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Atlet Inc., a distributor of material-handling equipment such as forklifts, has begun an e-mail and postcard effort to promote two product lines.

The budget is $1 per piece for the e-mails and 50 cents for the postcards, said Eric Schmidt, lead-generation manager for the Anaheim, CA-based company, the U.S. subsidiary of a Swedish firm.

Atlet hopes to raise market share against competitors like the Raymond Corp. and Crown Equipment Corp. In certain categories, Atlet's slice is as little as 1%, and the firm is looking to bring that up to maybe 2% or 3%.

The promotion began in January when Atlet first sent postcards for the high-ticket products. But the firm knew that wouldn't be enough, so in March it began sending 2,500 e-mails a month.

“You can only get a headline and a little copy on a postcard,” Schmidt said. He added the company could say much more in a e-mail linked to different Web pages.

The campaign targets owners and sales managers of material-handling equipment dealerships, construction companies and other firms on Atlet's 9,000-name U.S. database.

Atlet chose the e-mail recipients based on their levels of interest in the products and sales criteria. Only about half the firm's customers are online, Schmidt said.

One of the products being promoted, Kooi Reach-Forks, are telescopic forklifts able to hoist pallets at great distances. They sell for between $70,000 and $80,000. Atlet is the U.S. distributor for Kooi, a German company.

The other product is a four-directional reach vehicle that can be driven sideways, according to Atlet. These trucks sell for between $40,000 and several million dollars depending on size.

Once prospects indicate interest, they go through a qualification process that may end up in a sales call and conversion. Atlet has three salespeople to cover the country. The selling time for this equipment ranges from 30 days to six months.

Schmidt said it was too early to tell the conversion rate, but he hinted that Atlet may have developed a couple of interesting leads through these efforts.

The campaign will continue throughout the year.