I was conducting a direct mail roundtable for a regional organization of consultants when one of the attendees handed me a letter he had composed and asked if he could call me about it in a few days. Sure. A few days later he called to say he had been having difficulty getting CEO's to focus on the type of consulting services he offered. "They're concerned with Friday's shipment and I'm trying to get them to think 2-3 years out,"  he said. He thought I might have some snappy copy approach that would help him change their thinking. Well, as I told him, I don't. And most likely, neither does anyone else.

Whether you're marketing yourself or a product, it's folly to think you can change someone else's thinking with a letter. There are too many forces acting on each of us that tend to keep us on whatever track we're on. Not the least of which is our own tendency to disregard anything that we suspect might change it. Change is threatening. Status quo is safe.

Direct marketing works best when we "go with the flow." When we identify what someone already wants to do, or buy, based on past purchase or response history -- and then we give him/her a chance to do it again...with us!