BY TODD SCHNICK – www.intrepid-llc.com 

This past week, I received the following email.  I wanted to share it with you… 

Q:  After I send direct mail to a targeted prospect list, I usually follow-up with phone calls.  But too often, I am told that they never received the mailing.  Why does this happen? 

A:  That’s a great question, and unfortunately, a frequent response.  I get the same response often when I follow-up on my own direct mail.  Even from people I know personally.  Sometimes it is legit.  Sometimes the mail just doesn’t reach the intended recipient.  Usually the mailing list you are using isn’t 100% perfect. 

But sometimes that person on the other end of the phone is trying not to engage in what they have determined is a “sales call.”   

We’ve all done it.  We’ve all said “NOT INTERESTED” when we get pinged by telemarketers.  We’ve all shooed-away people at our doorstep.  Heck, we’ve all even brushed aside sweet, innocent Girl Scouts selling cookies outside our local grocery store.  [Unless they present Thin Mints, then I buy every time…] 

This is just a part of business.  This is what makes sales so challenging.  How you respond to this objection is what separates the men from the boys.  How do I answer that question when I get it from my clients?  I tell them “so what?”  Sending that initial piece of mail makes that phone call easier.   

My response to that line is always: “well I am sorry you didn’t receive it, but let me take a minute to tell you what it was about…” 

If you just do a straight up cold call, you have to first establish who you are, why you are calling, etc.  This is a harder call to make.  But if you have initiated contact with direct mail, then the phone call becomes a “follow-up call” instead of a “cold-call.”  And that – certainly for me – make that phone call much easier.  And one I am much more willing to make. 

But keep in mind that the quality of your mail lists can impact the success of your direct mail program.  If you are mailing to people you’ve met over the last several years – keep in mind that they move on to other jobs, get transferred, fired, promoted, etc.  That business card you got from someone in summer 2007 may not be where they are today. 

And if you rented a list from a list broker, keep in mind that those lists are never perfect.  Even the high-end lists you get from top-notch vendors aren’t perfect.  And keep in mind that our own Postal Service isn’t perfect either. 

At the end of the day, it is about making contact.  If your mailing has a compelling service or product offering – and it is sent to the right target – you will get response.  If not, your product isn’t something they want – it wasn’t presented in a compelling way, or you mailed the wrong target audience.  The good news?  These are things you can fix! 

Following up your mail with phone calls is a good thing to do.  Just know you will hear all kinds of pushback.  But following-up your mail with phone calls will be easier than a straight-up cold call - every time.

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