What is a List Broker?
What do they do?
People often ask me, “What is a list broker and what exactly does a list broker do?” and it is a very valid question. When I’m at a dinner party and someone asks me, “What do you do?”, most people have never heard of us or what we do.
Our brokers operate in the direct marketing industry, acting as a middleman between clients requiring marketing lists and list owners who rent their lists. There are over 50,000 list owners and list compilers in North America, and the average person would not know where even to start when it comes to choosing a list vendor.
What we will do for you.
In general, we broker direct mailing lists and telemarketing lists, but some brokers also manage email campaigns.
Here’s an example of how we work. You have developed a teeth bleaching product that you want to sell to dentists. You contact us, and we will typically ask you several questions, such as:
While you may know a lot about your industry, a good broker also knows an enormous amount about direct marketing lists. They will probably say, “How about reaching dentists with a certain number of employees? And how about dentists in a certain geography? And how about dentists that specialize in cosmetic dentistry?” We will ask all sorts of questions to narrow your target market down as much as possible.
A good broker should not be trying to sell you the most extensive list. We will provide you with a highly targeted list to ensure the success of your marketing campaign.
We are there for you before, during and after your marketing campaign. Throughout the research phase, your broker will initially work for free until they find you precisely what you want.
We don’t own databases and lists. Therefore, we can remain impartial and recommend which list will genuinely work for you. We work for you and no one else, and that’s how we will always have your best interests in mind.
