A Call for a Better Call-to-action In an era when marketing dollars are under incredible scrutiny and when the average cost of a single, full‐page ad placements in even the most obscure vertical‐niche publication hovers around $8K (not to speak of the unspeakable cost of insertion costs for consumer publications) – it’s surprising how many print advertisements, direct mail solicitations, and websites offer little in the way of forwarding the sales cycle than the anemic, all‐but‐innocuous “For more information, call 1‐800…” With a little imagination, audience empathy, and preparation on the tracking‐ and fulfillment‐end of your organization’s toll‐free line, it’s easy to transform every ad’s “call‐to‐action” (CTA) into a response‐oriented eye opener that will not only create an inquiry – but help to propel the prospect along the sales cycle and reduce cost‐of‐sales through pre‐qualification.

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