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FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

Hopefully, the previous section (notes) has explained everything and the most obvious questions have now been answered. But here are the answers to a few more that we've encountered in the past...

Q	Who are these people on my Activity Report?
A	Everyone on your Activity Report has responded to our national advertising in the last few weeks and has either telephoned or applied online for an “Opportunity Report”.

Q	What have they actually received?
A	The Opportunity Report is an A4 pack containing details of companies and individuals offering high-income business opportunities. It was despatched to them a day or two before we sent your Activity Report to you. Your own ad was included in all of the Opportunity Reports sent to the people in your Activity Report.

Q	Can I see a sample Report?
A	Of course - just ring or email or something and we’ll pop one in the post.
Q	Where have the names come from?
A	Everyone has responded to one of the business opportunity advertisements which we have placed (at considerable expense) in the national press. We have never added a single name from any other source.
Q	How often are the Reports produced?
A	Approximately once per month. In actual fact we issue a fresh report as soon as we have collected 1000 new enquiries from all over the country since the previous report, and we try to arrange our advertising schedule so that this takes about one month. Sometimes it might be longer, especially during holiday periods when the response rates from our newspaper advertisements is lower. We normally produce 10 reports per year.
Q	When will the next Report be produced?
A	Call 01270 259000 anytime for our best estimate or bookmark this page.

What kind of description of my business can I have in the Report?

You can have:

a brief (or blank) description (max. 255 characters)
you are presented as a company or individual with a high-quality business opportunity and you can write a sentence or two describing your opportunity. With this format your entry and contact details has a box titled "Notes" underneath, to hopefully encourage people to contact you and write their own notes as they do so. If you go for a Blank description, only your contact details will be shown (some people prefer this approach and this option is also used if your description doesn't reach us in time).
a fuller description (max. 250 words*)
This option allows you to give more details although there is no "notes" area. We would advocate the "Less Is More" approach (fewer words = greater impact) and in most cases 50 well-written words to arouse curiosity will yield better results than rambling on and on. Remember that people are naturally sceptical and too much information can be destructive because you run the risk of allowing readers to negatively pre-judge before they have seen the big picture.
*The actual size limit isn't exactly 250 words, but 80mm of vertical height when formatted in the Report. A lot depends on the number of paragraphs. 250 words (or possibly more) can be made to fit, although the more you say, the smaller the text size will be. Our Template can help you with layout (requires Microsoft Word):
click here to download the Template
(right-click the link, then choose "Save Target As..")

What’s the best way to follow up these leads?

The way that works best for you! The way you’re most comfortable with! (If that’s not avoiding the issue - because this is a very difficult question). After 15 years we really don’t think there is a “best” way, but we do know that our most successful customers do follow up all of their leads somehow; whether with a well-produced information pack or telephone call (preferably with a lot of forethought and a good script). We don’t usually recommend people to mail out expensive packs to all respondents without qualifying them first, since for every “YES!” there are of course a lot who will say no.

How long shall I leave them before I follow up the leads?

One of our oldest customers tells us that he does NOTHING for a couple of months. He finds that when people have responded to an ad, they may well be considering quite a few options and need a little time. Others are on the phone the very next day. Don’t discard your Report. Direct mail can be very powerful (especially nowadays when a lot of people go for the easier email option) and a good follow-up several weeks down the line can be very effective.

Q	How long after I receive the Report can I contact the people on it?
A	Your lease to use the Report expires after 90 days (approx 3 months). After this period we make the names available for Mailing Lists and Prospect Lists.
Q	Why don’t they all have telephone numbers and email addresses?
A	Most people who enquire by phone leave their telephone number. Most people who apply online provide an email address. Obviously we're not in a position to force the issue and some prefer not to leave these details. The proportion of people with a phone number is around 80% and email 35%.

Q	What does CLI mean, and what is the CLI number?
A	CLI is the industry term for Calling Line Identification. Various networks have coined their own phrases, e.g. "Caller ID". This is the number that was sent by the caller's phone network and which was logged by our voicemail system. Obviously this is not always the person's own phone number and could be a work number, a friend's number or even a payphone.

Q	Why are there two names the same in this month’s Report?
A	The only way any person can appear twice is if they contact us twice. We work hard to eliminate this and the majority of duplicates are detected and deleted before your Report is created. Occasionally we don't pick them up in time or the address was recorded slightly differently. It is irksome, but remember that the duplicated name is in addition, and you are not losing out by its existence.

Why is there a name repeated from a previous month?

Sometimes an enquirer will ring again several weeks or months later to request another Report. In this case we locate their original record and reset the "sent" flag, which then allows the computer to include that person in the following month's mailing. There will always be a certain percentage of people who do this. Maybe they have not yet been shown an opportunity which suits them, or they are looking for something else as well. We could limit the service to "one Report per household", but instead we take the view that any person may have a perfectly good reason to make a second enquiry, which we do not pre-judge. We charge people £2 if they want another Opportunity Report after their first free one, and we have a "40-day gap" rule, whereby our system will not re-send to the same person within 40 days. Therefore the same person should not appear in consecutive reports.

You could take the view that the enquiry is a particularly serious one, as they have taken the trouble to contact New Horizons more than once. Please remember that you are not being "deprived" of any more leads just because the individual has enquired a second time, and therefore the advertising is no less effective.

Why do I sometimes get leads from an adjacent postcode area in the "wrong" section?

To offer the fairest service that we can, our computer software has been designed to “lend” one or more enquiries to a next-door postcode area in the event that a particular area receives a lot more enquiries than its neighbour in any given month. For example, in October ‘96 the DE:Derby area had 14 enquiries and the adjacent SK:Stockport had only 7. In this case, 2 enquiries were transferred, so that the SK Report received 9 and DE received 12 enquiries. Take a look at a Postcode Map and you will see that these areas lie next to each other.

Why are there more areas assigned to me than I ordered?

We have studied response rates over several years. We have found that some areas regularly yield a lower volume of enquiries compared to the national average. Rather than offer these areas at a reduced cost, we give them away free to whoever takes the adjacent area. We call these "grouped" areas; the higher yield area we call the "main" area and the lower yield area we call the "sub" area. Where there are several adjacent areas to choose from, we give the sub area to the lowest-yielding adjacent area. The sub areas are not available on their own, and you cannot take a main area without its sub area(s). Exactly which these areas are is marked on our Postcode Map and the Postcode Area guide. The quota of leads from the two (or three) grouped areas combined should be roughly equivalent to one ordinary area on its own. See below for information on quotas.

Why don’t you use first class post for the Activity Reports?

Because of the timing. All the Opportunity Reports are sent second class, and the Activity Reports go the next day, also second. If we mailed your Report to you first class, it would overtake many Opportunity Reports. Overall, 2nd class mail is obviously a cost consideration but bearing in mind that the respondents have enquired from a few days to to a month or so ago, just one more day's delay (on average) does not justify the extra cost of first class post.

Q	Can you fax my Activity Report to me?
A	Yes, two days after we have posted it if it still hasn’t arrived. Before then, no, because it isn’t fair on other advertisers who are subject to a postal delay.

Can I have my Activity Report by email?

You can choose whether to receive your Activity Report by email or by post (if you want both, we charge a supplement of £15). The file format is .DBF, which is readable by a wide variety of computer software, for example Microsoft Excel, although not all home computers possess the necessary software straight from the shop!

Please verify you are able to successfully utilise a DBF file before ordering delivery by email (right-click the links below and choose "Save Target As.."):

• Download a sample .DBF data file
• Download a Help file (PDF format) in case you encounter problems opening the data file

Q	What about Mailing Labels?
A	We can send a complete set of mailing labels a day or so after your report if you wish, for which there is a small charge.

Are some areas always busier than others.

The majority of postcode areas are surprisingly even in terms of response when viewed over a period of time, because Royal Mail’s postcode system was designed with roughly the same population in each area. Still, we have identified some consistently quiet areas which we give away free to the person who takes the adjacent area (for example, LU:Luton is free when you take AL:St Albans). Consistently busy areas are split in two and offered separately, for example M:Manchester is booked as two independent areas: M1-25 and M26-70.

Q	Can I swap one of my areas for a different one?
A	Yes, you can change your assigned areas whenever you want. You’ll get the enquiries from the area which is active when the Reports are printed. Because we only allow one entry in the report from each business, you can only swap into an "available" area, i.e. an area which has not already been booked by somebody else.

Q	Can I add more areas?
A	Yes of course, and the more areas you have, the cheaper they become. You’ll only be asked for the difference when you upgrade. So, if you buy 4 areas for £150 and want 10 areas (£350), you only pay £200. Again, this depends on the areas being available for your business.

Q	What if I want an area which is not available?
A	When an area is unavailable, somebody else promoting the same business already has it, probably for 3, 6 or 12 months and when their booking expires, that person is given the option to renew. However if there are particular areas you want, our computer will store your name against them so that you become next in line as soon as they become available. We'll contact you when this happens.

Q	How will I know when my booking has expired?
A	We will either send you a “Renewal Reminder” with your last Activity Report, showing your current areas and rates for the next advertising period or contact you by phone or email to remind you. If for any reason you don't want to renew your areas, please let us know as soon as you can to give us time to offer them to somebody else.

What happens if I forget to renew my areas or renew late?

Expired areas show up on our system and we'll attempt to contact you to renew your areas. If we're unable to contact you after your final Report your booking will be terminated if we have not heard from you. Then, anyone waiting for the area will be notified it’s now available for them. Therefore if you're going away on holiday, please let us know beforehand if you want to keep your areas, because once another person has booked them they can't be re-assigned.

Q	Can I re-book automatically?
A	Yes, with our TIME-SAVER system. With your credit/debit card details on file, we will automatically repeat your current booking every 3, 6 or 12 months, until you instruct otherwise. It saves you time and secures your areas and, because it also saves us time and paperwork, there’s an extra 5% discount available for TIME-SAVER clients.

Q	Can I have a back-copy of an old Report which I have lost?
A	Yes, and within reason there’s no charge for back copies. Please allow 3 days for retrieval and printing.

Q	Can I buy names from previous Activity Reports, from before I booked my areas?
A	We don't sell historic Activity Reports as such but you can order names from any areas you want either as a Mailing List (names & addresses) or Prospect List (+phone numbers). Please see the Direct Mail section for details.

Q	Why didn't I receive an Activity Report in August or December?
A	Activity Reports are released on an approximately monthly basis. Actually, we produce a report straight away, as soon as we have over 1000 new leads. We cannot be sure exactly when this will happen (it depends on a number of factors including holidays and how many national newspapers "forget" to print our ads each month!), so we do not specify a date each month when the report will be released (for our ongoing best estimate, click here). Holiday periods make it unfeasible to collect 1000 leads per month, which is why we tend to miss a month around August/September, and then again around Christmas. If you have a booking of several months which spans one of these holiday periods your booking will continue until we have sent you the required number of reports. For example, if you have a 12-month booking, it may take 14-15 months to actually receive 12 issues.
Q	When is the next Report?
A	To find out when the next Report is planned please click here
Q	I was told to expect my Report on the 15th and now it's the 18th and it's still not arrived. What can you do?
A	When requested, our staff will give you our current best estimate of the release date of the next Report. This date will not be guaranteed: we cannot and do not provide a service on a fixed or guaranteed date, because there are a number of factors which can cause delays, e.g. newspaper ads failing to appear, data problems, office machine failure postal strikes etc. Please be patient and be assured that we will be working hard to get the Opportunity Reports and Activity Reports out as soon as possible.

Other Comments and Feedback

I don’t seem to have many enquiries this month!

“Normal” response ranges between 6 and 14 enquiries per area (1000+ enquiries divided between 120+ postcodes). If your response is down, RING US and we’ll take a look at it with you. If you’re not getting a fair quota from one (or more) of your areas, we’ll swap it or extend it or something, to make sure you get a fair deal. We try to spot quiet areas for you and extend your booking, but if we don’t - tell us!

We guarantee your response will average at least 6 enquiries per area per month, otherwise we will extend your booking.

Some people say they haven’t received their Opportunity Report!

Your Activity Report is a list of people we have actually mailed to. We can think of three reasons why people may claim not to have received their copy:

Your Report has arrived before theirs. Opportunity Reports and Activity Reports are normally dispatched one day apart. Most will be delivered one day apart, a day or two later. Obviously, if you are on the phone immediately when you receive your Report, there will be a proportion of mail still in the post.
They say they haven't received it, even though they have - or have forgotten it, lost it, eaten it etc. This is the classic fob-off and we believe it accounts for the vast majority of apparently missing mail. Rather than allow themselves to be put into a position where they may be subjected to pressure, many people will rather say they haven't received the information. We would recommend that you immediately turn this response into an advantageous situation, something like... "You haven't received it?... Oh, good! ... Let me tell you what it says......" etc.
Royal Mail is losing large amounts of post.
Of course, this is highly unlikely. We have already questioned their Customer Services department to ask about the situation regarding large mailshots and we are satisfied that errors are no more likely than when processing individual letters. All New Horizons’ mail is taken directly to a main UK sorting centre where it is handed over the counter in person by members of our staff.

Some people are ungrateful when contacted and threaten the Advertising Standards Authority, Citizens' Advice Bureau, Watchdog, DTI, Trading Standards, Sale of Goods Act, Data Protection Act, Mailing Preference Service, County Court, Magistrates Court, Postmaster General, Paymaster General, Albert Square General, Fat Controller, Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Armageddon, etc etc etc... They want their name removed from the list and hold you personally responsible!

If you encounter a member of the aggressive minority, you should simply inform them that their name is on a list which came from an agency and you are using a perfectly legal marketing method. If they have a problem they should contact us. Then give them our number 01270 259000 and conclude the call. If you prefer to write, we recommend something like: "Sorry to have troubled you. I will not contact you again. Your name is on a list owned by New Horizons, 01270 259000. The director's name is Mr. Randal Davies. If you want your name removed from the list you will need to contact them."

Some people say they’re not interested even after I’ve explained everything and sent them an information pack!

The name of the game is finding appropriate people. They may feel your opportunity is not right for them, or you may feel they are not right for your opportunity. Don't give up!

Somebody said they weren’t interested BEFORE giving me the chance to explain anything!

You might have caught a busy person at the wrong time. Or possibly, one with a closed mind. The majority of people prefer to process information in their own good time, so it’s always an idea to pop something in the post to them anyway.

Some people say they have NEVER responded to an ad, NEVER received a report and are NOT interested in a business opportunity - in a way which makes me doubt the integrity of the information you have sent me.

We have answered this one a lot of times. You will inevitably encounter some people who deny responding to anything and the usual reason for this is that you are being fobbed-off.

As of , we have collected a total of around names. We have NEVER added even ONE which is not from one of our press ads - that is a promise. This means that every single name on the list we sent you is somebody who responded to one of our newspaper ads (or their wife, brother did so on their behalf, etc).
If you have any doubts whatsoever, I invite you to ring me personally (Randal Davies) and quote their name and postcode and I will quickly be able to tell you: 1. the date they rung us in response to our advertisement; 2. which newspaper they read (if they told us at the time - most people do); 3. whether they responded by phone or internet; 4. we'll probably be able to find their original voice recording or their original email response form.

However please read on for a more positive solution to this issue.

I am encountering a lot of negativity when I follow up my leads.

This is the big one and tele-sales is a long and complex topic. If you are honest about it you will agree that nobody really wants to be called by you at all, and certainly not late at night or at the weekend. To turn a perfectly natural defensive response into a positive conversation when you disturb someone at home requires experience, a damn good script, a lot of skill and a thick skin. Your success depends on finding new people yet you must expect them to appear initially reluctant, as you might do yourself if the situation were reversed. Recruiting people from a list of names has never been easy and when people are unsuccessful it is very easy to blame the list. However this is not necessarily fair and, unfortunately for us, not all of our clients possess the necessary skills.

Ask your franchise operator or your upline for advice on what to say when contacting people for the first time. They may have learnt valuable lessons in the past and be able to help you a lot, especially if you are new to the business.

As we all know, it's a numbers game, however if you encounter persistent problems and don't seem to be making much progress we respectfully suggest that you modify your script and seriously consider the way you deliver it. The following points are extremely important:

Write down your opening lines and analyse them word by word...
Are you are giving objection opportunities "on a plate", thereby making it too easy for people to interrupt your flow with "no I haven't" etc?
Until you gain trust, allow people to feel secure with you by letting them leave escape routes open - e.g. consider how something like "might you be interested" is a lot easier to say "yes" to than "are you interested" because the latter indicates a firm commitment.
Encourage an interactive conversation early on by asking questions which require a "yes" response, e.g. "might you be interested in earning some extra money in your spare time?" (notice the use of "might you" and not "are you"!)
Chill out. Do not underestimate the massive importance of your manner and tone. Think of the calm, easy-going style of Michael Parkinson, Lorraine Kelly or Gary Lineker. It is essential that you are confident on the phone and practice makes perfect.
The psychology of canvassing/cold calling/pitching is complex. The far-sighted few who take the time to master it can expect to be regarded as "lucky" by those who haven't. Try this and this.

As with all promotions of this type we hope that the positive responses outweigh the negatives and the overall outcome will be a good one.

I’m an all-round wonderful person with a fantastic business opportunity (oh yeah, and we're taking the world by storm too), but I get a bad reaction when I call people at 10pm on a Friday night.

No comment.