Contact all of your high probability
prospects on a direct basis.

hy does direct mail work? Every day we all receive direct mail. However bad junk mail looks, the ones you see again and again are working; otherwise, the senders wouldn't be wasting their money.

One thing that makes it work in many cases is that long copy is used. That's what it takes to motivate all of us to action from unasked-for correspondence. Here's an example. Let's say a lawn mower shop has a new product. And you and your next door neighbor are both out cutting your lawns on a hot day. However, your lawn mower breaks down.

Then, the mail carrier arrives at both residences with mail that tells you all about a new lawn mower. It gives a long explanation of why it's superior. Now, your neighbor will look at the mailing piece for two seconds and toss it. He isn't in the market for a lawn mower. On the other hand, they have reached you at the right time, you are likely to read it. Now when you job hunt, your situation is similar. You need to reach the right person. No one else counts.

Some people don't believe in direct employer contact. They think that anything you send to an employer is thrown away. Certainly, this has some truth, since the great majority will throw away your materials in seconds.

But if you've ever needed someone with certain skills... then you know you want the easiest way to find a good candidate. And if a good resume or letter reached you at the right time, you would take action on it. Sending the right materials... to the right person... will get the attention of some decision makers. But, timing is very critical. You need to reach a decision maker that might be looking for someone like you. Even if your timing is bad, companies scan the resumes of the better candidates into their database. Then, as they develop a need... this is usually the first place they turn. Contacting employers directly allows you to reach potential buyers quickly. If you want... you can reach the entire universe of all your best prospects.

Is there a negative side to using direct mail?

Yes... and that is the cost. But, you need to weigh that... against the cost of failing to uncover appealing opportunities... with which you would never otherwise connect.

Some also worry that direct contact might make you look too desperate and hurt your image. But, this isn't true. If they don't need you, they will throw away your correspondence in seconds... or some may enter it into their database. In other words, it can do some good... but it won't do any harm. One thing is for certain... you will never generate more offers by having fewer people know about you. When more of the right people know about you, more interest will be generated.

Now, you must realize that 99% of the direct marketing you do will always arrive "uninvited" and reach people who never heard of you. That is why you have to have outstanding materials and low percentage expectations... to make it work. How many people contact companies directly? Very few. And, most of them won't use superior materials that grab someone's attention... get them interested... and motivate them to make contact.

Direct marketing principles apply to selling yourself

What types of products or services are sold by direct mail? The answer is generally... more expensive products and services. For example, high end real estate... limited edition leather bound book series... collectibles... financial services to high net worth people... major professional fund raising efforts, etc.

These are not mass market items. They are costly items that are rarely purchased... and it takes a lot of copy to explain them... to get a deal closed. The same is true when you as an individual try to sell yourself by direct mail. At the senior level, you may generate initial interest with a letter, but to get the offer closed you will need a full story... generally an executive biography. So, let's look at the principles of selling a person by direct mail.

The first principle is to contact the right person... in the right company. If you disagree, just try sending your resume out to all sorts of the wrong people.Remember, this is about using a laser... not a shotgun. Now, the question for you is... can you identify all of the right organizations and the right person to contact? (The process for identifying the people and the companies is what we call "targeting.")

The second principle is that, as already mentioned, it takes a lot of copy to conclude a sale. All you need to do is look at mailings you receive at home... and the amount of words it takes them to convince a small percentage to act. We've learned that the best results are achieved by making initial contact with a curiosity-arousing letter... then having a long story available to close a deal. That's one reason why executive biographies or interview resumes on your personal marketing website need to be available.

The third principle amplifies what we just discussed. Letters usually work better than resumes. Why?When you write a stand-alone letter, you can be more personal... and avoid disclosure of any liabilities. They must have short paragraphs... 2, 3, or 4 lines... and be personal.
Sending a resume immediately says you are an applicant... so you are right away put in a subordinate position. But sending a letter is a "peer-to-peer" value proposition. Which do you think someone on the receiving end would respond to the best?

You also need to use numbers, preferably significant numbers, wherever possible. And, if you're thinking about changing industries or career fields, you might need to have a completely separate resume to eventually make available... because otherwise you won't be able to appeal to the distinctly different audiences that you will be reaching.

The fourth principle is that your writing needs to be very clear. Everything needs to be done with clarity, short sentences... backed up by impressive facts or arguments... that somehow say that I've done this before for others... and I want to do this for you. This is not so easy to do... and requires many drafts.

Now the longer your letter or resume is, the more interesting your words and the benefits they convey need to be. So your correspondence really needs to perform two functions. One, it needs to get across the information quickly... two, it needs to keep the person interested so they want to learn more.

If you genuinely have a great story to tell... the initial letter can be as long as you need. However, as you write longer copy, you have to watch out for revealing liabilities or overselling. Your initial correspondence needs to be all positives... opening no doors to potential negatives that may keep someone from responding. When a reader receives your resume or letter, it has to work in the first 20 seconds to keep people reading. Like holding a feather in the wind, it could blow away... or the reader could hold onto it for some time.

About 3,000,000 positions from $50K to $500K+ are
filled annually as a result of direct employer contact.

How large should your direct mail campaign be?

You can take either a "micro" or a "macro" approach. A micro campaign should target your best 100 prospects... or at most 200. And if you personally follow up by phone, it can work very well. But, most people seeking $100,000 or more can also benefit by sending 1,000 letters to other secondary possibilities... and if you are an executive, perhaps more. Why?

Well, if you went to 200 organizations... how many are likely to need someone like you? Let's assume that you're looking for a job of which there is only one in each organization. For example, let's say you want to be a General Counsel... VP of Sales... Director of HR... the CFO... VP of Operations... the CEO, etc. On the average, one company out of each 208 is likely to need someone like you at that moment. However, they may be in the wrong industry for you. And, even with the best materials, they may not be as impressed with your background as you think they should be.

Here is why the previous paragraph is so true. The job market runs primarily on turnover. From the U.S. Labor Department, we know that professionals and executives change jobs at the rate of once every four years in the U.S. That means that the job they occupy becomes available once every four years... or 208 weeks. So, that's why we know that if you went out to 208 companies, you would probably only reach one that needs someone like you right now.

If you went out to 1,000, you would reach five. And, if you went out to 3,000, you would reach 15. And if you went out to 10,000, you would probably reach 50. But, because they would be in many industries... and because they would reflect many different personal preferences—they wouldn't all react well to your particular background or presentation.

Does anyone ever go out to 3,000... 5,000 or 10,000? The answer is yes... and quite often. Who are they? They are usually senior level people who can move across many industries... like executives in HR... sales... accounting... CFOs... general managers... or simply those who are specialists at building or turning around companies... or who can bring leadership ability to almost any firm.

Can you contact more than one executive in a firm?

The answer is yes—particularly when contacting larger companies. Let's look at three examples:

Example #1. Years ago, our firm had an executive come to us who had been a sales manager in the camera industry. He contacted us with only one objective in mind. He wanted to be the national sales manager for a specific Japanese firm.. So, we wrote an initial letter... a short resume as a one-page summary (a universal resume) and a full biography for him... and we had them translated into Japanese. It presented a very compelling statement as to why he was the ideal candidate to run American sales operations. Initially, we sent that document to the head of Pentax operations in Japan. That didn't work. Subsequently, we sent it to several other executives, including the CFO, the EVP and the CEO. Eventually the top executive flew him over to Japan and some weeks later he got the job.

Example #2. Another executive we once handled wanted to live in Rochester, New York and had a specific interest in the Xerox Corporation. Over a period of ten weeks, we contacted more than 15 different executives... before an interview was secured. Surprisingly, it never came to light that we had contacted other executives in the same corporation. The same would be true of most large organizations today.

Example #3. In another instance, a client in New Jersey, who had both marketing and technical skills, sent his materials to the HR Department plus five other decision makers in different divisions of a large pharmaceutical company. The HR Department responded that they had distributed his resume throughout the firm and there were no suitable openings. Over the next 10 days, he learned in follow-up calls that two other recipients were not interested, but one was and invited him for an interview. He also received two replies in writing. One said they might have an opening in the next two months. The other invited him for an interview right away... because he seemed to be a good match for a position they wanted to fill soon. Without direct mail, none of this would have happened.

Can you go back to the same executive?

The answer is yes. Let's take an example of a CFO who lost his job, but wanted to continue living in a medium size metro area like Denver. Now, let's also assume the executive wants to earn $200,000. So, we might start by looking at the size of companies in Denver... according to their number of employees... who might require a CFO and who would also be able to pay him or her $200,000 or more. Listed below are the approximate number of employers in the Denver area... with a population of approximately 2.7 million.

Less than 10 employees = 85,000
11-20 employees = 10,000
21-50 employees = 6,000
51-100 employees = 3,000
Greater than 100 employees = 2,500

Chances are that we would need to restrict ourselves to organizations with more than 100 employees... or 2,500 organizations. So let's now apply the math that we discussed earlier. Based on turnover data, how many companies might have the job we're looking for become available this week? If you divide 2,500 by 208, you'll get about 12 companies. However, keep in mind that we are referring to jobs becoming available (or needs evolving into jobs) this week. If our executive client is in the market for 12 weeks, there would be a total of 12 x 12... or about 144 positions available during this time period. That's why it pays to have your material good enough so it gets scanned in their databases.

We have learned that if we go back to the same organizations and executives... a second time within 90 days... that the response we get will range as high as 75% of whatever activity we got the first time.

Can direct mail create a job and be worth the expense?

The answer is yes to both questions. It is important to remember the higher you go, the more likely your desired position will be found somewhere in the unpublished market. And, the greater the chance that a job will be created or reshaped to fit your particular blend of skills and strengths... and the specific contributions you can make.

Here's an example. A COO with achievements in both sales and marketing, attracted interest in the aviation, defense and electronic industries. At the end of his search, he had ten attractive opportunities to negotiate. One of those was with a company that he highly respected, but the original position they had in mind was not big enough for him. Importantly, he did not allow the conversations to end there, because he liked the company.

So, he went the extra mile to go through three meetings. At the conclusion, the job had been redefined to two levels higher... in order to take advantage of his many strengths. It also carried a base salary $100,000 larger than the original job.

There is much more to marketing any professional or executive on a direct basis than can be covered in this brief discussion. It remains, however, one of the quicker ways for any person to uncover unpublished positions... that would have otherwise never been uncovered. In addition, you gain the long-term advantage of getting into the databases of organizations... and paving the way for an inquiry sometime in the future. This can be very important for young professionals who will have a number of career moves ahead of them.

Why go direct to employers... if you can get response ads?

That is for you to decide. Interestingly, in the example above, several of the executive's 10 opportunities were from ads and recruiters... while the balance were from direct contact with board members and employers. But, if you elect not to go direct to employers, you can only speculate as to what you left out there undiscovered.

What's the least expensive way?

Your choices are making contact by (1) email... (2) fax... or (3) first-class direct mail.Going to someone's personal email is inexpensive, but sometimes offends people. Sending them a note through a corporate email address works best in smaller firms. Making contact by fax can be effective and relatively inexpensive... if you can get access to a fax that goes to them. (The problem in large firms is that your fax may never reach the right person.) Using the general fax number in a small or medium sized company works better. Contacting executives by first-class mail in an envelope marked "private and personal" is the best way but is also the most expensive. As a rule, to have a mailing service do this will cost $2.00 or more per letter.

Granted, that means $2,000 to make 1,000 contacts. But what is the value of uncovering those handful of senior executive openings... and having them be interested in you? Another way to look at it is to consider how much money you may be losing by staying unemployed for just an extra month. So, for many people, the value is high. And, of course, these job hunting expenses are generally tax deductible.

I asked a friend of mine, a CEO of a high tech company, what he thought of direct mail. His response was, "Well, I get a lot of resumes and even some from my board members who pass on candidates. It works if the person really comes across well." Another friend, a VP of Marketing at a Fortune 500 company, put it another way. He said, "I look at resumes. If something matches my needs, I usually respond directly. It's a matter of timing."
A third associate, the head of HR at a Fortune 500 company, sent me the following when I was updating this book. His comment was, "I would highly recommend direct mail. Third-party letters can be especially effective if the right person is writing for you. Just prepare a letter they approve for their signature. Make it easy for them to assist."

Direct mail actions that work best

Let's assume you were a district sales manager seeking a national sales manager's job. Here is a range of direct mail actions you might consider taking.

Most popular. Sent to CEOs. Takes good credentials in mainstream fields to work. Response is from large firms, but better from small companies.

Much better. Sent to SVP sales by personal name, selected by industry, size and location. Can be very good with telephone follow-up.

Excellent. Sent to SVP sales to whom you have spoken. Or, sent to SVP sales, by name, where a third-party mailing goes out under someone's letterhead.

Outstanding. Sent to SVP sales, by name, to whom you've been referred or met or spoken to.

Often the best. Doing continuous direct mail to your high probability prospects. For example, if no interest results from a first mailing, contact a minimum of five other decision makers in mid-sized firms and up to 12 in large organizations or divisions—spaced out over eight weeks (with phone follow-up).

Selecting your targeted list

Let's review principles that have made direct mail successful. First of all, you must reach the right person. So, you need to compile a list of your highest probability targets by industry and location. For senior executives, we suggest focusing on the CEO or board members of firms in target industries. Now, in a very large firm, you may be unsure whom to contact. People with varying titles, for example... Group VP, North American Operations, may be running several divisions or business units.

If possible, research the specific decision maker who would be most interested in your message. As an alternative, it can sometimes be appropriate to contact the CFO. He or she may be aware of opportunities across operations... and may have the ear of the CEO.

Direct mail response is best for small and mid-sized firms. In large organizations, you will want toconsider multiple mailings to different executives. In one case, approaching an employer with 28,000 employees in one metro area, each week, for 12 weeks, we mailed to a decision maker in the firm—until an interview was secured.

In smaller firms, target owners or top officers. They can be decisive and make hiring decisions more quickly. Follow-up mailings after 90 days will generally produce 75 to 80% of the response of your original mailing.

Contacting board members is worth separate comment. When you do this, it has to be done in a dignified manner with the correct style and tone. Our approach is to send out custom letters under our letterhead each week. For each executive, we include a custom cover letter with a universal resume for a short overview and an executive biography for a more extensive recitation. This lets board members have a thumbnail sketch and an extensive recitation of your credentials and abilities in your executive biography. This presentation is similar to a board briefing book that a member would receive prior to a board meeting.

10% of your "macro" list should be your "best-of-best" possibilities, worthy of follow-up and repeat mailings. 20% should be "primary" possibilities and the balance "secondary."

What some people say about direct employer contact

"Targeted third-party mailings were critical. They went out under the names of close friends, and the response was excellent."

"Mailings went out to 1,000 companies. Response was low, but after six weeks yielded two good offers."

"My recommendation for your clients in a narrow industry segment is direct mail first, and networking second."

"We did several thousand mailings in foods and pharmaceuticals. Results have continued for months. "

"I live in Columbus, Ohio and could not move. I used custom mailings, emerging opportunities and networking."

"Mailings were more important for me because I did not want to rely on my contacts. A total of 6,000 mailings went out under the names of three close friends."

"I've been an HR executive many years. Very few people who look for a job realize that contacting employers directly should be part of almost every search."

"You have to accept that your response here will be very low, and then you have to make the most of every opportunity. The situations that come your way here are superior and less competitive, and the employers can reach decisions faster."

Direct marketing yourself is like selling a high end service. It can work... but it takes numbers.

Recapping this chapter. When you contact employers directly, you must reach the right person who might be in the market for someone like you. No one else counts. Large scale efforts as well as small custom mailings can work. The right targets, materials and timing are all important. The higher your income, the more connections you need to make and the lower your percentage response is going to be. Best response comes from custom first-class mail. Fax distributions are second... followed by email.

Quick action steps. Our clients can take advantage of the many databases available through JMAC. On your own, you can use other sources. Use the guidelines to contact the right decision makers with employers who are high probability prospects for you. Follow up on the phone with your very best targets. Contact board members and venture capitalists, if appropriate.

"Life is an echo. What you send out—you get back." — George Santayana

"Progress always involves risk. You can't steal second base and keep your foot on first." — Frederick B. Wilcox

"You'll always miss 100% of the shots... you don't take." — Wayne Gretzky