3. Tell Them How To Reach You
Pretty simple, right? Give them your phone number.
Here are some pointers that could help:
Some Yellow Pages will allow you to cancel your contract on your ad by disconnecting your phone number. I know this is unthinkable, but if you try an expensive ad, it’s a total bust, and you need to get out from under it, you will wish you did this … Get an “expansion line”, which is just another phone number that rings into the same line. Put the expansion line number in your Yellow Pages ad. If you are taking a big risk with your Yellow Page space, this could save your business by allowing you to disconnect your expansion line and cancel your Yellow Pages ad. Sure you won’t be in the Yellow Pages for the rest of the year, but there are lots of other places to market your business.
Another strategy is to order a new phone number just for your Yellow Page ad. Not only can you cancel it if you have to, but this is also a real smart way to be able to accurately track how many incoming calls you are getting from your ad.
Make the phone number large and clearly readable, but not big enough to compete for attention with the headline or sub-headline.
Place the phone number at the bottom of the ad, next to the company name/logo and address.
4. Selecting The Right Prospect
Do you want every person who opens the Yellow Pages to call you? Most business owners will shout, “Yes” to that one. But think about it. . . some people are just a waste of time from the moment you talk to them on the phone, until 6 months later when they return everything they bought or ask for a refund. Do you want that person as a client? No. You can use the Yellow Pages to prevent that person from calling you.
You don’t want every person in the market. In fact, there are some that you want to direct to your competitors to waste their time, effort and money.
Many people will select a business from the Yellow Pages knowing nothing about their merchandise or services. They simply will not take the time to figure out what they really want, find out if there is a difference between you and your competition, or even read anything in the Yellow Pages ad. They open the directory, and go down the list, calling every single company, comparing them only by the consideration they know . . . “How much do you charge?” The instant they get a number, they hang up and call the next one. You might be able to convert some of these prospects into desirable clients, but you might also feel like they are a horrible waste of time and bother. You can screen them out with your Yellow Pages ad.
Many Yellow Page customers want someone who answers the phone live and will not leave messages. Price may or may not be an issue. If you are a small retailer that waits on all the customers, does the buying and all the paperwork, you might not want these types of calls. Again, screen them with your ad.
That is the beautiful thing about “Take-Away” Selling. If a person is dead set against what you offer, they will not call you. On the other hand, if they are the least bit open to change, it will move them toward becoming a desirable client for your business.
Another tool already mentioned is the “Secondary Response” mechanism. If you can’t answer the phone live, this will help you maximize the Yellow Pages response. Either way, it will educate prospects about your company. Those who you are not going to appeal to will go on their way without bothering you, while those that do decide to call you will have most of the common questions already answered, thus saving you valuable time.
One of my favorite screening techniques is called the “Damaging Admission”. The idea here is to admit up front the faults and shortcomings of your company and then overcome them in the most positive light possible.
Here is an example of how you could use the Damaging Admission:
First, think of all the weaknesses of your company – all the things that your clients don’t like – what you competitors have to offer that you don’t, etc. It can be tough to think of them, because we hate to admit we have faults.
For example, let’s say you are a 1-person company and you are often so busy that you can’t answer the phone anymore.
Your list of weaknesses looks something like this:
- Phone is answered by answering machine
- Not price competitive
- Often late opening up
- You only work by appointment and typically are booked for 2 weeks out
Then you take your biggest benefit – that thing you do that most of your clients like about you. In this case, we will use my “totally professional” wardrobe example. Next you work them together into a brutally honest statement that you put right into your ad:
Not Everybody Is Right For My Store – Should You Buy From Me?
“If you have to speak to someone live, I can’t help you . . . In order to deliver you the best value, I don’t pay an office staff.
If you need to shop today, I might not be able to see you . . . Clients are so happy with my expertise, I am typically booked for 2 weeks in advance.
If you are looking for the lowest price, it isn’t me . . . In order to cut costs, you have to cut corners and I won’t provide lousy merchandise just to cut a few dollars off the price.
But, if you want to walk into a room and always look totally professional no matter where you are, then you should call me.”
The result of the damaging admission is that it greatly increases your credibility. The prospect begins to feel that you are impeccably honest and wants to do business with you because he feels he can trust you. He weighs the cons against the pros and generally discards the cons altogether. In the end, it is unlikely that any of those issues will become a problem because he knew about them in advance. It prevents problems for you and increases the client’s trust in you while aligning their expectations with your ability to deliver. On the other hand, those folks who really can’t stretch their expectations just won’t call you in the first place. This prevents all kinds of wasted time, money and complaints. Though many people think this concept is insane, I have seen it work brilliantly for many clients.
5. Ad Examples Like You Have Never Seen! !
On the following pages you will find examples of response proven Yellow Page ads that illustrate the points I’ve talked about.
This example shows how you can create an exciting ad by using screens of black. The shaded areas (Vitamins & Holistic Medicine and the tulip area – It’s difficult to see in this copy) work to pull your eye into the details of the ad, after you are attracted to the large headline. The graphic catches your attention, but is placed outside the normal “read” area, so it doesn’t compete with the body copy. By using numerous gray scales (20%, 40% or 60% screens), you can catch just as much attention as a color ad, without incurring all the costs.
This effective ad twists many of the rules I have just stated – and it’s OK to twist and bend all the rules. This ad uses a large reverse print box at the top to draw the eye away from the other ads on the page. However, the ad does not rely entirely on the copy inside the reverse box, knowing that many people will not even read it carefully. The box does draw attention to the headline which flows freely into the ad. This is a large ad, but it is broken into digestible bites by using white space and other reverse print (like the “Warning”) without disturbing the continuous flow of readership.
This example shows you how to design an “in column” ad with text that reaches out of the border. The headline pulls you away from the other ads surrounding it. The body copy states fear and then tells you how to manage it. The reverse copy at the bottom highlights the show store’s motto, which is in all their print and radio ads.
Does this look like an article from a newspaper? It’s not. But it looks like one in every detail, down to the font size and style.
I hope you can read the print … at least enough to get the gist of this “Special Report”. In this report the “author” first provides a number of credentials that are designed to make the reader feel that the information that follows is absolute fact … not some kind of sales hype. He uses a powerful word “secret”, to get the reader to continue reading the copy… after all, everyone one loves to hear a secret. The last paragraph provides the “call to action” – a FREE (notice how the word stands out in the print) pre-recorded message that promises more secrets and another “report” is the prospect leaves a name an address (the “opt-in”).
This ad will certainly stand out against the other Yellow Pages ads in your category. The newspaper appearance also gives it an air of credibility.
The author of this ad, Bill Glazer is exactly what he says … a nationally recognized menswear industry expert (and the owner of his VERY successful Gage Men’s Stores.) Bill uses every trick in the book to achieve his remarkable sales records. You can learn a great deal by just studying this ad.
This example looks like a letter of thanks from a happy client. It points out four powerful benefits and contains information about the expansion of the company. It’s two main strengths are:
- Attention and interest – the ad is different
and will stand out from all the other Yellow Page ads. It creates instant
interest and rapport with the reader.
- The ad works like an expanded testimonial and the handwriting makes it look even more credible. It is always better to have someone else say good things about you and your company instead of you.
This example shows that a very small, economical ad can be just as effective as a larger ad, if you add visuals (like the photo here) and play with the text size. This will help the reader turn towards your ad, not the other ones on the page. The photo adds credibility to the company, as consumers like to know who owns the company they are considering doing business with. It is also an example of how to pack a lot of information into a small ad.
This ad is small too, but it shows you how you can compete with much larger ads without the larger budget. It focuses on THE most powerful word in marketing . . . FREE.
The ad uses no white space, yet still draws readership. The thick, coupon style border helps create the feel of a special offer. The low cost of this ad could almost guarantee profit. Furthermore, if you are thrown in the middle of a lot of other display ads in your category, this would be the way to draw attention to your ad, and away from your competitors.
This is a good example of getting the consumers’ attention. The “WARNING” headline along with the thick box around the ad will separate you from the rest of the ads in your category. The logos at the bottom create visual interest, as well as tonal value – using screens of gray. Even though the size is small, it makes a vary large impact when placed next to traditional Yellow Page ads.
You’ll notice that this is the same Furniture company featured earlier with a different twist for this ad.
Instead of being written to the furniture company, it is written as a Thank You note to the friend that referred this happy client to the store. It’s strengths are that it borrows credibility from the claim that there are other happy clients besides this one. It also taps into the urge to read someone else’s mail – or eavesdrop in on someone else’s conversation. It’s human nature to be curious.
It is perhaps most difficult to find good Yellow Page ad examples for those businesses offering professional services. But this example really grabs your eye. The picture, when coupled by the headline, really tells the benefit of this service. While there isn’t a great deal of text, the points address perhaps the biggest concerns for people looking for this type of service. And it’s easy to see their “call to action”.
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