Meet the Broker: Chatty Teirstein

Today we meet Kathryn “Chatty” Teirstein, whose moniker serves as a personal trademark in a business where networking is a crucial skill. This month she was promoted to vice president in the consumer brokerage division at Direct Media Inc.

“It certainly hasn’t hurt me to have nickname like Chatty in an industry where being chatty is an advantage,” says Teirstein. “I’ve had the nickname since before I was old enough to start talking. First I was Chatty Kathy, but eventually I became just Chatty.”

Indeed. For the last 24 years she’s been talking about lists, but unlike many brokers Teirstein has never worked on the management side. Her new job title means she’ll be working more independently. “My job isn’t going to change all that much. I’ll still be a broker,” she adds.

Her list career began with a brief stint at Listworks Corp. She earned her brokerage wings at Walter Karl Inc., before moving to Specialists Marketing Services Inc. She joined Direct Media in spring 2002.

Teirstein has worked in many consumer market sectors, which include sweepstakes, publishing, continuity marketing and various catalog markets.

“I’ve always worked with a diverse group of clients using lists and package insert programs. Probably the only area I haven’t done brokerage work is with insurance companies,” Teirstein says.

Examples of the clients she presently works with include Guideposts, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Highlights for Children Catalog, Tabak’s Health Products, Scholastic at Home, Carus Publishing and Discovery Channel Store.

List talk aside, Teirstein enjoys traveling and entertaining at home, especially when it involves doting on her two grandsons, ages 2 and 5. Her absolute favorite place to visit is New Orleans. She and her husband take ski trips with his family in the winter and visit with her family at the seashore in the summertime.

“A summer just wouldn’t be summer if I didn’t go to Long Beach Island (NJ). I’ve been going there every summer since I was five years old,” says Teirstein.

What keeps work challenging for you?

“Over the last year I’ve started doing e-mail list brokerage. I’ve just put my toe in the water. This is an area I really find that I have to get involved in if I’m to stay competitive in this industry,” Teirstein says.

Unlike postal list markets where Teirstein usually knows which companies manage particular files, she finds herself having to establish new relationships with account reps responsible for e-mail lists.

“It’s challenging because I’m not as familiar with the managers and e-mail lists, so I have to rely more on the managers,” she adds.

Plus Can Spam e-mail list regulations add an extra layer to her work, since brokers are supposed to make sure lists are compliant with these federal regulations.

How do postage rate increases affect brokers?

Mailers invariably cut back on list prospecting, which leads to shrinking house files and an overall decline in the response list universe available for rental.

“It’s bad for brokers,” says Teirstein. “It’s sad because many mailers seem to be happy staying flat, rather than growing. There may be a (postal mailer) boom again, but it will be smaller.”

Rising postage rates make it more difficult for brokers to negotiate list pricing, since brokers requesting smaller list quantities can expect to lose leverage with list managers.

“The mailers get more choosy with the lists they’ll use and only want the top performing lists,” she adds.

Teirstein says she has noticed companies becoming more interested in e-mail since the last postage increase, a trend likely to continue as another postage hike looms.

“I think e-mail is really starting to take off and it’s going to be the main area of growth for direct marketing. It’s exciting for me to be able to hitch a ride in a growing market, because the potential is big,” she says.

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