The postman always rings twice

2) Keep your letter clear and succinct. You have to be very clear with your direct-marketing letters today and be sure they are compliance-approved if you are licensed through FINRA, Silverman cautions. If you are licensed, you must have any letter approved that you're sending to a mass market. The text has to be more than compliant, however: It must also be effective. "We've found that sending out a first-class letter with a real stamp on it works better and gets more people to open it, than a postmark," says Silverman. "And you must have something in the letter that's going to grab the readers' attention right away."

3) Use the format to tell your story. Direct mail gives you the space needed to communicate with the reader, so why not use the space? Debora Haskel, vice president of marketing at IWCO Direct in Chanhassen, Minn., points out that the some of the earliest direct-mail pieces that went out were four-page letters and the format has proven its effectiveness. "That may be too long for some products and services today," she notes. "But as opposed to where you might be limited to putting 50 words in with a statement mailing or an e-mail that you are hoping is going to get opened, direct mail really does let you tell a story, so you should take advantage of that attribute."

4) Give people a reason to look to you for advice. If you wanted to do it as a two-step marketing offer, you could create some item that has perceived value to it, says Haskel. Then when you call or when you set up an appointment, you can provide whatever it might be: a book, some financial tool, an online calculator, that kind of thing. Other possibilities include reprints of articles that are written by perceived experts. Haskel urges against making the reader jump through too many hoops, however. "If it's too hard for me to respond, if I have to put too much work into that response, it's probably not going to work," she warns. "You want to make it as easy as possible."

5) Follow up by phone right away. If you don't follow up with a call to respondents immediately, you're dead in the water, Silverman observes. He's found that the follow-up call is critical, but the call has only one purpose: Get the appointment. "You're not trying to sell anything except the meeting," he urges. I might say something like, 'Mr. Smith, this is Marc Silverman from Silverman Financial. You were kind enough to read my direct-mail piece. You seem to have some interest in disability income protection and that's exactly what we specialize in. Would next Tuesday be good or would Wednesday afternoon be better for me to get together with you to describe some of the pluses and minuses of disability income insurance?' You want to ask for the appointment, you want to be succinct and you want a 'yes, yes' question when you're trying to get that meeting."