Back in the days before YouTube, Cable TV, iPhones, and 24/7/365 media saturation of every single aspect of our lives, entertainment was actually special. And one thing that every child in mid-America looked forward to was when the circus came to town. But getting Mom and Dad bought into the idea could take some effort.

That's why promoters laid the foundation weeks in advance with posters, flyers, newspaper ads. They realized that Dad was busy; he'd pass by the poster and not notice. Couple days later he'd absent-mindedly let a flyer fall from his hands.... One week later he might notice the headline in the paper ... "hmmmmm..." All to prepare him for the moment when the parade would hit main street and Dad would say, "Hey look.... Elephants! The circus is in town! I bet the kids would love it!"

The wisdom of this approach should be modeled today, but rarely is. For example, most small businesses who try direct mail send out one piece of mail and then sit back and wait for the phone to ring. More often than not they are disappointed in the results. It's important to realize that one-step selling is very difficult. When your economics permit multi-step, it's always better.

Having the first move right is useless if ALL your moves aren't right. To improve ROI on ANY marketing campaign you want more frequent contact and do multiple steps using multiple media. This can include calls, faxes, emails, and more... and when you're using direct-mail, it absolutely needs to include additional mailings!

It's very important not to get frustrated if you don't receive a lot of response immediately. Once you have a good list of prospects, keep contacting them. Eventually they will need your products/services and you will be the one they think of.

You must keep at this and not give up if you want to see the results you want. It's also important to stay up to date with the latest strategies on marketing your business.