I was sitting at my walnut desk in my faux-wood paneled den on a sunny Saturday morning, staring at a stack of mostly white and a few, multi-colored, papers. I had decided to evaluate my current insurance situation and was working my way through the various policies for my car and myself. But with all those terms and all that fine print, my poor head was swimming. There were items like deductibles, co-pays, minimums, maximums, blankets, umbrellas, whole, term, collision, comprehensive, and all those words joined forces to deluge my pulsating brain. Was I sufficiently covered and was I paying too much or too little?

I had met with my current agent a week before. He gave me even more addendums, waivers, and options to consider. I tried to make sense of it all and had all the documents neatly arranged by date, type, and company. But just then, the mail arrived and, oh no! More letters from new and different insurers trying to solicit my business. Should I just toss them or read each one? It was so frustrating.

Earlier that same morning, I had already made a trip to visit the old faithful Yellow Pages, hoping for some relief. But as I read the ads, most of the larger companies had endless lists of agents by location. Others simply had big pictures of their agents, as if that were enough to gain my trust. Finally, a few had headlines that just reiterated their “Life-Auto-Health Insurance.” I already knew that, so why torture me with the same old stuff, I begged?

I sighed and was leaning back in my black, leather swivel chair when a strange character encased in a giant Yellow Page book came dancing into the den. He, she, or it, certainly got my attention as it stood before me on thin, spindly legs. It said, “Don’t be confused, I’m here to help,” and it parted in the middle to reveal a full-page ad. It was titled, “We Offer Assurance and Answers, Not Just Insurance.” I was flabbergasted. Could it be that such an agent existed? I quickly called the phone number and set an appointment. I had a renewed sense of self-confidence and hope for my health, auto and life insurance needs. Before I could even thank the thing, it danced out the front door saying, “Your welcome, and remember it was Wolley Segap to the rescue.” The end… or is it?

This little story was designed to serve a purpose and illustrate the need for effective advertising. So, attention business people: Is your Yellow Page ad doing its job? If not, let this serve as your wake-up call. I’ve witnessed many companies that thought they had an ad that worked, while, in reality, it had a flawed headline, lousy copy, or pathetic artwork. How do I know?

I was a YP rep and consultant for nearly 25 years and, prior to that, had my own advertising agency. I also have a degree in marketing. I’ve been designing Yellow Page ads for the past three decades. So I have expertise in YP creation and have advised almost 7000 companies on how to put together the most effective YP ads. If you have a display or in-column ad, regardless of size, color or position, I can tell you it most probably needs improvement in the headline, artwork, body text, placement, book, or heading. You must understand the ROI or return on investment and learn how to track the results as well.

So consider getting some expert advice before you place your next ad. There are many good and inexpensive places to turn, some available on the internet. Make sure the consultant is well qualified with at least 25 years experience. Otherwise, you’ll be wasting your own time and money. Then, hopefully, you wont’ really need Wolley Segap coming to the rescue after all.