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How to Email Decision Makers

By: Harry Joiner, Management Recruiter
Ph. (678) 795-0900

Have you ever had a voice mail ignored?  Has your snail mail ever been trashed?  Have you ever been told by a receptionist that "we don't give out email addresses?"  In B2B selling situations (and in management recruiting), it has never been more difficult to get past the screeners of the real C-level decision makers.

If you want to send an email directly to your C-level prospect, candidate, or hiring manager, simply visit Whois Search and enter the URL of the firm you wish to solicit.  After entering a special onscreen code, note the format of the email address of the firm's Webmaster.  Try sending an email to your contact using that format.  See example.  This trick is especially effective for Hoover's users, who can lookup the names of the firm's officers and copy multiple recipients in on the same email.

And if you really want to increase your response rate, simply call your recipient and say, "Hi, ____. This is Harry Joiner and I was just following up on an email that I sent you this morning.  Do you have a minute to talk? ….etc…."  Studies have shown that telemarketing behind a direct mail or email promotion will increase your response rate by five-to-ten times.

Fan Picks Top Five Posts from "Marketing Headhunter.com"

This is Steven Kempton of the Asia Pacific Headhunter.  With the Recruiting Blogswap I have the honor of writing for Harry on his blog.  This is really a treat for me because Marketing Headhunter is a one of my favorite blogs.

Blogs are an interesting phenomena where it is easy to get sucked into the noise and get very little of real value.  But as Harry writes here, one of the best ideas for a blog is to "treat it like a Cookie Jar. Give the reader something tasty and nutritious.  Tell them something that they didn't already know. Or give them a new way to apply something that they already know."

Harry follows his own advice and has built a blog with some outstanding resources and information for readers involved in marketing, job hunting, and business in general.  Here are my choices for top 5 most nutritious posts from Marketing Headhunter. It took me some time to narrow this list down.

1. "Before You Apply for Your Next Job..." - Just GREAT career advice for all of us.

2. "What's a Good Marketing MBA Dissertation Topic?" - I hadn't fully appreciated the value and empowerment of good copywriting until I read this.  This is a great resource on becoming a better writer and marketer. There is enough value in this post alone to keep you busy for months!

3. Jay Abraham's "Stealth Marketing" - Free e-book from marketing guru plus a great story of how to get in touch with that CEO who will NEVER return your calls.

4. How to Recognize a Big Idea - Link to a free article which defines a core change in the workplace and business from the greatest business philosopher of our time.  PLUS, great marketing stories and advice.

5. Getting Paid What You're Worth - Spot on advice on how to get paid more as well as what you are worth.  Plus a link to a free article on how sports agents get big deals done for the stars!

If you haven't read through this blog before then I highly recommend those above.  But, this list isn't definitive and there are plenty of other gems there as well.

Marketing Your Open Jobs

By: Harry Joiner, Management Recruiter
Ph. (678) 795-0900

Tom Petersson of Cheap Trick is on the cover of Bass Player magazine this month.  This I know because I went to the Publix up the road today and saw the magazine on the newsstand.

Now, I'm not a bass player.  But I am a Cheap Trick fan.  Plus, I'm a drummer and I found it perplexing that Publix did not stock Modern Drummer.  Why, you ask?  Because circulation analytics for retail distribution is a science -- and I'm sure Publix stocked Bass Player based on the historical sales of that title at store # 12365 in Roswell, GA.  From this one can surmise that there are more bass players in my store radius than drummers.  I guess that makes me a hot commodity.

As I thumbed through the magazine, I wondered how I could reach the twenty or so bass players who would also thumb though those pages -- and the handful who would ultimately buy those five copies.  Who were they?  What kinds of music do they like?  Would they like to have a beer and possibly jam some time?  After all, we're local -- and we have in common an appreciation of Tom Petersson.

Then it hit me:  Why not come back to the store and insert post it notes into the pages?  "Roswell-based drummer seeks Tom Petersson sound-alike for jamming and possible gigging. Call (678) 795-0900."  Ethics aside, it's certainly targeted -- both psychographically and geographically. And that's what you want in your advertising.

Question:  Who's your target employee -- and what do they read?  Where do they hang out?  How can you reach them?  Put yourself in their shoes, and walk through an imaginary day with them.  Then go to those place and advertise your open position.  This is called Guerrilla Marketing -- and it's worth knowing how to do if you are a specialty retailer in need of hourly employees who belong to a certain niche or subculture.