Broker Roundtable: Describe Your Most Difficult List Order
By Larry Riggs
Welcome to Broker Roundtable, where each week we ask list brokers to give their opinions on issues that matter to the marketing community. This week’s question: What was the most difficult list you represented or the toughest order you tried to fill in 2010?
Our current panel includes: Michael Kertelits of RMI Direct Marketing Inc.; Lee Kroll of Kroll Direct Marketing Inc.; Stan Madyda of Estee Marketing Group Inc and Michael Peterman of Veradata. (Would you like to be considered to be a member of our roundtable? Contact Larry Riggs at [email protected].)
Michael Peterman, CEO, VeraData
The for-profit educational space has been dealt a handful of blows this year, including recent headwinds relative to federal loan qualifications. The list side of this business is exciting. http://directmag.com/meet_the_broker/0319-liz-kistner/index.html
Much of the effort is spent pursuing online registrants. The most difficult order we filled in 2010 was a multi-tiered, segmented e-mail order for an educational institution. It was a large order in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and included numerous lists for numerous specialties. All in all, we coordinated over 250 splits with models, offer versions, contact sequences, creative variations and timed deployments with over 20 different list owners. It was executed with near perfection and garnered extraordinary results. The time spent developing and executing the recommendation and the job was in the hundreds of hours, but proved to be well worth the effort.
Michael Kertelits, account executive, RMI Direct Marketing Inc.:
Not sure if I want to call out on specifics, but sometimes as a broker you have to do your share of jumping through hoops to keep clients happy. I had one specific order that I placed, was asked if I could cancel, then asked if I could reinstate it for a later mail date and then subsequently asked to cancel again. But it’s all part of the job.
Stan Madyda, senior vice president, Estee Marketing Group Inc.:
I don’t remember any one order that stands out as being the most difficult. I have always brokered for a lot of mailers that have very niche markets or geographic areas and finding them lists is always a challenge. I have some B-to-B mailers with a very specific audience and I am often asked to investigate companies and organizations that match their profile. Sometimes the lists are available and sometimes they are not. On the consumer side, I’ll research sites that have a synergy with my clients. Many times, I am told a list is not available because of privacy concerns. It’s difficult to change this position with list owners, especially when they have a clearly stated privacy policy. It’s frustrating knowing that if the list was available it would be a really good addition to the test plan. The trick is not to give up trying.
Leland Kroll, president, Kroll Direct Marketing Inc.:
I don’t recall any one particular list we had difficulty fulfilling.As brokers and managers, we see both sides of the transaction. As list brokers need to work with list managers and owners that are progressive and see the big picture. They should be able to listen to the needs of the broker representing the mailer and be willing to negotiate reasonable price structures, allow for unique testing requirements and deliver data on time. As list managers we need to help the broker be a “hero” each and every day and understand and respect the role they play in each transaction.
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