They sent each of the 100 prospects a box, about the size of a watch box. It was wrapped in brown paper and contained no return address. The name and address of the prospect was hand-written in a female hand.
Inside the box was a sugar cube and a small piece of paper, like the size of a fortune cookie message, with the words, “Keep it sweet.”
That was it. Nothing else.
One week later, those same prospects were sent another box, wrapped and addressed in exactly the same fashion. This time, it contained a lemon with the message, “Don’t let it go sour.”
Again, nothing else in the box.
On the third week, yet another box, wrapped and packaged identically. This time, the box contained tinsel foil, like that which you use to decorate a Christmas tree. The message?
“Make it sparkle.”
Once again, nothing else.
Week four and yet one more box arrived, identical to the others. This time there was only one thing inside - a business card from the advertising agency sales person, with a self-stick note stuck to it. On the note was the hand-written message, “I’ll call you tomorrow for an appointment.”
Of the 100 people who received that series of deliveries, every single one of them took the call and made the appointment. The advertising agency, when faced with the difficult task of engaging the prospect, had developed an effective and creative solution. They gained their prospect’s attention, they captured their interest, and they prompted them to take action – they took the phone call and made
the appointment. In other words, they engaged the right people!
Here’s another example. This time, I was on the receiving end of a well done “pre-call touch.” I was busily typing away on my computer when the FedEx guy walked into my office, put a box down on my desk, and said, “sign here.” I did.
You know what you do when you get a personally addressed FedEx delivery -- stop everything and open the box. That’s what I did. Inside was a package of microwave popcorn. Underneath that was a plastic bottle of Diet Pepsi. Underneath that was a linen envelope with my name hand written in a female’s script. I opened the envelope. Inside was an invitation,
personally written in the same script. It said, “Dave, We have researched your company, and concluded that yours is the kind of company...[Read More]