Welcome to this edition of M45 Momentum, a bi-monthly
e-newsletter for the business community featuring tips, trends and trivia from the experts at M45 Marketing Services.

A new year is here, full of opportunity and complete with resolutions to tackle old problems in new ways.

This month we'll look at approaches to help you not only weather 2007, but excel in 2007…hot tips to manage your mailing list, ways to warm-up your client base, and strategies to make the most of cold calling. So grab a cup of java…carefully test its temperature…and take a few minutes to enjoy our January issue.

Where to begin?
First, you need to determine if you can use your own internal resources or if you need to rent or purchase a list from an external source. For many companies, external lists are never as good as customer information that already exists within their businesses. These internal lists—sometimes referred to as house lists—take time to create, but often times are most effective.

A number of external sources exist for direct mail lists. These include:

• List brokers
• Industry-specific trade directories
• Magazine publishers
• Databases and information services on the Internet

Before you buy, beware
If you choose to rent or purchase a mailing list, be sure to ask these important questions before you finalize your selection:

• What is the cost? Price and accuracy are often linked and a more expensive list may be more accurate, especially with e-mail addresses.
• Is this a one-time-only use or can the list be used multiple times? Most rented lists are for a single use only, charged on a cost-per-thousand basis. Purchasing a list will afford you the opportunity to conduct a multiple mailing campaign which generally achieves better results.
• How often is the list updated and when was the most recent update?
• Have proper permissions been given by contacts who will receive your messages via email?

Finally, whether you are using a house list or an external source, consider segmenting your list more than you originally intended. This specificity will help you hone in on a target market so you can more precisely communicate to a specific customer need. Using variable list data technology, for example, can help you better personalize messages, customize offers, and ultimately, boost results.

Choosing the right mailing list can be an onerous task. If you need help with list selection—or the development of your entire direct marketing campaign—the professionals at M45 have all the know-how you need. Put us on your list!

Most every business has to make cold calls at some point in their sales cycle. For some, it's all in a day's work. For others, it's a dreaded chore. Most would agree: cold calling is sometimes necessary, but it's not their favorite way to generate business. Pursuing unqualified prospects can be a pricey proposition. By some estimates, according to Inc. magazine, a single industrial sales call now costs $400—or more. Implementing some simple marketing strategies can help you reduce the costs, and the discomfort, of cold calling. Try these ways to warm up your prospects before you dial the phone or knock on the door: Cull your list with care — the more selective you are, the better your list will be. Lay the groundwork before you call — at minimum, send a basic letter and brochure to introduce yourself and your company. Or consider a higher impact mailing to really get your prospect's attention. Pre-qualify leads — call only those who have responded to a previous mailing, trade show, or other promotion. Research your target markets and prospects — find out as much as you can about your potential clients and their companies. Talk like you already know them. Need an assist to implement these strategies? M45 can help. Utilize our professional research capabilities or tap into our direct mail expertise. With some pre-planning and promotion, you can minimize the chilly reception you might expect from cold calling—and improve your prospecting forecast. VOTE: Does your company make cold calls? Yes   No   Voting results from last issue: In our Your Vote Counts issue, we asked readers to let us know if they had participated in a survey or focus group in the last 12 months. It appears our readers are an active and involved bunch: 100% responded yes

Avoid lukewarm email response rates
It's the first thing in the morning and you open your email at work. You notice ten new advertising messages in your inbox, all enticing you to open them first. Like most people, you will open some promptly, while you'll delete others without hesitation. You know your customers will do the same. So how can you help increase the chances that someone will open your messages?

To help improve your next email campaign, consider that people are most likely to open messages that contain:

• A familiar personal or brand name in the "from" field.
• An enticing subject line - 35% of people cite the subject line as the main factor in determining if they will open an email.
• A subject that tells the recipient something they want to know or is an emotions-based need.
• An interesting topic that makes people curious.
• A number in the subject line (response rates increase to such lines as "Top 10," "Save 10%," "3 Great Ideas," etc.)

How’s the weather where you—our clients—live?
Discuss amongst yourselves: the weather. It's a huge part of our lives and the basis for small talk almost every day.

At our home base in northwest Illinois, January is traditionally one of the coldest months of the year. Though this winter has been unseasonably warm, our average temperature is just 19° F!

Are you a weather watcher? Check out the average January temperatures at just a few of our client locations, below.

Curious about Rome's annual rainfall or San Diego's sunniest month? Go to www.weatherbase for fascinating weather facts about 16,439 cities worldwide.

RU cool with Instant Messaging?
Since Instant Messaging (IM) emerged as a communication tool in the mid-90s, it has become almost as popular as e-mail and has spawned a whole new language all its own. A large collection of abbreviations and acronyms has evolved to make communication faster.

Using the Internet to communicate in real time is all the rage, but you have to be "up" on the latest jargon to effectively chat with an experienced user. If you're a POS (parent over shoulder) you may want to brush up on IM lingo. HTH (that's "Hope This Helps")!