TEN THINGS YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW TO INCREASE THE
PROFITABILITY OF YOUR CATALOG
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Catalogs are a multi-billion dollar business. They can also
be financially hazardous. Just ask the folks at Sears
Roebuck! And for us littler guys who don't have the deepest
pockets catalogs can be positively ruinous. That's why we've
got to become masters of squeezing every extra cent we can
from the catalogs we produce. Towards that admirable end,
here are 10 things you can do right now to make any catalog
you produce -- even the tiniest -- more profitable!
#1 Become A Ruthless Price Cutter And Wheeler Dealer
The big expenses in running a catalog are:
## lead generating/list rental
## design and lay-out
## printing
## postage.
You've got to keep your eyes on these four items like a
hawk. Fortunately, there are things you can do in each area
to keep your costs under control.
-- lead generating/list rental
To begin with, you need to get savvier about generating your
prospects. Towards this end, consider investing in one of
the burgeoning number of lead-generating services. These
services contract for space in print publications and/or
card decks, running a number of short (about 60-character)
ads in the space they've bought. In short, your ad runs
along with a number of others. All the responses are
returned to one address where names are first input with a
code and then, at regular intervals, output for the
customers. If the lead costs are right, you're building your
mailing list at reasonable cost -- and, remember, as that
list grows, you've got a rentable asset in it that will
return additional income.
Note: my own National Lead-Generating Program offers one of
the lowest costs around: just 75 cents a name. And unlike
all other services I'm aware of, we provide names (with
phone numbers) on diskette at no extra charge. You can
generate leads indefinitely and can withdraw at any time
without penalty. For complete details on how to use this
service, contact Program Manager Dan McComas at (301) 946-
4284.
Now let's consider "list rental." Personally, I haven't used
my all-important cash to rent any names for years. Yet I
mail millions of pieces yearly. What's going on here? I use
barter! One of the things that'll help you make your catalog
more important is maintaining a running list of all sources
which have names that you want. And considering just what
you've got that will interest them. All mailers need names.
As your house list grows, let these mailers know what you've
got... and what you want. Name-for-name swaps go on all the
time in the mailing industry.
Do not, however, make the silly mistake of two big card-deck
advertisers I approached lately. I've seen their cards in
lots of decks and supposed they had to have a heap of names
which I wanted to get access to. When I called them to find
out, I was greeted with a "yes, we're interested, but..."
response. The "but" in this case was that THEY HADN'T
ENTERED THEIR NAMES ON COMPUTER! Well, as my grandmama might
have said, you could have knocked me down with a feather...
I was astonished that in this day and age (and with the
significant investment both companies were making in name
acquisition) they weren't doing what was necessary to
maximize their own further use of these names... and turn
them into a source of swap capital. IDIOCY!
Note: even if you place your names with a list broker (see
below), do not hesitate to keep swapping them. True, the
broker will probably want his regular commission on any swap
you make, but the savings are considerably greater than this
small fee.
-- design & lay-out
Designers are consultants and all consultants are always
looking for ways to increase business at reasonable cost.
Thus, do not hesitate to give your designer a plug in your
catalog... in return for, say, 10-15% off his/her regular
bill. Make sure you include the designer's phone/fax and
address and a good testimonial from you. The cost of the
space to you should be less than what you save off your
bill; if it isn't, ask for a bigger discount. Too, do not
hesitate to reuse portions of past catalogs. I have huge
blocks of camera-ready art from past catalogs that we reuse
all the time. Sure, I change the position, the page, the
color, etc. But the basic art is the same... thus I'm
getting further mileage out of past design charges.
-- printing
Printing bills are and always have been all over the map. To
get the best prices, price at least three places before
every job. And don't hesitate to negotiate for better terms.
If you're not a good negotiator, get yourself a printing
broker who is. I use one of the best: John Hamwey and we've
worked together for a decade now. John's mild-mannered but
knows the game.
Note: To contact John Hamwey, call him at ABC Publications,
(617) 575-9915; fax (617) 575-9445.
One other thing: once you start printing a catalog, you're
going to get calls from LOTS of companies that print
catalogs, particularly in a punk economy like ours.
Personally, I get at least ONE A DAY. This gives you lots of
leverage in price. Hint: once you've got the best price you
think you're going to get, try to negotiate for a few
thousand extra catalogs. Printers would always rather give
you extra product (which costs them little) than take
anything else off the price.
-- postage
Sadly, you can't negotiate for postage like you do for
printing; it's a flaw in our government. Nonetheless, even
here there is something you can do. Once your names are on
diskette... and you rent other names on either diskette or
magnetic tape... you can hire the services of a company that
will merge/purge names and prepare a mag tape for ink
jetting your names on the catalog label. Depending on the
number of names you're mailing to, this service can save you
hundreds, even thousands of dollars in excess postage
charges. After all, one of the prime reasons for creating a
mag tape is to bring your postage charges to the lowest
possible cost.
Note: to see if you can save money from this service,
consult with Kevin Kuligowski at Custom Data Service, Custom
Data Systems, Inc., 249 Main St., Stamford, CT 06901. ph
(203) 357-7277. Kevin can tell you, given the number of
names you're going to put on a mag tape, just how much
you'll save. You can then figure out whether it makes sense
to use his services (and pay his bill).
#2 Add Big-Ticket Items To Your Catalog Stock
Day after day I get catalogs in the mail where the top-
priced item will sell for, say, $30. It so happens that the
proprietor of one of these catalogs called me yesterday
complaining about the fact that he wasn't making any money
from his nicely-put-together production. Was I, he pressed,
making any money? Excuse me, but at 10 a.m. the sarcasm
couldn't be contained: "No, I've been running my catalog for
over a decade now, losing money every minute!" Had he, I
pressed, looked at my catalog lately?
Apparently not, or he would have seen that in my golden
pages I have items running from a low of $6 (my five-page
computer-printed special reports) to well over $1000. In
short, I'm not staking my comfort and security on selling
low-priced items. It makes no economic sense!
You do the same. What more expensive products and (as you'll
see below) services can you add to your catalog that make
sense? Can you, like me, add a dealer program, using your
catalog to produce prospects who will place, not $30 orders,
but multi-thousand dollar orders. What do I mean? Well, I
wrote this report on a Wednesday, the slowest business day
for mail-order businesses. Yet just one dealer placed a
$3000 order for some of my books. Not bad for a few minutes
work...
#3 Bundle Your Items To Increase Ticket Size
If you peruse my catalog (I'm sure you will not if you
haven't already done so), you'll notice I have lots of
special "bundle" offers, where I offer a discounted price if
the customer will buy 3, 4, 5, 8 or more of my products all
the same time. This makes lots of sense. The objective of
marketing, after all, is not just to get the customer to
buy. It's to get the customer to buy MORE THAN HE INTENDED
TO JUST NOW. Your job is to make it easy for him to go
beyond his planned expenditure for today. Bundling
constitutes an offer that produces this necessary (for you)
result.
Take the package I offer for people who are running service
businesses (a huge market, by the way). It includes my books
NO MORE COLD CALLS: THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO GENERATING -- AND
CLOSING -- ALL THE PROSPECTS YOU NEED TO BECOME A MULTI-
MILLIONAIRE BY SELLING YOUR SERVICE; CASH COPY; MONEY MAKING
MARKETING, and THE UNABASHED SELF-PROMOTER'S GUIDE. The
customer pays $110... but saves $47. It is the savings that
gets them to spend the $110. And I'd rather have $110 any
day than what I'd get by selling just one of these books,
not least because each book comes with a complete catalog at
the back... and the more product you have in people's hands
the more word-of-mouth publicity you're going to get,
thereby stimulating additional future sales. Astonishingly,
most catalogers just don't get this. They persist in selling
one product at a time... instead of trying to build a sale,
the intelligent thing to do!
#4 Sell High-Priced Services
If you review my catalog, you'll notice I'm not just focused
on product. Instead, I'm focused on products and services.
Why? Because I'm really focused on profit... and if I can
sell high-priced services through the catalog it is just
plain stupid not to do so. That's why when you leaf through
my pages you'll see major attention given my National
Copywriting Center (where we produce every kind of marketing
communication), my Sales & Marketing SuccessDek, Nationwide
Lead-Generating Program, my workshop and seminar program,
etc. These items produce sizable amounts of cash fast. Thus
they generate a better return on investment for the cost of
pages than $30 items.
By this token, what service have you got that you could
hustle through your catalog? My wailing catalog friend cited
above has a catalog that goes to nonprofit executive
directors and personnel. He also happens to be a consultant
specializing in nonprofit funding, particularly organizing
fund-raising phon-a-thons. Yet to my certain knowledge he
has NEVER attempted to generate a lead for his expertise
through his catalog. THIS IS JUST PLAIN DUMB!
There is absolutely no reason whatsoever why a catalog
should not be used to sell any product or service that would
make the prospect's life better... and the more expensive
that product or service (always supposing that it delivers
real value), the better.
#5 Use Spot Color, Even If You Cannot Afford Four-Color
Processing
Monochromism may occasionally be a hot concept in the art
market... but it makes absolutely no sense when you're
attempting to run a profitable catalog. Yet all too often
particularly smaller catalogers forego the use of all color,
just because four-color processing is beyond them
financially. Not so fast!
Particularly if you're printing on newsprint like I do,
consider using spot color. You can buy this in forms of
either four or eight pages at reasonable cost. ($125 per 8-
page form is a good price.) So using color enables you to
highlight the items -- and marketing copy -- you consider
important, thereby enhancing sales. When considering this
option, make sure to ask your printer just what colors he
has available and what is the least expensive way of
accessing them.
#6 Talk Directly To Your Customers; Establish Friendships
We live in an age of vast alienation and loneliness.
However, we also have at our fingertips the means to break
through these disturbing trends, talk to our customers
directly, and build long-standing relationships with them.
If you can do this, you can get really rich!
To achieve this objective, review your existing catalog
copy. Are you talking directly to your customers? Are you
making it seem like your catalog, however long, is actually
like a long, personal letter to the single recipient who is
ready it now? Or are you trying to come across as big,
grand, impersonal, unconcerned?
I print and mail millions of catalogs. Yet each edition of
my catalog is written for just one single person: the person
who's reading it now. That person is all important. Indeed,
nothing else in the entire catalog process is as important
as that single person feeling that everything is happening
for him/her. This is why I use only the second person form
of address: "you". I want this person to know that every
single item in my catalog has been carefully selected by me
(a real person) for "you" (the pivotal person). Towards this
end, I make my catalog a letter... I include little bits of
personal news about myself (just like a friend would tell
another friend) and add lots of testimonials signed by real
people who are benefiting from things they got from the
catalog. (People like to read about people... their
opinions... their triumphs... their delight in achieving
specific, beneficial results.)
Adopt a conversational tone. Say things like, "Here's
something you'll really get benefit from...", or "I
personally selected this item for you because....," or "I'll
be using mine tonight when I'm relaxing over my evening
port... you should, too!" Make the tone warm, homey,
accessible, caring. In today's rude, impervious universe,
this kind of human connection is precisely what's missing --
and what's always appreciated.
#7 Make Your Catalog As Interactive As Possible
As you'll notice, I've sprinkled this report with the names
and phone numbers of lots of people, helpful people. You can
call these people and connect with them right now. They'll
help you solve your problems and give you real value.
WHAT I'VE DONE IN THIS REPORT... YOU SHOULD BE DOING IN YOUR
CATALOG AS WELL!
Humans love to communicate. And learning to communicate
effectively with other humans is arguably the most important
skill we can learn while we're on this planet. So, apply
this crucial insight into the improvement of your catalog.
Say you're selling a big-ticket item. Follow it up with the
phone number of the most knowledgeable person about this
item on your staff. If you are the staff, that's you. Or
include the names and phone numbers of others the reader
will want to connect with. Whenever possible, try to make
arrangements with these people to promote your catalog and
business, too, but if you can't do that, don't hesitate to
throw in a freebie or two, anything to get the reader more
involved with your catalog, accustomed to using it more,
seeing its value. At all costs, you want the reader to
retain your catalog, to use it, and to perceive its value...
not just give it a little momentary attention and then toss
it.
#8 Sell Advertising In Your Catalog
Most catalogs are devoted 100% to the company producing
them. This is fine when you don't need extra revenue... but
makes no sense when you're attempting to build your business
with little money. Putting other people's ads in your
catalogs makes sense when:
## you can swap the ad for something you want from the
advertiser (like names, free ads in their publications,
services, etc.), and ## you need extra money!
Personally, I do both!
When you review my 40-page catalog you'll find lots of space
ads placed in my text... and even whole pages devoted to the
products and services of OTHER people. To make this work for
you:
## figure out what a page of your catalog actually costs.
Don't forget to figure in design charges, printing, color,
mag tape and affixing label, postage, etc. The number you
come up with should be hard and accurate.
## then mark up the value by at least 50%. This is your
profit for the page.
Once you've got the price you want to sell the page for, start hustlin
## Go through the list of all those people you want
something from... be it names, free ads, merchandise,
services, etc. You've got something to bargain with them for
now.
## Don't hesitate to approach others you think want to get
to the same audience as you do to sell their products and
services. Let them know you'll take their ads (camera-ready
preferred).
Lots of people have asked me why I allow others in my
catalog. Sometimes I feel they're asking a variety of the
question, "Why did you let the infidels into the Holy of
Holies?" Why do I do it? Because I am able to make lots of
beneficial deals for myself, cut the cost of lots of the
products and services I need (or get them 100% on barter),
and make the ultimate product more interesting. After all,
all the advertisers bring their own outlook and point of
view to their copy and ads and this, I feel, enlivens my
already stellar text. Everybody benefits!
#9 Create Your Own Products
Ever wonder why big stars like Robert Redford and Barbara
Streisand get so anxious to move from in front of the camera
to behind it, forming production companies of their own? The
reasons are not so difficult to find: money and control.
This is why you, too, should start creating your own product
as soon as possible... and offer it through your catalog.
But there's a catch. Producing your own product only makes
sense if you intend to 1) make a lifetime commitment to the
product and 2) if you're going to work like the dickens to
market it, including through your catalog.
When I got started producing my own products, in the dim
distant days when Ronald Reagan was President-elect, I knew
that securing my own personal freedom was the most important
thing to me, and I knew that selling other people's
products, while okay in the short-term, wouldn't produce the
money I needed in the long-term to enable me to reach my
all-important personal objective. That's why I started
developing my own products... and my own catalog... just as
soon as I can. Well over a decade later, it's easy for
people just starting out who see my name and products
everywhere to overlook the crucial fact that I when I
started I was neither well known nor well financed. Scarcely
a day goes by but I hear, "It's easy for you..."
Ladies and gentlemen, it wasn't easy. But it was easier
because I knew that producing products was an inevitable
component of success. And I did what was necessary both to
produce and promote them as quickly as possible.
Get all the information you can on the products that sell
best to the audience you are pursuing. Scrutinize them.
Figure out how much they cost to produce. Determine the
profit margin. Determine what it would take for you to do
something at least as good... if not better. Then go out
there and create it. Remember: whatever you produce should
be better because of what you've been able to see
beforehand. You are, after all, not the first traveler on
the road.
#10 Take Orders In All Ways Possible... At All Times
Possible
I know a Florida-based catalog company that shuts the doors
at 5 p.m. EST, lets the workers go home... and leaves a
message on their answering machine that says, I kid you not,
"Call us tomorrow during regular business hours." Are these
people idiots or what?
However you slice it, we have now, with the death of
Communism, gone from the Great Age of Idealogy into the much
more ferocious Age of Economic Warfare. The recent Israeli-
PLO agreement is yet another straw in that wind. If you're
going to prosper in these very tricky times, you've got to
open yours arms wide to embrace all the possibilities of
dealing with customers (and getting their money), not keep
to the banker's hours of the age of Calvin Coolidge.
This means:
## doing what's necessary to take credit cards. (Imagine,
just the other day the representative of a continuing
education program -- that promotes its programs with a
catalog, mind, told me that they don't take credit cards
because they aren't a business but a university. What planet
is this creature from, anyway?)
## taking fax orders 24 hours a day (this means a dedicated
fax line, boys and girls.)
## setting up your answering machine to take orders 24 hours
a day;
## setting up the necessary accounts with UPS, Federal
Express, etc. so that you can get people their merchandise
FAST... if that's how they want it, and
## computerizing your order taking so that you can enter the
customer name and data into an order record and so process
the matter quickly.
Is this you? Or are you running an operation like those
Florida neaderthals who never fail to tell me just how avant
garde they are. Who are they trying to kid anyway?
Last Words
I make a ton of money from my catalog, and I have for years.
You can do as well -- or even better -- from your catalog,
too, if you follow these sensible rules and start focusing
solely on profit and nothing else. This is the only
unchangeable law in cataloging. Everything else is
subsidiary. Don't forget it!
******************************************
Dr. Jeffrey Lant is one of America's top marketers. You can
profit from his books like NO MORE COLD CALLS (680 pages,
$44.95 postpaid); CASH COPY (480 pages, $38.50 postpaid);
MONEY MAKING MARKETING (280 pages; $39.50 postpaid); and THE
UNABASHED SELF-PROMOTER'S GUIDE (365 pages, $39.50
postpaid). Get these and complete details about his
quarterly 100,000 circulation Sales & Marketing SuccessDek
and 1,000,000+ circulation Nationwide Lead-Generator Program
by contacting JLA Publications, 50 Follen St., Suite 507,
Cambridge, MA 02138 or calling (617) 547-6372 with
MC/VISA/AMEX. Don't forget to ask for your FREE YEAR'S
SUBSCRIPTION to his quarterly Sure-Fire Business Success
Catalog! You'll really want to peruse it carefully now!!!