Meet the Broker: Steve Mertel

Today we meet Steve Mertel, who was recently promoted from senior account executive to vice president of the list brokerage division at Rubin Response Services Inc.

Mertel was anticipating a career selling pharmaceuticals when he was a student at Ball State University in Indiana. His plans after getting a marketing degree changed when he was recruited by Rubin Response’s senior vice president Ken Kretschmar, who subsequently became his mentor.

Mertel began his career at Rubin Response in August 2000 as an account executive. “I dabbled in list management before I got into brokerage.” He was promoted to senior account executive in 2004.

“I think brokerage is more creative. You get more involved in the creative aspects of marketing. It’s more alive,” said Mertel.

Most of the brokerage work he does involves consumer catalogers, health products marketers and business-to-business publishers in the technology market.

During his free time Mertel enjoys cooking and entertaining at home. He likes sports and participating in outdoor activities.

“I really love eating and cooking. I like tweaking recipes,” he said. “My wife tests my experiments before I’ll cook something for a dinner party.”

Away from home Mertel likes water and such activities as bass fishing, snorkeling and water skiing. He and his wife of two years recently went on Caribbean cruise with friends. On land, he plays golf.

Do you have a specialty?

“Definitely, one of my specialties is high tech,” he said.

Mertel realized his passion for high tech when he started bringing industry trade publications home to read.

He sometimes goes to Woodfield Mall near his home in Schaumburg, IL, where he does impromptu one-on-one consumer market research. “I’ll ask people questions, almost like I’m doing a research panel.”

Since the quantity of new high-tech names from magazines coming on the market peaked during the dot-com boom, Mertel said high-tech e-mail newsletter lists have become a good alternative source.

Mertel said he wouldn’t be surprised to see some high-tech magazines being sold or be discontinued. “Circulation increases have at least slowed down. I definitely think high tech is a mature market,” he added.

Prices for high tech lists have been on a downward slide for a while and list owners are generally willing to negotiate on prices, he said.

“The e-mail newsletter lists are hot. I’ve never not tested an e-mail newsletter list,” he said.

What challenges do you see in list brokerage?

“It’s getting clients to let their guards down. Some people just think we’re order takers. Not everyone realizes we’re here to help. So you have to figure out which clients are going to be open with you and which ones will restrict what you can do for them,” Mertel said.

Finding lists in the same market for clients, with the same average order and other similar characteristics is a no-brainer, while it takes more skill and research to learn about a market and understand customers’ demographics, he said.

It’s essential to have enough information to justify recommendations to clients. “It’s important to talk with other people. I try to tap into other people’s heads, because otherwise all I’ll have are my own ideas and opinions,” he added.

Marketing automation could be the next big challenge in the list business. Figuring out how to incorporate more transaction-based advertising data in list brokerage, while not a new idea, is becoming increasingly more relevant, in his opinion.

The concept involves using data to generate instant follow-up advertising to target someone who has made a specific inquiry. “It’s something that has my curiosity,” he said.

Know someone you'd like to suggest for Meet the Broker? E-mail Jim Emerson at jim.emerson@penton.com