Thursday, February 12, 2009

How One Flyer Sold 7 Gift Certificates In 3 Hours

Kick me. I should've put this entry up last Saturday. Sorry, it's my fault. I was too busy doing other things. I just thought of this story this morning and although it's too late to implement this Valentine's Day idea now, it's still a model to study from for the future.

Anyway...

Since my mind is so focused on finishing up my new client attraction course, I admittedly haven't been giving enough attention to my massage business lately. Last week the doctor that I do some subcontracting for said, "Jeff, can you put together a Valentine's Day flyer for gift certificates to display on our counter? I don't want to do a mailing this time, just a flyer for clients to see."

No problem. So I came in last Thursday afternoon with a very simple flyer to display. This flyer was up for only about 3 hours before the office closed for the night. The doctor doesn't work on Fridays anymore and I blocked myself off so that I can stay home and finish my course.

I was there again 9:30 am on Saturday. When I walked in, she said, "Hey Jeff. The flyer is working out great!"

"Yeah?" I said. "How many gift certificates did we sell?"

"So far, 7."

7 Gift certificate sales in just 3 hours without doing a mailing, without sending an email blast, without even telling our clients about it other than them seeing the display! What did this cost? Not a single penny!

Now keep this in mind - many years ago before I learned this cool marketing stuff, she had a display board in our waiting room that said, "Massage Gift Certificates Sold Here". It was never changed. Guess how many we used to sell during the year? A small handful at best, and most of those were sold during the holiday season.

Wanna know what I wrote? Here it is...

“How To Get TONS More Affection From Your Loved One
This Valentine’s Day”

Are you busy? Pre-occupied with work? Too exhausted to even think about romance this Valentine’s Day? Maybe you’re tired of the typical ‘dinner and flowers’ idea year in, year out. If that’s the case…

We Have The Perfect Solution For You!

How about giving your loved one a relaxing, stress-relieving half-hour neck, back and shoulder massage this Valentine’s Day? Give your sweetheart something that he or she will appreciate more than the same old ‘card, flowers and chocolate’ scenario every year. And who wouldn’t love a relaxing half-hour massage?

Here’s How You Benefit!

· Not Having To Spend Extra Time That You Don’t Have Shopping
· No More Stressing About What Gift Your Loved One Will Want

Your special Valentine will receive a half-hour stress-reducing neck, back and shoulder massage on a warmed table without any interruptions. Not only that, but this special offer is yours for only$30! But you got to hurry – this offer expires 2/14/09.

To purchase your special Valentine’s Day gift certificate, please ask Sharon or June for your half-hour Valentine’s Day gift certificate for only $30.

Give Your Loved One Something They’ll Really Enjoy!
Take Advantage Of This Special Offer Today!

If you notice, I didn't even give it a name (shame on me. Name your massage packages!) Not only that, but the bottom of the flyer had a sample gift certificate attached, so only 3/4 of the flyer had body copy on it. I forgot to ask during the week how many more we sold. I'll find out later today. But can you see how just rewording a flyer so that it's benefit driven can make all the difference in the world? Can you see how it doesn't have to be perfect and you can still get great results? The funny thing is that I used this same flyer a year ago and got the same killer results! No need to reinvent the wheel.

I get too many emails from therapists who stress over making their sales letter/postcard/flyer/etc. perfect. Then they end up getting nothing done. Don't fall into the trap of 'paralysis of analysis', just get something out there!

Copy this example to use in the future. Also, don't restrict yourself to using it only on Valentine's Day. Simply tweak it to fit almost any special day.

In my next blog entry, I'm going to reveal how to get major celebrities to promote YOUR massage practice for nothing and the headline that is guaranteed to grab people's attention! Wait till you read it. If you've been feeling down about the recession and uninspired about marketing your practice, this will give you a jolt.

Take care!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Jeff,
great flyer example! If MTs use your headline and words, they should sell many more than 'the old way'.
BUT, I think an important point you missed emphasizing was the GC was for only 1/2 hour...much easier on the budget for more people.

Good work,
Irene Diamond
www.SuccessfulMassageTherapist.org

Anonymous said...

Yes - a 1/2 hour massage is much easier on the budget for most people these days. That's actually a very good point. You might want to promote 1/2 massage sessions instead of full hour long sessions in this recession. They are an easier sell right now. Good point, Irene! Thanks for your comment.