How to Triple your Catalogue Order Value

My Kleeneze retail business is built up around blanket drops - I'm still building up my Kleeneze business and I have 3 hours per night after work to find potential customers, many of whom won't answer the door after dark. Many of them won't answer the door at all, expecting all callers to be warned off by signs like these:

 However, this week, I tried an experiment so that I could explain to potential team members the benefits of presenting the Kleeneze catalogues.

I put out 57 catalogues to customers who had bought from me in 2010, so I knew they would look at the catalogues. That's just over the number of catalogues you get in the basic Business Builder kit and would be the equivalent of somebody presenting catalogues to people who show an interest in looking at Kleeneze products.

Last night, after delivering my orders, I collected the catalogues in. As it was after 8pm, I just collected off doorsteps, rather than ringing and waiting. Of the 57 I put out, I got 41 back. Of those 41, I got 13 orders, totalling £140.

Normally, if I put out 200 catalogues, I get around 80% back in this area. Last night I got 72% back, so not much of a difference there. The difference is in the proportion of orders. Usually I get orders from 5% of the catalogues I put out, which equates to 6.25% of the catalogues I collect in. The order value per blanket dropped catalogue collected averages out at between 75p and £1 per catalogue in this area.

Last night I got orders from 23% of the catalogues I put out, or 32% of the catalogues I collected in. The order value per catalogue collected leapt to £3.41.

This just reinforces my belief that presenting catalogues is definitely the way to go. What I need to do now is work out how I can fit presenting in to my already tight schedule.

How do you prefer to build your retail business?