Hi,

I'm an insurance agent and I do direct mailing constantly. The trick is to keep track of how many letters you send out and then keep track of not only how many sales you get, but all call backs in general. Remember, even though you didn't make the sale, if they called back, you may still get them as a customer in the future.

When I get a call back and it doesn't work out and the sale is not made, I still keep the persons info on file and try again the next year.

Last month I did two mailing...
1. Unaddressed Ad mail (Flyers randomly sent to a specific Zip/Postal code)= 5000 pieces
2. A letter that I folded, stuffed in an envelope and stamped myself with a return address stamp (more personal) = 500 pieces

The second option takes more time and costs more money, but the return is much better. People look at unaddressed mail and throw it away because it's, if they see an envelope with their name, a stamp and a return address, they are more likely to open it.

The results I've tracked over the past year of doing each monthly and this is the results I get for every 1000 sent out.....
1. Unaddressed ad mail = 5/1000 (.5%)
2. Addressed mail = 10/1000 (1%)

These numbers don't include the best factor, which is referrals; I can?t count the number of referrals I've gotten from clients I obtained using mailing campaigns!!

My last bit of advice...
Create an excel spreadsheet to track the number of people you mail to, number of callbacks, number of sales, cost per mailing, etc. I have a great one that I made but is geared towards the insurance industry. I could send it to you if you'd like as an example. Just email me at mleinwand@rogers.com