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Finding the needle in the corporate haystack
by Steve Slaunwhite
The marketing department of a large company or major corporation can have dozens and even hundreds of managers... everyone from the junior marketing administrator on up to the Chief Marketing Officer. So how do you find out who the best person is to contact about your copywriting services?
Asking the receptionist almost never works. In fact, that strategy creates more dead ends than an English garden maze.
Mailing lists, websites and business directories aren't much help either. They usually list only the most senior executives – those VPs and CMOs who rarely, if ever, hire freelance copywriters directly.
So what do you do? Here's an idea:
Let's say you're targeting ABC Company, a large firm in the travel industry. You've found their website and discovered that Debra Johnson is the VP of Marketing. Now, chances are, the person you need to reach works for her. So you phone and politely say:
“Hi Debra. This is Steve Slaunwhite calling. I'm a direct-response copywriter for the travel industry, and I'm trying to find out who in your company I should be talking to. Can you help?”
The key phrase here is "Can you help?" Chances are, Debra will be more than happy to direct you to the right person.
And here's the best part. When you contact that person – by phone, email or letter – you can legitimately say that you were referred by Debra. And a referral by “the boss” gets attention.
“But aren't these senior executives difficult to reach by phone?” You might be asking. Not any more than other corporate managers. But, to improve your chances, here's a tip: try calling in the off hours – before 8 a. m. or after 5 p. m. Senior executives often come in earlier or work late; times when they will often answer their own phones. (Because no one else is in the office.)
I like this prospect-identification technique. It's simple, quick, and for the shy among us (me included) relatively painless.
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