Whenever I am asked what the first thing is that a company should do in order to generate more sales I start with the issue of “building two lists”.

First you need a list of your current and recent customers, and second a list of potential customers, in each case including both postal details and email information.

However there is a regular question raised about the issue of getting a list of potential clients.  How does one get one?

Of course it is different for each company – the details of how to get a list of multi-millionaires likely to give to charity, are different from the details of how to get a list of the sales managers of manufacturers of concrete mixers.  But either way it is possible to get a list through three means.

a) Buy a list in – there are links to all sorts of lists on the Hamilton House web site at http://www.hamilton-house.com/gateways/mailing%20lists.html and of course there are many other suppliers of lists too.

b) You can do telephone research to up the level of data you have – for example to add details of email addresses.   Telephone research like everything else needs a clear focus and people who know what they are doing – but lots of data can be gathered in this way.

c) Offer something free.  If you write to people and offer them a free product or report, or a low cost product, and insist that they apply by email, you get their email address, and can add it to your database quite legitimately.   (There are different rules for consumer email addresses and business addresses, and I am happy to talk these through if you want further clarification – although you must appreciate I am not a lawyer!)

We’ve used option c) over and over again offering free reports, and that has worked very well indeed for us.  The reports take a bit of writing, but then having produced them they are just sent out by email at no cost.

If you would like any further information, do give me a call on 01536 399 013.

Tony Attwood