High technology prospects are different. They don't respond like consumers and they don't respond like other businesses. What works with them is often
opposite of what works with consumers. Here's a primer on how to sell high-tech products to businesses using direct mail. Mail to people who won't buy High-tech buying decisions are often made by a committee, not an individual. To win sale, your direct-mail program must address needs of everyone around table, whether president, purchasing agent, technical specialist or end user. So find out who wields greatest influence in buying decisions (often it's end users), and target these influential prospects in your mailings, along with people who sign purchase orders.
Go cheap on design and printing Consumer direct-mail gimmicks sell sweepstakes, but not servers. Don't ask a senior verification engineer to "AFFIX FREE BUYING GUIDE SEAL HERE." Don't expect a network operations analyst to "PLACE TAB A INTO TAB B." The same goes for fake handwriting and fake underlining. They're genuine mistakes.
High-tech business readers are sophisticated. They want a letter, a brochure and a business reply card. That's it. The more inserts, lift letters, coupons, free-gift slips and other stuff you put in envelope, more likely busy executive is to fling your package in circular file.
Here's one caveat. Fancy folds, die cuts and 3D objects work well when you tie them into your offer. This is especially true of trade-show mailers, where a unique and relevant gimmick often draws more prospects to your booth than a traditional mailer does.
Assume your reader has a split personality Your reader is a business person, in that order. As a business buyer, your prospect wants to save money, raise productivity, increase efficiency. So your mailer must address those issues. But your business buyer is also a person. A person who is unlikely to buy your product–however good it may be for company–if buying your product means more work, more stress or more grief for them personally. Your prospect may even buy your competitor's inferior product instead of yours for selfish reasons alone.
Today's rule of thumb in high-tech purchase decisions is this: "Sure, no one ever got fired for buying IBM. But did they get promoted?" Look after both business interests and personal interests of your prospect and sale will look after itself.
Keep it technical Telecom professionals know what SS7, ITU-T C7 and ISUP are. You don't. So you're inclined to explain these concepts in your copy, showing prospects that you don't understand their business.
