how to make it happen "White Fang" and generate leads from high-level executives

Author and direct marketing guru Denny Hatch has a colorful name for executive assistants. He calls these good people, whose responsibilities include screening phone calls, sorting mail, and helping manage the day-to-day activities of their powerful bosses “White Fang.” And these days “White Fang” has its own very capable assistants in the form of caller ID, voicemail, and email filters.

Let’s face it, a big part of their job is to keep us, the B-to-B marketer, out. But because these high-level executives can make or break our sales and marketing efforts, it’s imperative that we find ways to get our message across. in. And few marketing tools are more suited to this task than direct mail. With that being said, I present to you…

Five direct mail marketing tips for high-level executives.

1. Make your mail personal – Consider sending a personalized direct mail letter “written” by your CEO, CFO, CIO, etc. on your corporate stationery to your counterpart. Highlight the commonalities that both people share, the business and professional challenges they face that only someone in your position truly understands. I call it honcho-to-honcho marketing and it can be very effective. For example, one organization found success with a simple peer-to-peer letter with the name of its CEO, his personal phone number, and a brief description of what the company offers.
2. Use Dimensional Mail – In the lead generation category of the Direct Marketing Association’s 2005 Response Rate Report, response rates for dimensional mail were a close second to telemarketing (5.28% vs. 5.53% ). As a tool for producing executive-level leads, I have no doubt that it ranked number one. Simply put, anything uniquely packaged, anything enveloped with a lump, anything mailed in a box; you can usually count on these envelopes making it past the mailroom and White Fang. A couple of examples –

• A company selling an enterprise-grade software package targeted 70 CFOs of large corporations. One group received a true sales-assurance straitjacket that conveyed the message that “most CFOs don’t realize how restrictive their financial software can be until it’s too late.” Another group received a full size hammock and attached pillow. The messaging subject for this email was: “As you make changes to accommodate the growing needs of your business, is your financial software leaving you hanging?” The program was a huge success and helped the company produce $2 million in short-term sales and additional deals down the line.
• Another seller sent a box in the mail. Inside the box there was a silk napkin embroidered with the logo of the receiving company, a set of cutlery and a menu of services from the issuing company. The offer? The sales representative would bring a served lunch to a scheduled appointment. Question: How could we modify the above offer if our goal is for the executive to dine at bear business and take a tour of our plant or offices? How about we offer to send a limousine to take the executive to and from our offices? Remember, this is the big kahuna we are aiming A good meeting at your workplace could be worth millions upon thousands, perhaps millions in revenue to your company. And you will only pay the $300 – $400 for the limo if the executive accepts your offer.

Do not use a teaser copy – In many larger companies, your mail will be checked twice, once in the mailroom and again by the executive assistant. Teaser copy, copy in the envelope like FREE, Urgent, and the like, they’ll scream JUNK MAIL and chances are you won’t even make the first cut. Also, even if you manage to get out of the mailroom, you won’t get past White Fang.

use overnight mail – If you have a budget for it, use an express service. Simply put, when it says FedEx on the package, the package is opened. Usually right away. At a minimum, the attendant will put your package at the top of the mail stack. Now you are not going to send thousands or even hundreds of these packets at once. The ideal strategy is to send two or three a day or week and follow up with a phone call. But keep in mind that while getting your package noticed and opened is a major accomplishment, your copy and offer had better be interesting enough to hold the executive’s interest once they’ve opened it. This leads to number five.

Offer Useful Information – High-level executives are, in general, information junkies and type A, driven people who are always looking for ways to get a leg up on the competition and advance their careers. Therefore, best-selling and well-reviewed business books, especially on leadership and management topics, are good deals for them. Also, offering them information they can’t get anywhere else, like a timely white paper or a newly released survey, can be a great way to get their attention and a response.

It has been reported that the typical executive receives 175 pieces of mail a week. Granted, that’s a lot. But that number is a mere fraction of the emails and voicemails they receive, most of which they will never see or hear. In short, if you’re looking to generate more response from the people who occupy the corner offices, a well thought out, well planned and well written direct mail effort is one of your surest bets for success. So if direct mail isn’t part of your current game plan for targeting this highly influential group, I urge you to add it to your lead generation playbook. Who knows, you might end up doing White Fang and your boss your friends.