Most high-tech companies keep their sales force informed of direct marketing programs by sending each rep a sample of the printed mail piece. Rarely however (given the demands of daily life), do marketing managers provide information that details the objective of the campaign and more importantly, how the sales rep should approach follow-up calls.

Case in point: a client called a few months ago to relay the complaints she was fielding from her sales force that respondents to a recent campaign "weren't interested in the product - they only wanted the white paper."

Well naturally (I replied), since given the price of the product (a $100,000+ software application), the consensus strategy behind the campaign was *not* to sell the product, but rather to focus on the offer (the white paper) and use it as a means of identifying people experiencing the problem that the software could solve. It wasn't that prospects weren't interested in the product; that's just not (necessarily) the reason they responded.

Were the sales reps to have understood that strategy (and the reasoning behind it), their follow-up calls might have commenced with questions about the prospect's needs or "pain points", rather than "What else can I tell you about our product?" And they would have uncovered more genuine leads as a result.

"Make sure your reps know your marketing intent and process as well as your products and services. Write and say a compelling "reason for my call.""

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