Cold Email: The Overlooked “Engine” that Drives Those Killer Marketing Campaigns …

Five Alarm Alert!

That’s how important this is.

In fact, it’s SO important that if you don’t get this right, your beautifully-orchestrated, time-consuming, and expensive marketing campaigns will be sound and fury, signifying nothing.

That’s why you need a powerful, targeted, irresistible LEAD GENERATION MAGNET, or LGM.

Too many entrepreneurs understand the theory on a superficial level — to give something away for FREE or super cheap, in exchange for a physical or email address.

And they know an LGM has to be part of their marketing sequence to attract prospects, customers, and clients.

But too often they just throw something together or pull another product off the shelf, slap a different name on it, and call it an LGM.

Big mistake.

Lead generation is much too important to be relegated to an insignificant freebie or an afterthought.

Your LGM needs to be carefully constructed, especially when it comes to…

The Diabolical Trojan Horse

It’s the perfect analogy for your LGM — the Trojan Horse, and I’m sure you know the story from Greek mythology, of Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman in the world.

She’s kidnapped by the Trojans, which starts a 10-year war with the Greeks, who after fighting forever, finally pretend to throw in the towel and send a massive wooden horse as a parting gift when they sail away (but return after dark).

And as we know, the horse was filled with soldiers who climbed out in the middle of the night to steal Helen back and destroy the city of Troy.

Now remember, your LGM can be a wide variety of things… helpful information, discounts, free reports, whitepapers, samples, gifts, trainings, coupons, etc., as long as it’s designed to have a strategic impact that furthers your sales efforts, not just create “good will” which you can NOT take to the bank.

It must attract the right clients and buyers and REPEL the freebie seekers, tire-kickers, people who can’t pay, or people who are not a good match for some other reason.

And… it must prime the prospect for action, whether that action is buying a product, an upsell, to sign up for a webinar or live event, or to book a sales interview.

So let’s look at a diabolical example.

This ad, by the Littleton Coin Company, is running currently with an irresistible, no-brainer offer and this great headline:

Get this seldom-seen $2 Note in Crisp Uncirculated condition for $2!

But of course, what it’s selling, is not REALLY what it’s selling.

Here’s some of the copy:

“Own America’s unique $2 bill at face value in collector-preferred Crisp Uncirculated condition, which beautifully depicts the famous painting, Declaration of Independence. $2 notes are seldom seen, since they make up less than 1% of all currency issued by the Federal Reserve. And if you’re lucky enough to find one in circulation, it won’t be in this condition!”

Plus, you get a free, Uncirculated National Park quarter, so with the free shipping, they’re probably losing a buck or two on every order… thus a “loss leader” with a limit of one per customer.

So how are they making any money?

Because they include their Trojan Horse — a super-duper catalogue filled with extremely high-ticket items that are sold by subscription:

“You’ll also receive our fully-illustrated catalog, plus other fascinating selections from our Free Examination Coins-on-Approval Service, from which you may purchase any or none of the coins – return balance in 15 days – with option to cancel at any time.”

How to Beef Up and Laser-Focus Your LGM

As you can see, your lead generation magnet is like a gift that effortlessly penetrates the walls your prospects put up to guard against people who are trying to sell them things.

So you have to ask yourself…

Does your LGM attract actual clients and/or buyers… or just freebie seekers?
Does it weed out the time wasters, tire kickers, and the merely curious?
Do the respondents have the ability to pay?
Does it prime the prospect for action?
Is the call to action totally clear and compelling?
Does your LGM seamlessly advance your prospect toward the next action, whether it’s a sale, sign up, or a discovery call?
Does it pre-educate, pre-sell, and pre-qualify your prospects, so they come to you with a better understanding of the solutions you offer?

OK, now let’s look at another real-world example that seems to give away too much, until you understand the math.

This example is a successful, full-page ad I created years ago for HealthSource, a nation-wide chiropractic franchise.

The full newspaper-sized ad appeared in a chiropractic journal (top portion shown) with a headline that leads with the FREE package you’re getting — along with a picture of the 93-page “book” including 4 DVDs of testimonial-type interviews with chiropractors across the country.

The goal of the marketing package was to attract chiropractors to the next phase in the sequence… an in-person “Discovery Day,” which demonstrated all facets of the franchise.

Of course, it was expensive to send out the free “recession blueprint” with 4 DVDs and full color images throughout — around $50 bucks each, as I remember.

But joining the franchise is way more expensive… tens of thousands of dollars… so the cost of the LGM was negligible in comparison.

That’s why it’s important, as you’re choosing or creating your LGM, to remember the Dan Kennedy truism:

“He or she who can afford to spend the most to acquire a new customer, wins.”

It’s an important shift in perspective that most entrepreneurs have backasswards – trying to spend as LITTLE as possible, instead of as MUCH as possible (but no more) and still be profitable. It’s a topic for another day.

So let’s check out one last example from another niche, with…

Multiple Impact Lead Gen

This lead-gen ad by Fisher Investments serves to sift and sort potential clients while engaging them in numerous ways with a diabolical Trojan Horse survey that makes them hot for the LGM. Whew.

The disguised “survey” leads off with a question headline that sends your brain to look for an answer.

There’s also a subtle challenge in the question that can make investors read further so they can prove how smart they are:

How much do you know about retirement?
(It’s anything but trivial!)

Then a short bit of copy introduces the survey questions and the LGM, which calls out ONLY to investors with $500K or more to play with:

WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW CAN CERTAINLY COST YOU.

For investors with $500,000, test your knowledge about
retirement planning and investments, then get all the answers in your FREE copy of 99 Retirement Tips from Ken Fisher.

Then what follows are 6 multiple-choice questions, like this:

1. If you need $50,000 to live now, about how much will you need in 20 years?

A) $70,000
B) $90,000
C) $110,000
D)$130,000
Answer on page 4

It’s truly diabolical, because it plays on your pride, curiosity, fear, and greed… plus, you have to get the 99 Retirement Tips for the answers.

Even better, there’s no URL so you have to pick up the phone to call, which selects for a more serious prospect and requires a higher level of commitment than clicking on a link.

It’s a very cleverly-designed LGM pitch – exactly what’s needed when you put yours together…

And if that’s your goal, which it should be, we can help with our FREE in-depth business analysis, which includes brainstorming your LGM… plus a custom-designed, 60-to-90-day blueprint to ramp up your online business, or reinvent yourself, or get your business back on track in these troubled times.

Until next time, Good Selling!