I'll echo MindPro's comments

and give you some insight into

what I do.

First and foremost, I know who I

want to market to. Personally, I
like small companies with 20-75
employees and companies that
plan regular meetings etc. The
smaller companies have very
tight knit groups that respond
well to my show and are a lot of
fun to work for. They are also at
a size where they're too big to
just go out to dinner for their
event, and too small to break up
their entertainment by
department. This is just what I
go for, you decide what works
for you. 

Then, I spend a few hundred

dollars on a good list. Not all
lists are created equal. It's
important to find out how they
gather their information, how
often they update it, how they
update it etc. Just like there are
great performers and terrible
performers, there are great list
providers and terrible list
providers. 

Whatever list you get, it's not

enough. If you send 1000 post
cards to some generic title like
"event coordinator, XYZ
Company" 990 will end up in the
trash. I get names of the event
committee chairs etc. 

I load all the leads into my

database (I'm using ShowBiz
CRM) and proceed to call them
(or I hire someone to call them)
Here is a basic script for getting
names and contact info: 

Hello, I was hoping you could

help me. 
<they respond> 

Could you tell me who is in

charge of organizing your
company's special
events? (examples are
Employee Social events,
Meetings and things of that
nature) 

<If they ask why> 

I would like to send you
some information about new
and different entertainment
ideas for companies in the
XXX Area. (Replace XXXwith
whatever area this company is
in) 

<What company are you calling

from> 
I'm calling from the offices of
Michael Carducci, a local
company specializing in
Corporate entertainment
services. I'd just like to send
some information down and I
was hoping you could help
me direct it to the correct
person. 

<they decline or give a generic

name> 
Ok, well thanks very much!
Have a great day! (input
whatever information they give
if any, and Make a note in the
'notes' Column) 

<If they don't know> 

That's ok, would you mind
putting me through to
somebody who might know,
maybe human resources? 
<they transfer you> 
(start from top) 

<you get a name> 

Do know this person's email,
by chance 
<they refuse> 
I understand, How about an
extension? 

<they release it> 

Thank you! How about an
extension 

<they don't hold such events> 

Ok, thank you so much for
your time! (Make a note in the
'notes' Column) 

Thank you so much for your

time! 
Have a great
day/weekend/whatever 

For qualified leads with no event

coming up, they get an email
automatically every three
months. 

For qualified leads who ask for

more info, they get a full 10
page PDF proposal emailed to
them and I ask when I should
follow-up (then I put that in my
database) 

For qualified leads, everybody

gets a postcard, and a full
salesletter etc mailed a few days
later (usually with something
interesting inside) 

For those that don't plan events,

I'm not wasting money sending
them expensive direct mail
pieces. 

My goal is to: 

1. Build up a database of
professionals who plan events in
my area 
2. Stay in touch with those
professionals with Top of the
mind awareness (periodic
postcards and emails) 
3. Generate leads for imminent
events (in a week calling
campaign, I'll usually end up
speaking to 5-10 people who
were stuck for ideas at that very
moment and are very grateful I
called) 

For scheduled emails, and

generating emails and PDFs to
respond to hot leads, I let my
system generate and manage
those. For my postcards, I
export the names and addresses
and let the company that prints
the post cards and letters do the
fulfillment (I hate stuffing
envelopes). 

I also do a big mail/email

campaign to everyone around
September and March, when
people are likely to start
planning their winter/summer
events. I usually send a
postcard, the the email a few
days later, then another
mailing. 

All my mailings have a clear call

to action - get a quote for your
event. If they're planning an
event, I want that in my
database so I can work the gig.
All they have to do is fill out a
form. 

This system works very well for

me and actually has a very light
touch. Most people will get just a
few emails a year and a few
mailings a year. I strive to hit
find the minimum of contact I
need both to save money on
mailing/printing, but also to not
be a pest (most of these people
have actual jobs to do and I
don't want to get in their way)
My goal is to make their life
easier. 
Hope this helps