The Drive By Proposal...

A Blog Worthy True Story

On Wednesday, March 3rd a young lady with a stack of prestigious local magazines and a business card came into my retail place of business to make a cold call on me. We spoke casually for about 10 minutes, she asked about my customers and told me how great it would be for me to advertise in her magazine. She took my card and told me she would follow up. As she walked out I wondered when/if I'd hear from her again and if so, what her "next step" might be.

The very next day, she emailed me a proposal. My first reaction: Wow! This should be interesting considering she has little knowledge of my target consumers, no idea of my marketing objectives and what size (if any) budget I might be working with.

I opened the document to find even more surprises. She has defined and outlined each of these for me:

Purpose:
Build brand recognition and obtain new consignors/customers by marketing to the most powerful and influential buying group in the Dallas Ft Worth area.

Achieve top of mind awareness among her dedicated paid readership who depend on each and every issue for trusted information and resources as it relates to home decorating and design.

Strategy:
Launch partnership with a consistent presence in each of the following bi-monthly issues

Investment:
Option 1
4 Full page ads
$16,116

Option 2
4 Half page ads
$10,608

I did not respond to her email/proposal nor has she followed up with me (since March 3rd) which is another missed opportunity in my opinion. Had she followed up and allowed me to reject her Drive By Proposal we may have actually engaged in a meaningful conversation. We could have discussed the fact that we have identified several target groups each with a much different motivation for buying consignment home furnishings. She would have learned that one group is most likely a good match with her readers and in fact I am currently developing an advertorial concept designed reach the very people who read her magazines, yet there's lots of ground to cover before I agree to buy four ads priced at $4,029.00 each.

Two pieces of Advice:

1. If you're considering a Drive By Proposal...keep driving.


2. If it's too late and you've already delivered the DBP have the courage and courtesy to follow up with the recipient.


Fail Forward! Turn a NO into a conversation and opportunity to learn more about how you may or may not help each client reach their goals and achieve the desired ROI. We all have goals and expectations. Find out what they are and be honest about your ability to help and add value to the relationship.

Clients are interested in solving problems much moreso than buying advertising. I promise.