Cold Mailing: addressing the right person.

[Deleted member 817805]

So, I'm getting into an offline sort of niche and I was wondering something that may seem simple, but it's been bothering me for quite some time...

When I address my snail-mail packets to cold leads, who do I actually address it to?

Let's say [Plumbing Business] has an owner who doesn't really have an online presence. The business is 45 minutes away from me, and I'm trying to get the owner's attention regarding their business. Since I don't know the owner's name, do I just mail it to [Plumbing Business] and mark it with a confidential stamp, so that it's more likely he, or at least a higher-up, will open the mail?

It might sound like a stupid question to any business pros on here, so try not to laugh at it too hard.

I'm new to this sales game and I'm just trying to do it right as well as I can the first time 'round.

Thanks.

 

[Deleted member 817805]

Also, sorry if this isn't the right area, I wasn't exactly sure where to post it at!

Move it if you need to, mods/admins!

 

[redrubies]

Chances are that the owner of a plumbing business won't open his or her own mail if the plumbing business is a busy one. Whoever does the office work will open the mail. If you're mailing to businesses, address it to "Fast Plumbing" or whatever. If you buy a mailing list, they maybe able to give you owner names. Or the mailing list might be able to narrow it down to something as specific as the home addresses of plumbers in Georgia. Are you making your own mailing lists, or are you buying from a service? Info USA has been around for a very long time and they are one of my favorite services to use.

 

[Deleted member 817805]

Thanks for your reply!

Yeah, I build my own mailing lists, but they're local businesses for an offline/online hybrid campaign that I'm doing. I'm trying to generate leads.

So do you think the owner of a business who receives mail won't open it himself? How do advertisers ever strike deals with companies if that's the case?
Also, when I make a follow-up call, do you think I should ask for a manager, the owner, or just speak to whoever it is that picks the phone up?

 

[sully1975]

Good question, I may be able to shed some light on this one.

Plumbers, electricians, heating ventilation air condition contractors (HVAC), etc... depending on the jurisdiction may be licensed. Usually plumbers and electricians are the big two to always get some type of licensing. This licensing may be statewide like New Jersey or could be some form of county, city, etc.... licensing. Some states have virtaully no licensing at all past insurance. When you are regulated you are recorded somewhere, someplace, all the time. The question is, can you easily get that from the net? it looks like you are from AL unless I am reading your location wrong. So you may want to start here:
pgfb.state.al.us/

With having a license, there is a license holder, who usually has to be some form of an owner, if not administrator, even if it is even on paper. So you should have this contact person full name, which you can trace out further if you want. Example John Smith Master Plumber for ABCO Plumbing and Heating.

Another cheap, if not free feature is your local library for Reference USA. There is a way as a resident to look up and remotely access the database in most cases. Reference USA has a feature look for new businesses of 6 months to 2 years in an area. really handy in Industrial parks when you are a commercial and industrial electrical contractor, eh?

 

[sully1975]

On the Ref USA you should be able to select or gauge the size of the business. The smaller the company the better chance you will hit the license holder. If your jurisdiction has logical licensing sequences, new businesses and older ones are the ones to hit. You should be able to tell be the number.

 

[redrubies]

Thanks for your reply!

Yeah, I build my own mailing lists, but they're local businesses for an offline/online hybrid campaign that I'm doing. I'm trying to generate leads.

So do you think the owner of a business who receives mail won't open it himself? How do advertisers ever strike deals with companies if that's the case?
Also, when I make a follow-up call, do you think I should ask for a manager, the owner, or just speak to whoever it is that picks the phone up?

I don't know how to best answer your question without knowing what you're selling. Direct mail can work very well. But you only have a minute to capture the person's attention. Following up with a phone call doesn't really work with direct mail though, because most direct mail gets thrown out. The recipient is not going to know what you're referring to. Phone calls work better with either cold calling, or following up with a call after an appointment where you met them in person.