|
How To Get Past C-Level Gatekeepers With Your B2B Direct Mail
Lead Generation Sa
|
By Alan Sharpe
[Hits: 12429]
|
|
If your business uses direct mail to reach C-level prospects,you face a unique challenge: getting past the gatekeeper.
Gatekeepers are usually found in Fortune 1000 firms, where theCEO, CFO, CIO and other chief executive officers are too busy toopen their own mail. Gatekeepers are usually the C-levelexecutive's personal assistant, and sometimes the mailroom.
A gatekeeper will generally do everything in her power(depending on the express wishes of her boss) to screen all mailfor sales pitches. And since the gatekeeper does not appreciatethe value of your unique value proposition, the odds are againstyour sales letter ever reaching the desk of her C-levelexecutive. So here are some tactics you can employ to get pastthe gatekeeper with your direct mail.
1. Use an invitation
Send your sales pitch in a wedding-style invitation envelope,with a typical invitation card inside that invites the executiveto respond to what you are offering (usually a sales meeting,but maybe a white paper or other information).
2. Sell to the gatekeeper
Address a letter to the gatekeeper by name. State your valueproposition, explain why it is of value to her boss, and ask herto pass along the sales letter that you enclose. Be sure tothank her in writing for her help.
3. Make a sweet offer
Send a box of chocolates or flowers to the gatekeeper, wishingher a great day and asking her to pass along your sales letter,which you send as a separate package.
4. Reason with the gatekeeper
Phone the gatekeeper, treat her as a peer, and ask her if shecan help you get your message to her boss. Ask for her advice.Ask her to recommend the best method (mail or phone or somethingelse) for you to reach her boss.
5. Use an unusual tactic
Commission a white paper. Write directly to the C- levelexecutive, but instead of giving a sales pitch on paper, ask theexecutive if you may interview her (or him) for your white paper(or article or special report). Ask for an appointment.
Be sure to make your interview topic one that appeals to thebusiness challenges that the executive faces every day, and onethat helps you present your credentials simply in the way youpresent your questions and explain the thesis of your writingproject.
6. Use a dimensional mailer
Dimensional mail is effective because it stands out. It doesn'tlook like everything else that the executive is receiving thatday. Dimensional mail is also effective because it always getsopened.
No one who receives a box three feet long, 9 inches wide and 5inches deep, bearing the prospect's name and job title on thetop and an intriguing headline, is going to pitch the box in thetrash unopened (I have a client who mailed a canoe paddle toprospects; it worked). Innate human curiosity is too powerfulfor that. Just make sure that what's in the box ties in withwhat you are selling.
One rule to keep in mind throughout this lead generationexercise is The Golden Rule that Jesus Christ taught andpracticed. If you always do unto others as you would have themdo unto you, you will succeed in reaching more C-levelexecutives than you ever will using less-than-honest practices.
? 2005 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this article online andin print provided the links remain live and the content remainsunaltered (including the "About the author" message).
|
|
|
|
|
|
