PPB December 2018

I f you are a sales professional (in any industry), odds are you are challenged with prospecting and ensuring your pipeline is full of leads that will help you acquire new business. The most common prospecting methodology uses a multi-channel approach: a combination of cold calling, social spamming (e-mails and/ or targeted advertisements) and direct mail. Direct mail can have a bit of an “old-school” reputation but writing it off in your prospecting efforts would be a mistake. When it comes to direct mail, many peoplemay be accustomed to includingmagnets or pens with printedmarketingmaterials, and with somuch digital marketing being dispersed today, it is important to continue tomake your direct mail piece stand out amongst all the noise. When creating a direct mail piece for your prospecting campaigns, keep two things inmind: maintain your campaignmessage and provide your prospect with value. Maintain Your Campaign Message On average, it takes six attempts to connect with a prospect. Knowing that your campaign will require numerous touches, it is important to create messaging that is cohesive across all the channels you will be using. If you are undecided on whether you should be using direct mail, consider that targeted B2B direct mail has a response rate of nearly 37 times that of e-mail alone. Sending only e-mails is not enough to capture a prospect’s attention. With the average person receiving 121 e-mails per day, it can be extremely difficult to distinguish yourself amidst the clutter of a prospect’s inbox. For this reason, it is not only important that you include more than digital touches within your campaign, but maintain your campaign message throughout each of the channels used to ensure consistency. For example, if you send an e-mail about product trends, make your next touch a direct mail piece that features those trends and includes messaging that ties back to your e-mail. This helps the recipient to know there is a real person behind the campaign. In addition to being consistent with messaging, use variable data whenever you can to personalize the mail piece. There is no better way to make someone feel they matter and let them know they are not just another prospect. It also helps you meet your quota by giving them a product or message that is specific to them. Sample messaging: “Hey {first name}, I wanted to show you firsthand what I was referring to in my e-mail when I mentioned a, b, c … I think these trends would be great to incorporate into {company name}’s next corporate event or product launch. I saw you are currently doing x, y, z and I had some ideas I wanted to share with you that can further enhance these strategies.” Breathe New Life Into Your Sales By Pairing Direct Mail With Spot- On Products by Lisa Ghera Direct Mail Is Not Dead INNOVATE 22 | DECEMBER 2018 |