Sponsored Content WEBINAR: ELECTION 2008: E-mail Tips from a Political Insider   WEBINAR: Becoming the Illusionist: The Magic of Using "Brand" to Drive Response without Results Disappearing in the Process   WEBINAR: Score and Win Through Cooperation   TOOLS OF THE TRADE: Holiday's are prime-time for email marketing - maximize your ROI by getting to the inbox   ON DEMAND WEBINAR--MASTER CLASS: High Performance Online and Off-line Strategies for Large Scale Customer Acquisition   FREE WHITE PAPER - Direct Mail and the Internet Find any supplier you need - agencies, CRM, fulfillment, lists, e-commerce, paper, printers, telemarketing, and more. Featured Categories Lists and Data Telemarketing Database Marketing E-commerce Web Marketing Agency & Creative Services Print, Production & Paper Lists and Data Processing :: view all categories Get free access to more than 50,000 list data cards - one of the most comprehensive databases in the industry. >> Search Now DIRECT Buzz Blog Webinars Buyer's Guide Calculators JobZone ListFinder Promo Calendar Research Store E-Newsletters Print Magazine This Month in Direct Magazine Deal With It Direct had a full house for this year's list roundtable. Considering all the additional responsibilities on brokers' plates, that's impressive... See Full July Issue

The average businessperson receives more than 2,000 mail solicitations a year, and a good chunk of that is either addressed to a former employee or irrelevant, according to a new study.

Even potentially useful or desired solicitations are usually tossed if not directed at a current employee. Sixty-one percent of mail addressed to former workers is tossed. Another 15% is returned to the sender. Only 18% is recycled. These aren't insignificant amounts of trash: The average businessperson receives 25 such mailings per month.

For what the study calls junk mail, (direct mail that reaches the individual to whom it is addressed, but is irrelevant), only 5% is returned to sender. Eighty-six percent is trashed without being opened.

The amount of poorly targeted mail sent to people at their business varies by the industry of the sender. Promotional gifts, retail mailings and publisher offerings were among the worst offenders, while marketers offering business services, financial services and corporate events tended to be the most careful with their lists.

Mailers soliciting within the United States are better at targeting than their global brethren: While worldwide, the average businessperson receives 2,400 pieces of unwanted mail per year, the average U.S. businessperson receives only 1,500.

The study -- a telephone survey of 800 companies throughout the world -- was conducted by QAS, an Experian company.