How to Succeed in Business-to-Business

To grow your business, you need to generate qualified leads from prospects. You may have already discovered that email, even to opt-in business lists, doesn’t produce the number of leads you need. Online promotion is worth testing, but paid search engine advertising becomes very expensive for small companies competing with giant corporations. The good news is that good old-fashioned snail mail still works if you follow these 10 basic rules:

* Understand that the most important factor in direct mail success is the list. Unfortunately, it’s an afterthought in too many cases. Some newcomers make the mistake of thinking everyone is a prospect for their product or service and mail to too wide a universe. Focus on mailing to those firms who most resemble your best customers.

* Sell the next step harder than you sell your product or service. The objective of lead generation programs is to begin the sales process, not to complete it. Your initial direct mail should push for action on the next step – sending for more information, a free sample, a free analysis. Once you have qualified prospects, you can concentrate on a full presentation of product benefits, features, and applications.

* Put your message in an envelope or box. Unless your objective is to drive prospects to your web site, it’s unlikely that self-mailers or postcards are going to work for you. Yes, they’re cheaper to produce, but the cost in lost opportunities is astronomical. In mailing to C-level executives of large companies, you need envelopes that ape one-to-one correspondence – lasered, closed-face, no teaser copy. Words like “Important,” “Confidential,” or “New” can kill one-to-one perception. In other segments, think of your envelope as a billboard for what’s inside. Use sizes that will stand out in the mail. Test a strong offer or powerful benefit statement as teaser copy.

* Focus on the letter. If you can include only one piece of paper in the envelope or box, it should be a compelling personal letter. Talking one to one to your prospects about their problems or about opportunities to improve their operations is the way to get qualified response. Aside from brochures being impersonal, they put you into competition with companies that can outspend you.

* Understand the “hot button.” Executives are much more often concerned about their time than about saving a few dollars. Direct mail efforts that don’t demand a lot of time and that demonstrate how the product/service can pay back in productivity work well with management segments. Of course, CFOs have different needs and “hot buttons” than Directors of IT, or HR Managers. Middle managers may be more concerned about preservation (of their jobs) and about making a safe, unquestionable choice, as they are about saving either time or money.

* Let your prospects tell you how serious they are. Checking off a single box on a reply card doesn’t necessarily make the responder a real prospect. Ask your prospects to fill in just a few lines of information and you’ll boost the quality of your response without damaging quantity. Allow several options on your response form – ranging from “Have your representative call me immediately” to “No interest now. Call me in six months.” Even the “no interest now” respondents are prospects.

* Use testimonials and case histories. Aside from the credibility they imbue, they provide the prospect with applications and usage guidance. Smaller marketers should use endorsements reflecting on the company’s strength and stability. Include testimonials which underscore how customers were rewarded by finding out more when they were prospects.

* Peg your copy and offer on the life cycle of your product/service. If you’re pioneering a new product, service or process, your efforts will have to do more education to get an appointment. If you’re a new entry in an established category, you must convince prospects why they should even consider a switch.

* When in doubt, play it straight. Humor and cuteness can cut through clutter in a business environment. However, if you have the slightest doubt about how the message will be received, play it safe and use a strong statement of benefits to break through.

* Include a “keeper” in your mailings… particularly if you’re planning only one mailing. We all want response immediately, but in most cases, perhaps as much as 98% of the time, recipients feel no need to respond at the moment. Give them something to remember you by after the “advertising” portion of your mailing has been discarded. It could be anything from a wallet-size calendar or tips for saving time or improving energy to a pad of post-it notes with your company’s name on them.

Lee Marc Stein is principal of Lee Marc Stein, Ltd., a direct marketing consulting & creative services firm. He can be reached at www.leemarcstein.com.