Drive Sales FAST: The Power of Direct Response Marketing

Hello and welcome to the show. Today is going to be a noisy episode because I'm not in the audio booth. So expect to hear some noise in the background. Today we're going to look at direct response marketing. Now before I continue my caveat, direct response marketing or any other kind of marketing for that matter, is not my area of speciality. My area of speciality is sales, especially personal selling. So that means what I do best is when you're directly in front of one customer and you guys are having a conversation and it looks like things are all aligning.

I'm the guy that you call to help break things down. So if there's a problem with sales communications and sales conversations per SE, that's what I fix. But marketing problems is not what I fix. But of course, you know that marketing is our mother and then sales is the begin. So it still doesn't stop me from giving comments on marketing related stuff every now and then. Now, the reason why we're looking at direct response marketing today is precisely because of the last case study that we did over here on the podcast.

If I remember correctly, that was the episode with Spider Man, Peter Parker. And this is your first time of listening to the show? Don't worry, it's not the real Spider Man. I don't deal with fictional superheroes. It's just that when I don't have permission to use people's real names, I talk about the case anyway and then I just use the code name. So, but still, it gives you guys the opportunity to share from the goodness for some of the ideas that we toss around.

So Spider Man, Peter Parker, if I remember correctly, the previous episode is a graphic designer based in Lagos who tried reaching out to me with a risk reversal strategy. Only pay for what you like. And I thought it was a bad idea, or rather it was a good idea, but badly executed and maybe not the best way for him to go around trying to drum up business because it looked like Peter Parker, who actually was in need of cash, like now, now,

now like quick cash. And this is also a label intensive strategy. And I think was also going to give him poor returns, giving that the pricing that he was quoting was low. Now, if all of this sounds like Greek to you, that's because you haven't listened to the last episode. So listen to the last episode. It's close to 14 minutes, but don't get discouraged because we discussed a lot there. You know, what is a risk reversal strategy?

How do you remove friction in the sales process? Friction is just anything that you put that might, you know, annoy people, turn people off or make it harder for people to become buyers at the end of the day. So what is risk reversal? How do you remove friction? And then also how should Spider Man and Peter Parker, Spider Man, Peter Parker, excuse me, how should he have done his outreach better? So that's what we did in the episode yesterday.

So I wrapped up yesterday's episode by saying that my recommendation was how people who need money now, now, now, now, now like you need quick cash, then you shouldn't be doing any of this fancy complicated outreach strategies, you know, that depend on you showing up the right way and somebody's WhatsApp inbox or Instagram DM or something like that. Now what you need to do is direct response marketing. And so that's why we're looking at direct response marketing today.

So that was the background basically why we're looking at direct response marketing. But remember, direct response marketing, not my area of specialty. So after you're done listening to this episode, if you hear anything that you like, please come up with a marketing specialist and they will bring you up to speed on what you have to do next. OK, so before we continue the shout outs, today we're going to be shouting out Dami Larry Imole Ayo Fashola, who reached out to me on LinkedIn as a listener of the show on Spotify.

And he likes the podcast because it's highly business parked. So Dami, Larry Imole, Ayo Fashola, thank you very much for listening to the show. If you are the child of the man of Harshala himself as a former governor and the former minister, then why don't you hook your brother up, call your popsy and tell him that look, there's a sharp guy in Abuja. This is his name. He runs his podcast. It looks like he's going to be a very good purveyor of progress and somebody that he should have as as part of your crew so that,

you know, the next time you're in government, you know, these are the young people that you should be keeping around to help move the country forward. So just call up your popsy if Fashola is your popsy, and tell him exactly what it is that I have just said right now in the podcast. And yeah, hook me up so that I'll come and join you guys. I'm enjoying all that government money. Then the second shout out is to Faith Gambos upon pronouncing our part right.

So Faith is a cinematographer. So she's my sister, my very personal person, you know, making money from behind the camera, creating, creating art, creating beautiful things. So yeah, yeah. So she's my person. And she likes the podcast because she says it's insightful. She's also at least now the podcast on Spotify and also reached out to me on LinkedIn. So Dami, Larry and Faith, thank you very much for listening to the podcast.

Dami, Larry, if you're related to Fashala, especially, Fashala is your popsy. Just call him up, tell him exactly what it is that I said, and let's say we can hook a brother up. So yeah. So back to Direct Response magazine. So like yesterday's episode now when we're looking at Spider Man Peter Parker, I've already told you what it is. I recommended the first time. So no, no need going over all of that. OK. But I remember in yesterday's episode, I said that what the guy should have done was after reaching out on WhatsApp, he should have tried to do a qualification and discovery or elicitation.

That's if you listen to the episode about how to sell like a spike, which basically is when you do information gathering, you're trying to figure out the potential customer that you're talking to. You know, who's what spending much more time with. He should have engaged in conversations to try and figure out who is the person of substance, who is somebody who is cheap, Is there correct person to do business with or is it somebody looking for Osho free.

So those will be though how Peter Parker will determine the right kind of person to design for free for. That's if you want to use the land and expand strategy. That is when basically you just anyhow shall enter into an account. Just get the person as a customer first, then after that, you see how you now try and sell the person on much more expensive services. So that's part of the stuff that we discussed today, sorry, that we discussed on yesterday's episode.

So if this is the first time listening, go back, listen, it will all make sense now for those of us who have been following from yesterday and the day before, we will now. OK, well, let's just go straight into direct response marketing. Now let's define direct response marketing. Like I say on the podcast, the definitions that I give here are not technically precise. So the definition I'm going to give here is just a simple everyday, every woman working definition because I want you guys to understand the main concepts so that you can apply it.

So if you want the proper definition, go and check your business books or go and check your websites or you know, whatever, you can find the exact definition somewhere. But for the purposes of the show, every single time you hear direct response marketing, it just means any kind of marketing that you do that is designed so that people will answer you. Now, now, now, now you want the answer from the client. Now, now, because there's lots of stuff that we put out over on the Internet, all kinds of content marketing, all kinds of different kinds of marketing,

branded related content that you put out. They're not expecting people to respond to. Like this podcast. I give my contact details at the end of every show and at the beginning. In fact, let me give my contact details now. If you'd love to connect the phone number is 0806466 2140. The country code is +234. For those of you who are not Nigerian, then you can hit me up on LinkedIn, the name to look for establishing my ID and also on YouTube as well.

So I do that every single episode, but I do not expect a whole bunch of you to reach out to me because I think on Spotify, I think we're over 2000 subscribers now and quite honestly, I'll be overwhelmed if all of you were to reach out to me at the same point in time. So the whole point of, excuse me, the whole point of the of the podcast is entirely something else. So this is not direct response marketing. This is content marketing.

I'm not expecting all of you to hit me up immediately. I'm trying to build a relationship with you guys so that when you guys are ready to take that step to start diagnosing your sales problems or to try and work on one or two things, you pick up the phone and you call me because you've been having a relationship with this guy, you know, over the last 2-3 years, you know, so that's, that's the scope of contact marketing.

Direct response marketing, on the other hand, is you want the person to answer you now, now, now, now, now you want the person to do something. So typically you want the person to buy something immediately or you want the person to drop their contact details. Now the whole point of buying something immediately. Well, of course, it's obvious, buy now. So I can make money now or like content marketing what I'm doing, which is consume the podcast now and then maybe be my client next year or in two years.

So you can see that the expectations are different. And let me see also the same with the WhatsApp strategy that Spider Man Peter Parker was using in yesterday's episode. So you might get some, you might not get some, but the whole point of that was land and expand. So try our luck, maybe get some plans, but direct response, you want somebody to buy now. Now, if you can get somebody to buy right now, another option for direct response is to get the person to drop their contact details.

A whole bunch of contact details is so that, you know, I have a WhatsApp number, a phone number, an e-mail address or a physical address. You know, like in the UK, for instance, where physical address is still part of the part of the mix. You know, here in Niger, we don't really bother people's addresses anyway. It's not as if we have a reliable address system and then people move all the time. So if you're going to use address, you know, you just miss Rd. because, OK, let me give you let me give myself as an example.

I've been driving since I was 18 and I learned how to drive when I was in Lagos and I lived on a certain St. in Lagos. So the address that is on my driver's license is the address of the place where I lived when I was 18 in Lagos. It's been a couple of decades since then. Well, the problem is this, every time I go to drivers to the federal Rd. safety and it's time to renew my license and I say, OK, how far, let me change the address.

By the time they give me all the conditions that are involved. It's not just the money, it's just all the condition. This step, this step, this steps. One affidavit did that. I'm like, you know what, just leave the old address. I'm cool. Just leave the old address and we'll just renew it like that. And then once in a while I'm like, hi, what? This address is old now, let me update you with the new address. And then I go and ask them, OK,

are we ready to do this thing? And then by the time they give me all the conditions again, I just remembered that, OK, there's a reason why I decided to just leave the address and I just leave it. So because of Niger factor and these sorts of complications, if you want to rely on people's addresses to target them and market to them, you miss Rd., you find out that you're sending something to an e-mail address where somebody has not lived there for the last 20 something years.

So in Niger address not part of the mix. My own recommendation, don't even bother. If you get phone number, that's good. If you get e-mail address, that's good. What was I? So that's the whole point of direct response marketing. Get somebody to buy now, now, now, now, now. So that money you enter your account or collect contact details now, now, now, now so that hopefully you chase them tomorrow and then Monday will enter your account next week.

So the characteristics of direct response marketing is they give very strong and very clear call to actions. And that's what I love about direct response marketing, very clear call to action by now. Click here to learn more. Click here to sign up. Click this to download that. As in it's very, very clear. So direct response done well doesn't give any confusion. The buyer will read the something is nice and short and the buyer, the viewer, the audience, whoever it is, is reading it.

The person understands clearly. This is the next step. So excuse me, throat infection still recovering from that. Then sorry about the noise in the background. That's the call to prayer. It's almost 1:00 at the time of this recording. Then let's see. So I said that a strong call to actions. Yes, by now. Learn more sign up, click here to download, click here to join community. You know, whatever. Very strong call to action and whether you're doing direct response marketing or not, it's something that we business people ought to get into the habit of doing.

We need to be putting call to actions because we write stuff, LinkedIn, Instagram, all kinds of things, but we're not putting any call to action and we're not putting call to actions. We're not giving instructions for people to do something. We're not sending them something, sending them somewhere. So, you know, it'll be somewhere for you to put calls to action on every single content that you put. But once in a while you put on your Instagram post, you know,

you know, click here to no Instagram. Let me see. OK, on Instagram, maybe you're trying to grow your what are they called? No subscribers followers. If you like what you're reading, you know, follow Yeah, follow me at Yeah. So that's that could be a call to action. If you like the content you've been receiving so far, follow me on my Instagram handle. That's a call to action. Let's see, what else if you love the last series that we've done,

slide into DMS for a free consultation. That's also a call to action. So anyhow, sure, that's something we can borrow from direct response marketing people. We should always be putting calls to actions in stuff that we put out there because to be honest, you don't ask and you don't get. So we should learn to ask and don't worry, you will not get overwhelmed because let's use me again as an example. Every single episode I give up my phone number and I tell you guys where you can hit me up.

But the number of people that hit me up, to be honest, if it's much will be like, I don't know 10 people a week. If it is much, if it's been a busy week, maybe 10 people hit me up and what, 28,000 downloads. So don't worry, you're not going to be overwhelmed knowing about it. You're not going to be overwhelmed. You have to. And I put it, if someone like a Booker, Big Brother drops his phone number and hey, you'll be overwhelmed, he's on NTA.

Big Brother is showing every single weekend, millions of people watch Big Brother. So even if just 5% of the people follow his call to action, yes, we'll be overwhelmed. But until you get to that level of until you get to that level of a Booker or who else is the superstar? Well, who else? Sorry, forgive me. Or some of you might even say Abuka is not a superstar. Boy, I had to watch TV. So The thing is, I'm not even sure who's reigning like right now by Abuka.

At least I remember him. And then plus we went to the same school. So we're proud of him. He's a CKC boy. So Abuka, if you're listening to the show, keep doing your thing. We're proud of you. Holla at your boy. Let's see, where am I? That's OK. So 6 now. So that response marketing, they always do call to action. Now another thing that direct response people do is they focus on ROYROY just means return on investment. That just means how much money am I getting back?

So last week I did marketing campaign, I dropped I dropped 100K. How much money did I make back? OK, only made back 150. Was that good? Was that bad? So direct response marketers, they're always thinking naira and Cobo very, very hard, very, very precise, like I want money now, now, now, now, now if I'm dropping one naira, I expect to see one naira 20 cobalt to come back, you know, that kind of thing. So that's also a nice focus that we can take as well for our businesses.

Then direct response marketers, they're obsessed about targeting. So they're the ones that always worry about customer segments and trying to create unique custom messaging for each segments. So people like you and me, you know, with general marketing idea, if we're trying to put up something on LinkedIn or on Instagram or whatever, you know, we'll just make it broad. But directors, most marketers like no, no, no, no, no, we need to make this thing much more targeted.

We need to make this post for 50 year old, for 50 to 60 year old women living between Ikeja and Ijesha and who like Wamba every Saturday. So their stuff is targeted, targeted, targeted like that. And of course it has to be targeted because if you're at the end of the, you're going to say buy now. You want to be sure that the offer is relevant to a specific person and that the offer has been communicated to that person.

That is what increases your chances of buying now. So if you create a post and the post is around, let's see, let me think of something. OK, eyeshadow, the post is around the eyeshadow and they put buy now. But the problem is the people who receive all that messaging and the advertisements. Let's say people like me. Of course, obviously I don't use eyeshadow. So for a direct response marketer, you have wasted your money.

If you paid Zuckerberg 700 naira for that advert to be showed to me, you will get 0. On the other hand, if it's eyeliner and the corporation is by now but it reaches my wife. Female listeners of the show, who else? You know, people shout out user airliner. Then the possibility that the 700 naira that you pay to Zuckerberg per advertisement, the chances that it will convert into business at the end of the day is much more goes up.

So that's why I direct marketers, you know, they're very, very particular about this whole thing about targeting. But yeah, but this is stuff that we can do in our business, Isha. As I'm putting out stuff, let's pull calls to action. Let's ask people to do something, engage with us somehow become a part of our community, you know, somehow somehow as any which wish we should be asking for something, Let's make it a good habit.

Let's also focus on on the return of investment. For every 55 naira that we drop, how much are we getting back? If we're dropping 5 naira and we're getting 3 naira in return, then something is not working. If we're dropping 55 naira and we're getting 7-8 naira, OK, something is working because you're getting 3 Nair profits on every five naira that you drop. So we actually get, we actually be thinking that way as well and then make sure that our marketing is targeted and our messaging is targeted as well.

So that essentially is what online direct response marketing is and how you know the way that direct response marketers see the world, how we can use that to improve our businesses. Now, the common online channels that direct response marketing people would use would be direct mail. OK, well direct mail is not online. But anyway, this thing started old school anyway with people sending out physical copies. Now for those of us who had who went to school abroad, you'd be familiar with some of these runs.

So direct mail is, you know, letters that enter into your post box. Yes. Nigerians listening to the podcast right now in 2025, you'd be surprised to hear that. But yeah, there are people who live with post boxes. In fact, those of us who are 80s children, you know, early 80s, late 70s, even even ourself, we grew up with post boxes. So I remember back then, you know, I follow my father, he will go to the post office or unlock the post office, the PO

Box and see what else that he has got there. There's never anything exciting for the children anyway, but stuff aimed at adults, you know, maybe like people trying to sell insurance or maybe companies paying our dividends and things like that. So by anyway, that was that was back then, I can't remember the last time I saw a post office in Nigeria, not to talk of somebody having APO box outside their own house. Busha in other places where post office is still a thing and PO

boxes are still a thing. Letters you can get a if I let me use that example. So like my father, he told you that one of the businesses that he started doing was he started selling cement. So let's say there's another cement company that was coming in new into town, let's say Oka Chuka and Sons decides Oka Chuka and Sons, they start manufacturing cement or something and they're looking for distributors. They do their research and then they find out that in Abuja there are 5000 people who are cement distributors and they get their contact details, unless my father is one of them and they get the PO Box, just drop a message there and that could be some direct response marketing.

So the message would be, are you tired of the poor returns that you get from Dangote? Connect with Okochuku and sons Now call this number for the opportunity to make 5000 naira more off of every single cement bag you sell. Call now that could be the message. So my father goes, remember, we're pretending that this is back in the 1980s. Opens the the box, you see the letter like OK, 5000 and more person meant back. OK, that sounds like it's a good deal.

And then goes back to the house. 1 unlock the phone because back then we used to have to lock the phone because if you just leave the phone there like that, you know, the girls in the house, the waste, all those just rack up the bills, you know, calling boyfriends and stuff like that. So, so you lock the phone. So now you unlock the phone and then you punch in the number. Boom, boom, boom, boom. And then you call, hello, I got your Mailer, blah, blah blah,

I'm interested. Then the conversation starts. So you see that that is direct response marketing. Send this thing to this particular person and get him to call his number. Now let's see how this person can become a distributor. So direct mail, that's a channel that used to be used back in the old days. And then for those of you who are still in the UK or in America, catalogues, postcards like Asda, for instance, those things that Asda will send to your house close to Christmas,

they will send it straight to you that oh, for the Christmas season 3000 new products in store, something, something 20% off with this coupon, you know, by now before so, so and so for, you know, all those sorts of things. And then in Nigeria, businesses like what's this thing called spa, yes, spa. Then there's this South African one, I can't remember what is it game or something. We are in this. They're in ShopRite. No, Yeah, ShopRite.

I think that's what it's called. So like spa and ShopRite. So they do that as well. But instead of direct mail, what they do is when you're going into the the shops during busy periods, they will now hand you the, the magazine that now has everything, the magazine that has everything there. And you now see that, OK, 50 percent, 20% off fridges, if you buy a fridge before, you know, November 35th or something like that.

So all of this, this is all direct mail, direct mail stuff. But you can see that it's all direct response. The idea is you give the person this thing and there's a promise that if the person should act now, now this is what the person will benefit. Then for direct marketing, people also use e-mail. You can send these messages to people in their e-mail, you know, buy now, subscribe, download this Click to learn more all of that and then telemarketing when you call people up.

I don't think you should try telemarketing in Nigeria because we are currently dealing with a 419 problem right now. So I think if you try telemarketing in Nigeria, when they outside the phone, I don't know. I don't think we're ready for telemarketing yet because the person like this is camera is this or whatever, they will just cut the phone and then just block you. So I don't think it's worth it. We're probably not there yet.

Then of course, paid search in Google or social media advertising. So these are things that people do for direct response. So all of these things that we've said now regarding direct response, the big question is how does all this relate to Spider Man, to Peter Parker, a boy who is in Lagos, a graphic designer who's trying to make some money? How does all this relate? So like I said at the top of the show and I'm repeating again,

direct response marketing is not my area of specialty. So consult and marketing for professional because at this point, me, I'm just freestyling. So if you want much more targeted advice, go on consulting marketing professional. Tell him now look, I was listening to my boys podcast and this is what I heard about direct response marketing. Is it true? The guy will say yes, and you can now discuss and say, OK, this is a business that I do.

This is what I'm trying to achieve. If I want to do direct response marketing, how we apply to my business. So go and talk to direct response marketing specialist. However, we can talk around with the principles and let's all we can figure out. So First off, I think that our boy Peter Parker, Spider man, graphic designer, remember the whole thing was about Flyers that I will design 3 Flyers for you for free. If you like, you pay.

If you don't like, don't pay. But of course you know, whatever how risk reversal is good, but the whole thing is labor intensive. You might not make a lot of money, all those sorts of things, but this is what I think. I think that our guy, our boy Peter Parker, remember targeting, he should have been more targeted. So he sent this thing out to me because he got my contact number on the Internet and because he thought I was a photographer.

Even though I'm no longer in the business. I think Peter Parker should have been targeting people who use Flyers like, every, every every day. Yeah, photographers need Flyers. But true of the matter is photographers make Flyers once in a while. The photographer might make flyer in January and then use the rest of the year to distribute. That's not people like that don't really value value Flyers in my own opinion. My guess, I could be wrong, and if I'm wrong, you guys let me know.

My guess is that maybe people in the restaurant business are people who need Flyers. You know, you go and drop your Flyers. Like what's this place called? Amala Hot. Yeah. There's one place in in Apple, not far from where we live, Amala Hot. And truly, truly the place, for example, is Amala Hot. It's is a book. It's just that it was made in a modern setting where it's basically Booker setting. So, so people like Amala Hot,

you know, creating Flyers because they need to drum up publicity. People need to know that they are there. So like I think I'm a hot is in Lagos but you know people will not know that. OK then I have branch in Abuja so I'm gonna hot those people. They need Flyers. This is me guessing by the way. You know I don't know everything and I don't pretend to know everything. So my guess is that people like I'm a hot restaurants, they need that.

Even if Peter Parker was going to do the people in the event space, I think event planners do Flyers more than photographers. That's just my guess. So restaurant people, caterers, event planners, I'm thinking Peter Parker should have been targeting those people instead of targeting people like me who might make Flyers in January of 2024 and not bother again on to 2025 or 2026. In fact, I've seen some photographers who have Flyers that like up to like five years old.

It happens. So in any way, sit down, talk to your spouse, talk to your boyfriend or girlfriend, talk to Mumsy Popsy, talk to your mentor, do some AI research, but either way, try and be more targeted. Don't just get the contact details of every single business person that you can find and then throw up this offer. So that is one thing that Peter Parker should have been doing. Should I be much more targeted then? Once you target these people and get their contact details, in my own opinion, I think you should have designed a flyer, whether this flyer was physical or not.

OK, Well, he reached out to me on WhatsApp, so the design should have been digital, OK? No, most people are not going to click on a link to download something, at least in Nigeria anyway. They don't know you, so they're not going to click on the link. OK, You know what, like I said, I'm not a direct marketing especially, so just ignore. But The thing is you should have reached out, OK, if it's a physical, if it's a business,

yes, it will be physical Flyers that he will take to those businesses, I think. And of course, you know, catchy messaging, you know, boost your businesses with eye-catching Flyers, get a free quote +3 free designs, you know, something like that, you know, direct response marketing, their messaging is always short, short, short boss. You know, I'm straight to the point and always benefit benefits because they want people to see one time and understand and get what the whole thing is about.

So nothing flowery flowery. I'm a graphic designer, something 15 years experienced is that that that specialize in this and aesthetic this and no, no, no, no, no, as in just, you know, as in just straight to the point. Boost your business eye-catching Flyers, get a free quote 3 designs, blah, blah, blah. You know, click here now call this you know, call this e-mail this just straight to the point then I think now the scope you should have been using is like I

said now three designs for free. But however, I think they should have been the catch. You should have said these designs that we're making are for free, but however you have to pay for the cost of printing the actual Flyers and then you'd have now done a cost plus pricing strategy on the Flyers. So in other words, if printing one individual flyer costs five naira, then maybe he will say each flyer costs seven naira, 50

cobo, and then minimum print is maybe 1000 copies. Then the money who will get will now be two naira, 50 cobo multiplied by 1000. So I forgive me, I'm not sure how much that's supposed to be. And then so run the math. So that would be that kind of thing. So that way you'll be seeing some returns, you know, no matter how small. And then also that would also be make more sense as a land and expand strategy so that the person does the designs for now and the three designs in quote were free.

But then for the printing of the Flyers, you make some cobo, cobo or some naira naira on the Flyers, but not too much at a loss. But then later on when this person has seen the wonderful work that you do, you guys are now cool, you guys are now friendly. Hopefully we can now do future work for the person at full value. Where the person will now pay you your. I'm not sure how much people charge now. OK, let me just say 30K per design or maybe 50K person will now charge you your 50K, you know, per design.

So that next year if you design 3 designs for the person, that'll be 150K instead of doing it for free. Then of course, another thing that I would recommend that our boy Peter Parker do if you're trying this direct marketing approach, of course, because there's some people, it's not everybody that you end up doing business with. But sure, remember what I said at the top of the episode that for direct response people, what they want to do is not to collect money now, now, now, or they want to collect contact details so that they will chase you for money tomorrow.

So of course for Peter Parker, who makes sense to keep all the phone numbers, all the e-mail addresses, all the whatever that you're able to generate as you are going from office to office or as you're hitting up people in WhatsApp and things like that. So, you know, so you can chase for your future marketing efforts. Then apart from direct response marketing, since it seemed to me like Peter Parker, Sorry, one moment.

OK, sorry, notification came up my phone. I just wanted to see who it was. I was hoping it was credit alert, but I know it wasn't, unfortunately. Where was I? So apart from direct marketing, there's also a couple of couple of things that Peter Parker could have done since he needs money now. Now, Now how do I call this thing OK, like a referral strategy or channel? OK channel. Channel is better. Channel strategy is a better way of doing it.

Now they're there behind the referral strategy or channel strategy is you have a certain customer and the customer in using your product or service usually has to deal with some people before or to deal with some people after. You just partner up with those people so that you guys can chase the market together. So back when I was in the game, wedding photographers would look for wedding planners to team up with. That is a channel strategy.

It's something that Peter Parker could have done as well since he needs money now, now, now. So Peter Packer could also have been sending messages to marketing agencies or marketing influencers and try and come up with some referrals, something that look, you, you talk about marketing or you have customers who are trying to work on marketing, whatever. So when it comes to the designs, why don't you call me up so that I'm the one that will do all the graphic designs for the something, you know, I won't charge you much or you give me a Commission or I will give you a Commission or something.

But all those conversations, so marketing agencies, marketing influencers, you reach out to them like, hey, this is me, this is what I do, I'm your boy, I'm available. Let's see how we can run things. Then also printers. When I was in Lagos, that is something that I saw a lot. So graphic design people were affiliated with printers. So like you go to a printer shop and the guy might look at your designers. OK, this is good, this is good.

But this one what? This one what? How about you change this design? Change that design, you say, but I don't have any graphic designer saying no problem, I'll give you some numbers. Call this guy, call quickly or call Kemi or Keller or call adequately. The three of them, they're equally good here. That's a phone number. Now, of course, when you call Kemi adequately or for me or whoever, and you end up doing business with one of them, those guys give a cut back to the printer.

So that's something I saw back when I used to live in Lagos when I was donkey years ago. So Peter Parker could have done something like that as well. I think I've thrown enough around ideas, but when it comes to the direct response marketing thing, remember to talk to a specialist. But bottom line, these are some ideas that Peter Parker could have tried out that are less labour intensive than hitting up people on WhatsApp and then you end up designing five designs for free for each person.

I mean, that is a lot of work. Except if he's doing all his designs exclusively using AI I'm using, I'm thinking that it would take at least 30 minutes to do 5 designs for each people. So even if you hit up people on WhatsApp and then five people say yes, and then you're using 30 minutes for each person. So 30 minutes, that is 5 * 50. That's 150 minutes. 150 minutes is how many hours is that any? Do the math. You see that show that's a whole lot of work.

So these are some other things that you could have done that might have been less labor intensive. And whether these ideas are good ideas or not good ideas, at least hopefully some of you might have learnt a little bit about direct response marketing. And I hope that the the gears are now beginning to turn in your head so you can see how you can apply this to your business. But whether you do direct response marketing or not.

So three things that we can do apply to our businesses that direct response marketing people like to do is this whole thing of call to action. Please, please, please in your contact keep putting call to action in them. And this is my own call to action connect with me. The phone number is 08064662140, country code +234 for those of you who are not Nigerian and then connect with me on LinkedIn, the name to look for establishing my IED.

I'm on YouTube under the same name as well. Also, you can focus on your ROI. Always make sure that if you're dropping money, if you're dropping 11 naira, at least let us be seen. You know, 22 naira enter or 1 naira 50 gobo enter. In return, we should be focused on ROI. Then we also have a targeted approach because no direct response marketer is going to send out general message. They won't. So like the example that I gave about my father, no direct spokesperson is going to start putting out Flyers in the streets that there's a new cement company in town.

Are you interested? Call this number. Direct response marketers who do their research will get their phone number and they would have made sure that that thing would have ended up directly in my father's PO Box so that when he opens it, the message is targeted and relevant is not wasted. Because if that kind of master, sorry, I say master, if that kind of e-mail ends up in Pastor Adabc's box, you know, Pastor Adabc is a pastor.

So him receiving this thing makes no sense person. He won't even know if it's a good deal or a bad deal. But if it ends up in Mr. Ades Inbox because my father did cement distribution or ends up in Malam Donami's PO Box, goes Malam Donami makes breaks or maybe he also distributes cement. Those kind of people when they open it and they say OK, 5000 per extra bag, they know whether this is a good offer or that's a bad offer.

And those are the kind of people that will be much more likely to pick up the phone and take action or go to the office and take action or visit the factory and take action. So let's keep our communications targeted. Let's look at different customer segments. Let's make sure that our messaging is relevant. That's what it is. That's what makes it easier or much more probable for people to take action when we put calls to action at the end of our at the end of whatever messages that we send out.

So that's all for today. Thank you very much for listening to the show. I'll catch you guys at the next episode.