Kranz On Copy: Insights and answers on copywriting and writing copy

Gather a group of B2B marketers together and inevitably, conversation turns to one of the big challenges: Getting past the gatekeepers. We want to reach the people who cut the checks, but decision makers are barricaded behind people whose job is to block us and our messages. How do we break through the phalanx?

Well, ordinary direct mail doesn't work -- that goes right into the circular file. Dimensional mail can work, but it's expensive. Telemarketing? Yeah, busy people can't wait to hear your voice mail messages. Email? Expect to line up behind a few hundred other messages in their in-boxes every day.

Let's face it. The more we pound on their doors, the more they resist us with bigger and stronger doors. We can't break in.

But we can get invited in.

And that's the secret to reaching top-level decision makers. Do or say something that makes them want to have a conversation with you. That gets them (or their representatives) to pick up the phone and call you instead of the other way around.

That means establishing your authority as a credible expert who can solve problems and help clients achieve goals. And in practice, that means developing meaningful content your prospects and customers can really use. See how via research, the Web and/or quality collateral.