Meet the Broker: Donna Vogler
Today we meet Donna Vogler, vice president of sales at Macromark Inc. Vogler works with mailers promoting financial services, health products, collectibles, business opportunities and other consumer products.
Vogler began her list career in 1998 at Mal Dunn Associates Inc. and moved over to Macromark about three years ago. Her focus has always been consumer postal lists.
Although much of her work involves business opportunity offers, Vogler still considers herself a generalist. “I like variety and I don’t want to be stuck in one market.”
Clients she works with include AbleSys Corp., Nature’s Aide Vitamins Inc., MBI Inc.’s Danbury Mint division and mailers in the business opportunity market, who typically want to avoid publicity.
Vogler certainly isn’t shy though. Whenever possible, she pushes hard to test lists on a contingency payment basis, so clients can avoid spending money on lists that don’t work.
“I ask for contingency tests. I’m big on that. If someone can swear by how good their list is, they should be open to letting my client test it on a contingency basis,” she says.
After work, Vogler keeps busy at her lakeside home. She’s married and has a son, 19, and a daughter, 15. She takes long walks around the lake several times a week to keep fit. Vogler enjoys swimming too, whether it’s her pool, the lake or ocean.
What’s the secret to brokerage success?
Her short answer is to never skimp on any aspect of research. Keep up with market trends, read and read some more. Find out what the client wants and needs. And listen.
“A broker who just looks for lists online through NextMark or SRDS is missing something important,” says Vogler. “I want to know what other mailers and list companies are doing too.”
Before reviewing any data cards, Vogler starts by searching keywords on the Internet for information on market trends and potential list ideas.
Later, when she has specific lists in mind, she winnows them down by reviewing list usage reports and taking into account what other mailers are doing. Her final step is to discuss her recommendations with broker colleagues at work.
“I always want someone else’s opinion, before I send my recommendations on to a client. Regardless of how good a broker is, it’s always good to share with other brokers to find out what they think,” she says.
How foolproof are list hotlines?
“Hotlines will work better than 12-month buyers 90% of the time, unless the hotlines are being overused,” says Vogler.
Depending on the market category, quarterly hotlines generally work just as well as monthly hotlines, based on her experience.
“Sometimes older names work better. Hotlines can quickly become exhausted because everyone is renting 30-day names, without bothering to go back to the older names,” she says.
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