your parents, our grandparents - so how do you want to be perceived? Think about it. What you just read should make sense. Just do it the right way. It’s really up to you now.
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