To make pre-approach contacts more cost-effective and significantly improve the results, you should tailor your message to the situations and interests of the recipients and build rapport over time. Many advisers do this with a technique called "wave mailing."

Wave mailing means sending a series of letters and other information, including brochures and articles to qualified prospects over a one, two, three or four-week period. This increases the likelihood that the businessowner or professional will pay attention to your letters and want to meet with you when you call.

Wave mailing is a great way to introduce yourself to and stay in contact with prospects with whom you have neither leverage nor third-party influence, but whom you don't want to risk losing in a series of low-percentage cold calls.

Try this: Using many different sources, you should build a series of brief letters which you can put into your mail system, and select business-oriented articles from industry publications, which refer to the types of markets in which you do business.

Simply adapt your letters to the recipient's situation.

Wave mail letters should:

• Introduce a topic of interest to the prospect;


• Establish your expertise; and


• Offer to provide additional information upon request.

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Ohio National is not affiliated with, nor does it endorse or sponsor, any particular prospecting, marketing or selling system.

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