“You need to repeat your ad many times to get patients calling/coming in”

I like that breakdown its funny…

But it’s not funny for the Doctor. Each mailing/ad eats into your capital. I suspect most doctors don’t have the ability to send 7 or 20 out before they get anything from it.

It’s demotivating

ask yourself this question: If the ad is not seen the first time, how will he know it’s been run before? So then the second run of the ad/mail is basically the first in the prospective patient’s eyes.

then ask yourself: who benefits from multiple runnings? The marketing company of course! It’s in their best interest to keep you running your mail saying “don’t worry, people will come after the Xth time” meanwhile you are broke.

Accountability is a foreign word to some.

But it is true that there are people that need multiple viewings to act. But human motivation to act (and ad frequency) largely depends on what and how you have written on it.

I know from our ads if there is a response from DAY 1 they go out. Below I will explain why and how.

Here is a few different types of ad/mailing messages and their frequencies:

1) The generic laundry list also called : “shot in the dark” marketing

- This is the standard dentist ad. Listing all your services and your hours. You have to cross your fingers
on this one because you have to have this infront of your prospective patient at the exact moment when they need you.

This is why 99% of ad reps say repetition is necessary – because it doesn’t work otherwise.
(the second reason is that the more you advertise, the more money they make, regardless of your results)

Upside:
- At least you are marketing and that is a good thing

Downside:
- Just like everyone else – nothing stands out against competitors.
- Screaming at people “don’t go to the other dentist, go to me” which is terrible and never works unless you are
the only provider
- Dentist spends massive amounts of capital in a game of roulette.

2) the “information packed” message

An upgrade from the shot in the dark marketing is the information packed one. Usually 8 page mailers and things like that are used.

These are preferred because you are providing content to people rather than just soliciting them.

They work sometimes. I have seen dentists use them in small towns and get massive numbers of patients.

But I have seen them utterly flop in highly competitive markets

Because nothing is different between the two different types.

Unfortunately, they are very expensive to use (more so than the shot in the dark style) and they are usually designed such that the same ones are being sent from Dentist A as well as Dentist B in the same area thus destroying its effectiveness.

So the risk is on the dentist side. To be effective, you need to send out 10,000 bulk of these , and cross your fingers no one else has.

result: They require less frequency than the above shot gun style because people tend to keep these around a bit longer for the information value…maybe they will show it to their spouse. You may get a trickle effect where someone shows up at your office months from now because they kept the ad.

Upside:
- information is valuable (as long as its not too pushy) so its kept longer than traditional ads.
- Gets more attention than regular ads.

Downside:
- They lack strategy
- They lack customization to your market
- Very expensive for a game of chance.
- Perform poorly in highly competitive areas but better than regular ads/marketing

3) direct response message

Using scientifically proven methods to get people to act.

At the heart of a direct response message is the compelling offer:
a finely tuned message that promises to give someone what they want
in a way they want it.

The compelling offer is determined by a) your market b) what medium your using c) your patient’s
awareness/fears/benefits of the service (such as whitening) and a few other things like
an expiry date and such.

upside:
- Need only 1 or 2 runs to determine effectiveness because of the compelling offer
- inexpensive compared to other message types.
- once you find the “sweet spot”, then it will run for a long time because it is
satisfying a particular desire of your prospective patients.
-it usually works systematically and predictably: I have an ad running now for 2 years, bringing
in cosmetic cases every time it’s run.
- Risk is more calculated than a gamble because you are at least closer to your patient’s desires and their minds.

Downside:
-requires testing to make it work
-Like all marketing, it may not yield fruit.
-You need some training on how to craft your message properly as there
are items that have to be in place first.

4) The promotional message

Not mutually exclusive with direct response style.

This is designed to be a big buildup to a specific event or product/service launch. Think big movie launches and remember all the things you saw/heard leading up to the big day.

We have used this style combined with direct response and got really impressive results.

Frequency: requires a few steps, but all strategically placed.

This is a high leverage message…meaning it will work BIG or work small, but still cost a lot. Dozens of cosmetic cases brought in at once can yield a lot of revenue very quickly to a practice.

Upside:
- Can bring in a lot of patients at a time.
- When done right, it’s usually that “magic bullet” that everyone is talking about.
- Gets more attention than regular advertising/mailing

There is a direct correlation between a website’s traffic level and the quantity of sales generated.

So, how can a business increase their quantity of website traffic?

While there are a variety of Internet marketing techniques available that all generate results, there are some options that have been proven more effective than others.

Attraction marketing techniques have gained a tremendous amount of recent attention for their ability to generate a high volume of website traffic for businesses of all types.

How can your business leverage attraction marketing techniques to generate income online?

Attraction marketing refers to techniques that attract people to your website, versus those that drive people to your website. In the past, direct sales pitches done door to door or over the phone worked like a charm.

Direct marketing efforts focusing on mail campaigns also used to produce a high level of results for businesses of all types. But with increased global competition has come consumer bombardment with advertisements over the radio, online, on TV and in print.

In today’s market, businesses must discover a way to stand out from their competition. And one of the most effective things for a business to do in order to stand out from their competition is to become a trusted advisor within their given industry or niche.

You can become the trusted expert within your business niche by sharing valuable information with your target audience. When you become a trusted and well known expert on a subject matter, individuals will seek you out for answers and information.

And when people seek you out, you have successfully mastered the art of attraction marketing.

While the concept of attraction marketing can be applied to offline strategies, the concept is more easily implemented online. And as the Internet continues to evolve, it will ever be expanding as the medium for consumer transactions and therefore a crucial platform of which businesses should market upon.

Common Attraction Marketing Techniques for Baby Boomers To Leverage

When Baby Boomers begin to develop their attraction marketing campaign, they should focus on mastering the basics. Several marketing techniques that can deliver results include social media, video sharing, blogs, article marketing and the distribution of information online.

The more information that you can distribute, the more consumers will begin to view you as a subject matter expert. And those individuals who are perceived to be subject matter experts will receive website traffic on a regular basis, as individuals are looking for more information and answers for their particular problems or issues.

As people visit your website, your next goal will be to capture their information so that you can continue to market to them over time.

Email is one of the best ongoing marketing methods available to businesses, as it is inexpensive, effective and allows you to stay in contact with leads over time.

Your marketing emails may not contain direct sales pitches on a regular basis, but they can contain valuable information that will continue to strengthen your position as a subject matter expert, leading to more and more sales for your business over time.

George Collins has been marketing on the Internet for many years. I will help you develop tons of traffic by showing you exactly how to attract people to you. Scope out our free information.

What is Direct Market Access (DMA) Trading?

Direct Market Access (DMA) trading allows private investors to trade shares amongst each other without the need for a broker.

Private investors generally buy and sell stocks and shares and other financial instruments from brokers acting as intermediaries with market makers. Using DMA private investors have greater control over their trades, although the middle man nas not yet been totally eliminated, as traders still need to use the services of a broker, albeit one that offers DMA.

The advantage of DMA trading is that investors can trade inside the spread. Normally a broker quotes a price such as 320 – 325 which means you buy at 325 but you sell at 320 the 5 point difference being known referred to as the ‘spread’. Clearly if you can trade inside the spread this is an advantage as it means the price of the financial instrument does not need to move as much to ensure that you make a profit.

DAM advantages to private investors are:-

It creates greater equality.

All orders have the same status, they are only prioritized in respect of price and time.

Increased visibility

Orders can be seen by the whole market. This allows all participants “full contribution to central market liquidity”.

Visibility of the depth of the order book

This visibility ensures that traders know how many buyers and sellers there are and also the price they are willing to trade at.

You can set your own price

Limit orders can be set at the price chosen by the trader and these prices are made available to the whole market.

Spreads are smaller

Limit orders are on public display, thus ensuring tighter spreads. This benefits the trader who placed the order, who has a greater chance of getting the price specified. It is also a benefit for the market as a whole as the reference price is tighter.

Participation in the auction

Private traders can take part in auctions pre- and post-market which is where the highest and lowest prices are seen.

DMA trading has obvious advantages and I suspect it will become more available as time goes by.

There are several scenarios in this old life that may have brought you here, and I sincerely hope that it was not a negative experience. But you have now decided that there is something more to life than giving it your all for corporate America only to further pad the fat pockets of the CEOs and their Wall Street cronies. Now, you have to choose what you are going to do and, preferably, it should be home based.

Your options:
-typing
-stuffing envelopes
-employment

No, you do not have to type for a living and, moreover, even though it can be done it is not a career to be sought unless you truly have a passion for writing.

What is that classified ad you always see -stuffing envelopes? Well, more often than not, you will pay $10-$49 dollars only to receive an instructional booklet teaching you how to place classified ads to recruit others to stuff envelopes and/or purchase your mocked-up version of the same booklet when they reply to the ad.

Return to employment? Well, we just left that scenario as it did not work out for us the first time now did it. Well, what are your other options for legitimate work at home businesses without significant capital outlay?

USANA – a well respected network marketing program where you purchase nutritional products for your own use and sell the same to friends, family and others.

Shaklee – another well respected network marketing program whose offer a similar line of nutritional products plus some impressive green home care products in addition to these. Shaklee has impressive products and was even recently featured on Oprah.

Well, I looked into both of the above and many other programs for my home based business venture and none of them worked for me. Now, don’t get me wrong. Both of the above mentioned companies are good, legitimate and workable opportunities, but I did not like several facts to do with these and similar opportunities as none of them met my simple 4-Point Evaluation criteria.

-too many low cost products to sell to make a reasonable living

-having to convert my family and friends to the products to start with due to the fact that the lead generation tools provided with the programs are, in my opinion, holdovers from Tupperware parties and the Amway sales zealots.

-the fact that you have to establish hundreds or more down line sales folk, or converted zealots, before you see any decent returns.

What I look for and a short list you may use in evaluating opportunities for direct sales companies is as follows:

-a solid, higher value, and times relevant product

-an established AND MODERN lead and sales generation system

-web based and human support

-returns of 50% or higher

A higher value product means that you can focus on higher level buyer and produce fewer leads and sales in order to get your business off the ground.

The product must be times relevant. A good example at Shaklee is thir green home care products. Timely and high quality products, however, the products do not make my list due to the fact that they are low in value. I am currently marketing high end educational products which meet my evaluation requirement.

The Web based and Human support is a must. The web based illustrates that the company is in the correct century and should continue to evolve. The human support is equally important so you know that you are not only dealing with an automated computerized system with no human guidance. Unfortunately I have only been successful in selling my products to humans thus far in my career. If you find a good demographic of computers buying stuff up, let me know.

Returns of 50% or higher requirement is essential to my marketing techniques as I utilize a mix of direct mail, magazine, newspaper, targeted radio, and PPC advertising which is expensive and dynamic enough in nature to justify the minimum risk / reward return I require.

Everyone is made up of different wants, needs, desires and skill sets. So be sure to define what you want out of a direct sales company and your home based business and perform, at a minimum, a similar 4-point evaluation of the prospective direct sales company that I use. This will let you make a more objective and better informed decision and keep you from talking yourself into something that you may well not be able to excel at.