On 2012-01-21 14:10, Carducci wrote:
I'll echo MindPro's comments and give you some insight into what I do.

First and foremost, I know who I want to market to. Personally, I like small companies with 20-75 employees and companies that plan regular meetings etc. The smaller companies have very tight knit groups that respond well to my show and are a lot of fun to work for. They are also at a size where they're too big to just go out to dinner for their event, and too small to break up their entertainment by department. This is just what I go for, you decide what works for you.

Then, I spend a few hundred dollars on a good list. Not all lists are created equal. It's important to find out how they gather their information, how often they update it, how they update it etc. Just like there are great performers and terrible performers, there are great list providers and terrible list providers.

Whatever list you get, it's not enough. If you send 1000 post cards to some generic title like "event coordinator, XYZ Company" 990 will end up in the trash. I get names of the event committee chairs etc.

I load all the leads into my database (I'm using ShowBiz CRM) and proceed to call them (or I hire someone to call them) Here is a basic script for getting names and contact info:

Hello, I was hoping you could help me.

<they respond>

Could you tell me who is in charge of organizing your company's special events? (examples are Employee Social events, Meetings and things of that nature)


<If they ask why>
I would like to send you some information about new and different entertainment ideas for companies in the XXX Area. (Replace XXXwith whatever area this company is in)

<What company are you calling from>
I'm calling from the offices of Michael Carducci, a local company specializing in Corporate entertainment services. I'd just like to send some information down and I was hoping you could help me direct it to the correct person.

<they decline or give a generic name>
Ok, well thanks very much! Have a great day! (input whatever information they give if any, and Make a note in the 'notes' Column)

<If they don't know>
That's ok, would you mind putting me through to somebody who might know, maybe human resources?
<they transfer you>
(start from top)

<you get a name>
Do know this person's email, by chance

<they refuse>
I understand, How about an extension?

<they release it>
Thank you! How about an extension

<they don't hold such events>
Ok, thank you so much for your time! (Make a note in the 'notes' Column)

Thank you so much for your time!
Have a great day/weekend/whatever


For qualified leads with no event coming up, they get an email automatically every three months.

For qualified leads who ask for more info, they get a full 10 page PDF proposal emailed to them and I ask when I should follow-up (then I put that in my database)

For qualified leads, everybody gets a postcard, and a full salesletter etc mailed a few days later (usually with something interesting inside)

For those that don't plan events, I'm not wasting money sending them expensive direct mail pieces.

My goal is to:

1. Build up a database of professionals who plan events in my area
2. Stay in touch with those professionals with Top of the mind awareness (periodic postcards and emails)
3. Generate leads for imminent events (in a week calling campaign, I'll usually end up speaking to 5-10 people who were stuck for ideas at that very moment and are very grateful I called)

For scheduled emails, and generating emails and PDFs to respond to hot leads, I let my system generate and manage those. For my postcards, I export the names and addresses and let the company that prints the post cards and letters do the fulfillment (I hate stuffing envelopes).

I also do a big mail/email campaign to everyone around September and March, when people are likely to start planning their winter/summer events. I usually send a postcard, the the email a few days later, then another mailing.

All my mailings have a clear call to action - get a quote for your event. If they're planning an event, I want that in my database so I can work the gig. All they have to do is fill out a form.

This system works very well for me and actually has a very light touch. Most people will get just a few emails a year and a few mailings a year. I strive to hit find the minimum of contact I need both to save money on mailing/printing, but also to not be a pest (most of these people have actual jobs to do and I don't want to get in their way) My goal is to make their life easier.

Hope this helps.