CHOOSING THE RIGHT MAILING LIST:
Ok…so now you have your first batch of 12 Direct Mail letters to send to your prospects. The next step is to find a list of prospects to send them to. A “list” is the pertinent contact information about the prospective client: The contact’s name, postal address, the company name (if B2B), city, state, zip, phone number and when possible the email address. This information needs to be current, up to date and accurate in order to be as efficient as possible with your time. Mailing to a list that is old, inaccurate and returns 20% or more of your direct mail or buying a telemarketing list that has a 25% or higher disconnect rate not only wastes your money but more importantly wastes your time.
In addition to the above, the prospect list also needs to be relevant to your offer. It’s pointless to advertise or prospect to those who don’t need your products or services. So it’s very important to know your target market and it’s equally important to maximize your time by advertising your services to those who want them, need them and in certain cases, to those who can afford them.
I’ve always thought of it this way: Nearly every male in America ages 8 to 80 years old loves Ferraris. From a branding standpoint it makes sense to advertise to the entire US male demographic. Especially when 92.5% of Ferrari buyers in North America are males. 2 However, hypothetically if you’re going to try to sell a Ferrari via a sales prospecting strategy you’ll need to be far more targeted. And by that I mean you must focus on the individuals that not only want a Ferrari but can afford it.
Let’s be brutally honest….it would be a complete waste of time to target unemployed 18-25 year olds in Alaska for consideration to buy a Ferrari. Furthermore, when you do some market research you’ll find out that Marco Mattiacci, the president of Ferrari North America, tells us the average age in the US for Ferrari buyers is 47.3 Or that Maurizio Parlato, the chief executive of Ferrari North America, reveals that “The typical Ferrari buyer has a minimum household income of $500,000 to $800,000.”4 On a side note…Forbes says California, New York and Florida buy more exotic cars than other states. 5
These three very simple yet significant pieces of information can lead us to what type of list you should prospect with if you’re selling Ferraris: Males, ages 45-55 with an average income of $650,000 in the states of New York, California and Florida.
The next step is to find a list of affluent, ultra affluent or ultra wealthy consumers that’s selectable by age, gender, geography and income. I would also go a step further and select consumers who are also homeowners who have a significant net worth (minimum $1,000,000+)or a million dollar investment portfolio. That way you know that this prospect not only has a high income but he also has a high net worth, AND he’s a homeowner. All of which are key attributes of the ultra affluent consumer.
Or, instead of using Google for three hours to find an ultra affluent list…you can just click here:
Ultra Affluent Investors: https://www.dmlist.com/direct-mail-telemarketing-lists/ultra-affluent-investors
Affluent Consumer Masterfile: https://www.dmlist.com/direct-mail-telemarketing-lists/affluent-consumer-masterfile
The above example was a fairly simplistic one…let me present another that’s a little more specific and realistic. Let’s say you’re a Financial Planner or an Estate Planner whose company’s financial products require clients to have $1,000,000 in net worth to participate in the company’s investment vehicles, funds and services, etc. In order to successfully prospect, you’ll need a list of high net worth investors. I’d recommend a list of Accredited Investors within the area you are targeting (city, state or across the US).
The definition of an Accredited Investor according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is “a natural person who has individual net worth, or joint net worth with the person’s spouse, that exceeds $1 million at the time of the purchase, excluding the value of the primary residence of such person; or a natural person with income exceeding $200,000 in each of the two most recent years or joint income with a spouse exceeding $300,000 for those years and a reasonable expectation of the same income level in the current year.” 6
Accredited Investors are the top 7-8% of affluent society. Last time I checked, they own close to 60-65% of all the stocks, bonds, and private real estate in the country. And in most cases, especially in private equity or hedge funds, the SEC will ONLY allow Accredited Investors to participate in these investment vehicles.
Google is a great source to find an Accredited Investor list. However, you can also just click here:
Accredited Investors: https://www.dmlist.com/direct-mail-telemarketing-lists/adms’-accredited-investors
Stay tuned…my next blog post will cover developing a telemarketing script and how to execute a follow up sales strategy.
2) [SOURCE: AUTO BLOG] http://www.autoblog.com/2012/04/26/size-matters-for-male-and-female-car-buyers/
3) [SOURCE: NY TIMES] http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/22/ferrari-north-america-chief-makes-a-play-for-younger-buyers/
4) [SOURCE: NY TIMES] http://travel.nytimes.com/2005/04/29/automobiles/29Ferrari.html?position=&_r=0&adxnnl=1&pagewanted=print&adxnnlx=1355328325-PdWTtp/hZV50umSU2xTj1A ]
5) [SOURCE: FORBES] http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/06/luxury-cars-states-lifestyle-vehicles-bmw-mercedes.html
6) [SOURCE: SEC] http://www.sec.gov/answers/accred.htm