How a block of wood can help you prospect

Needless to say, it is difficult to reach Top of the Table-level production if you have no clients. Even if you have plenty, of course, it never hurts to learn another good prospecting idea.

In his 2016 Annual Meeting presentation, “Prospecting your way to the top,” Marc A. Silverman, CFP, ChFC, a 33-year MDRT member from Miami, Florida, with 23 Top of the Table qualifications, shared a strategy that includes a few simple steps:

• Identify a list of companies that you want to get in front of that are at least five years old (as newer ones may be more likely to go out of business).
• Go to the local lumberyard and have a large sheet of plywood (at least one-inch thick) cut into pieces the size of postcards and sanded.
• Have each business’ name and address typed on an adhesive label and attached to one side of the wood, along with a stamp and your return address.
• On the other side of the wood, write, “I have ideas that are stronger than this.”

“We would send out 12 of these each and every week,” Silverman said. “I would simply call the business and say, ‘Hi, this is Marc Silverman. Is Mr. Smith there please? I am the gentleman who sent the block of wood in the mail.’ This idea developed numerous sales over the years and a lot of commissions.”

Hear more prospecting ideas in the June episode of MDRT Presents:

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Written by Matt Pais, MDRT Content Specialist