Meet the Broker: Cathy Wheelock

Today we meet Cathy Wheelock, a list brokerage account executive in the Impulse Media division of RMI Direct Marketing Inc.

She has 20 years of experience dealing with consumer list owners and users, including 14 years doing list management, brokerage and accounting work at Country Marketing Ltd. Six years ago, Wheelock joined Impulse Media, where she now spends 80% of time doing list brokerage and manages lists for a handful of clients.

Wheelock has created a niche for herself specializing in the health and dietary supplements, astrology and men’s potency products markets.

Her brokerage clients include Jenasol Co., Hampshire Laboratories, Health Research Laboratories, Stimulettes, High Tech Potency and Djanet.

Wheelock says what she enjoys most is the “detective work” involved in finding new list sources and the excitement that goes with acquiring a new client.

“I still enjoy making cold calls after I see a new product in a space ad or an infomercial, so I can find out if the list is available,” she says.

The Federal Trade Commission closely scrutinizes mailers and brokers alike in the markets she works. “It’s almost like the FTC is holding brokers accountable for the offers,” she adds.

Keeping out of trouble is a matter of common sense, according to her, and that means discouraging clients for whom she sources lists for from making pie in the sky claims.

“I don’t want to sound too legal but I don’t want to be held liable either,” she says.

Outside of work Wheelock enjoys reading mystery and romance novels for relaxation. For summertime fun she travels throughout New York State with her fireman husband to watch him participate in fire fighting contests and drills. The couple has four adult children and eight grandchildren, ages 3 to 11.

How has the health supplements list marketplace changed during your career?

A ban on ephedra in dietary supplements and other FTC crackdowns related to the direct marketing of health products drove many list owners out of the market a few years ago.

“We lost a lot of files then,” adds Wheelock.

Recently the market has revived and become competitive to the point of saturation, according to Wheelock, but she says companies are being more cautious about making product claims in advertising.

What’s your secret to success as a broker?

“I’m a pushy broker. I get my way 90% of the time” says Wheelock. “I’ll fight tooth and nail for my clients with a list manager and sometimes I’ll even go directly to the list owner.”

A list manager may not realize that the broker and manager might need to lose money at first to establish a relationship with a client who, if successful, will continue ordering the list, which leads to sustained commissions later, she says.

With respect to list owners and list reciprocity, Wheelock says her job is to make sure everyone “plays nice” to grant list release approvals for each other’s mutual benefit.

“Someone recently said no to one of my clients. They wanted to play hardball, but I had to remind them that in a few months time they were probably going to need my client’s list,” she says.

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