The Critical List

In any prospecting program there are three major variables: the script, the person calling and the list.

The list is one you can control most and plan for in advance. And it is worth every hour you spend on it. For example, a purchased list can have a discard rate between 10 and 30 percent, depending on the target market...these are wasted dollars if you mail or call them.

So where to get a good list? We've found one of the most reliable sources to be association membership lists...often well worth the cost of membership.

Next come subscription lists, if you can meet the minimum purchase requirements and don't mind renting rather than buying.

Then, if you to decide to use a retail list source, our experience has shown InfoUSA/SalesGenie to be one of the more accurate. The best thing about a retail list provider is you can test small, random selections from whatever demographic you select.

But keep your eyes open for new developments...we visited a Seattle company last week and were shown a beta version of a list selection resource which provides the best of all the above. More to come.