Page 198 - Duct Tape Marketing

Direct Mail Is an Ideal Target Medium

marketing efforts. First, he determines the types of businesses and
industries that would probably purchase his products. He gets this
information through the Internet, chamber of commerce guides, or the
Yellow Pages. He then plugs these organizations into his contact man-
agement software.

Next, he calls the receptionist of that organization, gets the name
of the person who can make a purchasing decision for his product,
and sends that person a letter. He does not ask to speak to him or her
at this time. He follows up the letter in one week with a phone call
and works to set an appointment.

He finds that this steady approach allows him to set one appoint-
ment for every five letters. He sends five of these letters every working
day, which means he makes five follow-up phone calls every day. There­
fore, he typically generates one appointment with a new client every day.

If for some reason this person does not want to see him, he puts
them on his mailing list to receive a custom activity series set up
within his contact management software. Every ten days he sends
out a targeted postcard to that person, detailing a unique service he
provides or giving more information about his work for other clients.
After four to six postcards go out to that prospect, he follows up with
another call. Frequently, though, he receives calls from his postcard
mailings. Why? Because they are targeted.

He also uses his mailing to point the potential client to his Web
site, where he has developed an e-mail autoresponder series that pro-
vides additional information to his prospects.

A Consistent Pattern of Contact

So, what will you send to your prospects and customers on a monthly
basis? Here is an example calendar of contact points:

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