Long-time subscribers to this newsletter will recognize our steadfast adherence to the "cast a wide net" philosophy of direct marketing. We believe fervently that it pays, in the long run, to expand the reach of your campaign to include not only those prospects ready to buy, but also anyone else that might be facing the specific issue, challenge or problem that your product or service can solve.

Occasionally, however, other factors demand a more targeted, aggressive approach. For example, your company may want to target a competitor's installed base. Perhaps you want to leverage a recent sales win by targeting other executives within that same vertical. Or some other time-sensitive deadline, offer, or sales goal requires that you "get in front of" prospects as early as possible.

In these scenarios, one way to accelerate the sales cycle is to get the prospect to request a face-to-face meeting as the initial call to action. Such a strategy is not without its risks and should be approached with caution, however. Success in using direct marketing to generate meetings often requires expensive, high-impact creative (to ensure you reach the executive's desk), and carefully crafted, highly compelling copy that convinces the executive that your company is worth his or her valuable time.

Here are three other tips to consider:

1. Don't call it a "meeting"

   For most executives, meeting with a salesperson ranks near the bottom on a list of how they like to spend their time at the office. So don't call it a meeting. Describe your offer in terms that imply a benefit to the prospect: an "in-person ROI analysis", "network performance audit", "benchmark survey", and so on.

2. Be specific.

   A meeting is no different from any other offer. People want to know what they're getting. As a description, therefore, "meet with our representative" won't cut it. Be specific. First, regards time: specify exactly how long you expect the session to last (and don't say "one hour" because it sounds arbitrary.) Instead, try something like "45 minutes, or shorter than the average lunch hour".

   Secondly, treat the meeting as if you were promoting an event, like a seminar. You might not need an agenda per se, but make sure the reader understands exactly how you plan to use his or her time. Construct two or three bullet points that detail the steps you'll take to make the meeting as efficient as possible.

3. Include both personal and business motivators.

   There are two reasons why people accept meetings. One, because they think it can benefit their business. And secondly, because they think there's something in it for them personally. Make sure your invitation addresses both. An example of a business benefit could be a hard copy report prepared specifically for the executive and his or her company based on the information collected in the meeting. The personal benefit could be a free gift of some sort - a golf club, cell phone, etc.