Many years ago, when I entered the financial services business, Salespeople were taught by management to "give every person we met" a calendar with your name and telephone number on it, so that at any time of the year, if they had a need for financial services, this person would think of you, call you, and you would make some money.
In an attempt to be like the "big boys", I ordered them by the cases!
Gave them away to anybody who moved - and a couple to people who didn't move quick enough!
The printer who printed the calendars made money; the shipping company made money; everybody made money except me. (Believe me, I tracked my leads and I never got one telephone call from person who claimed that they were calling me because I had given them a calendar)
As one of my favorite authors, Maya Angelou, is fond of saying:
"I did the best I could with what I knew, and when I knew better, I did better"
For almost 3 years I gave away thousands of calendars and then it happened; I was promoted into management and I began training my "new" salespeople to do the very same thing. (this was way before Maya Angelou:).
Like a blind man in search of light, I began searching everywhere for a "secret formula" that would help me transform mediocre sales people, many of which should have never been in sales in the first place, into high paid, incredibly successful "Superstars" who would owe their success to me. (I know, I know, youth is a terrible thing to have to live through)
I never found my fortune giving away calendars (Sorry, it just did not work for me)
But, what I did find was a "different way" to use a calendar.
While, searching through book stores, libraries, thrift stores, flea markets, etc. I found a copy of a book called "The Ultimate Marketing Plan" by a guy named Dan Kennedy, who used his calendar a lot differently than the way I was taught.
Kennedy's calendar was broken down into simple months; in January, for example, Kennedy focused his marketing efforts on reaching out to his "prospects" on J.R.R. Tolkkien's Birthday (January 3rd) or Milk Day (January 11th) even Winnie the Pooh Day (January 18th) and especially Dr. Martin Luther King's Birthday (January 21st) and National School Nurse Day (January 23rd) and linking his product or services to these dates with "emotional marketing messages" that tied into trends and current events.
(I found 19 different "excuses" to celebrate in January and reach out to my "farm" or 'herd" with email, faxes, texting, print ads, you name it - you can probably find even more!)
I thought, "Man, this sure beats the heck out of ordering all those calendars" but, I did like most people and put the book away, and forgot about it - until my printer called, wanting my usual calendar order. ( I think he had one more child, that we were trying to get through college).
Stalling him, I tried to remember where I had put Kennedy's book; I really, really, did not want to spend money in August to have calendars printed and be unable to recoup any of my marketing investment for months.
Hallelujah!
I found the "Ultimate Marketing Plan" in a un-packed box in my garage and began making me a real-life, honest-to-goodness "marketing calendar".
Then the real ephipany hit me; since it was August, why wait until January to start using it?
Why not see if Dan's Marketing Calendar worked NOW?
(I could always pay a little more & get them to make a special print run, just to hedge my bet)
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
By the time January had rolled around, I had actually done more business in those 4 months as I had previously in 8 months!
Lead volume went up; cost per lead went down; I made money.
My salespeople were "pea-green with envy;" almost everyone switched from giving away calendars and hoping-someone-would-remember-them to maximizing their marketing with the "new & improved calendars."
Since then I have used the "Ultimate Marketing Calendar" in 5 different businesses and trust me, I have not bought a single calendar to give away as a "marketing lead generator".
(I actually bought numerous copies of the book to give away because people kept borrowing mine and never returning it)
So, let me reiterate my original question: "Can something as simple as a calendar make a difference in your income in 2009?"
You're darn skippy it can!
As the old saying goes, "It's not what you have - it's how you use it!"
I will use this "Ultimate Marketing Calendar" for the rest of my natural life; thank you Dan Kennedy for showing me the "light."
P.S. I have no relationship with the author, publisher, etc. and do not stand to benefit in anyway should you purchase this book, borrow it from a friend, or check it out at the library.
Have a great year!
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