However, while a targeted, accurate mailing list can be the first step towards closing more deals, you need to consider how you are approaching your customers — will you be a trusted mechanic, or the caricature of a “used car salesman”?

David Porter, a coach for mortgage brokers, recently wrote about this divide on his blog. He suggests that if your mortgage practice is just product-driven, focusing only on low rates or quick closing times, you might be coming off as a bad used car salesman. Sure, homeowners may consider utilizing your service, but only as long as you can provide the best deal, rate, or closing costs, and they will definitely shop around when considering your services again. And would they be willing to trust your services enough to refer their friends and family without reservation?

Porter suggests that when closing a deal, mortgage brokers should focus not only on selling the product, but also on selling themselves as a reliable knowledge resource and guide.  They should seek to provide good, solid advice on a variety of related topics (not just on the mortgage products they are selling) in order to achieve trust. Like a great mechanic, a trusted source of financial guidance doesn’t simply provide a temporary fix up with a good loan package, they provide the additional service of checking out the whole machine and providing information on how to keep one’s financial future from breaking down. Porter writes:

Too many in our industry make sales their number one priority. But if you make your advice your priority, and you have the ability to give good advice, then you will have a much more grounded practice. After a period of time, you will not have to work nearly as hard to generate the sale. After which you can work even harder to become more financially astute, which brings you even more business.

Your clients need you to show up with good advice. In all your getting, get the ability to give them your wise counsel. They will reward you with their loyalty and their referrals.

Such practices, when correctly undertaken, can be a great way to increase the success of your business. It requires a commitment to educating yourself and staying on top of wider industry developments, but will pay off in return business and referrals.  While great mailing lists can get your foot in the doors of clients’ homes, presenting a sales message that stresses not only the details of the product but also the additional services you bring to the table can make all the difference. For more advice on targeting and producing your mailing campaigns, contact our direct mail marketing services department.

The conductors of the survey suggest this result is symptomatic of business marketers’ tendency to mimic popular business-to-consumer tactics such as sweepstakes, contests, and gift cards — strategies which can end up “generating a significant number of unqualified leads,” “if marketers aren’t vigilant in the quality of their lists.”

As the research notes, for B2B marketers using highly promotional offers, “the list is more important than it ever was.” If your marketing campaigns utilize a promotional call to action, you need to make sure you’re using highly targeted business mailing lists. As you should already know, Martin Worldwide has over 12 years of experience in offering business sales leads, which is one of the reasons we are the #1 Business List Provider in the nation. Visit our main site to discover how we can help maximize the ROI of your business to business marketing campaigns.