Meet the Broker: Rich Eldert

Today we meet Rich Eldert, senior list broker at VentureDirect Worldwide. Eldert does brokerage work for trade publishers, professional associations and other clients involved in the human resources, teen and health products markets.

“I’ve been in the list business more than 20 years, excluding time on the client side, but even then I was dealing with brokers,” said Eldert.

After receiving a degree in English from Rowan University, NJ, he spent a few years working for Saatchi Direct and the Doubleday Book Club. His first job in list brokerage was with the firm now known as Lake Group Media Inc. Prior to joining VentureDirect he worked at Macromark Inc.

Eldert and his wife recently purchased their first home in Rutherford, NJ. “Now I have a basement where I can play my drums. My obsession is with just about any kind of music.”

His other interests include collecting B movie posters, especially those with actors who went on to become famous. “I have a lot of Jack Nicholson stuff.”

Eldert has a large home library of American writers His favorite authors are Raymond Chandler and Henry James. “I always alternate between reading a contemporary and a classic,” he said.

What do you enjoy about list brokerage?

Eldert especially likes the research aspect of list brokerage and negotiating pricing with list managers on behalf of clients.

“Some people might think brokerage is boring, dealing with numbers. I don’t see it as numbers. I think in terms of groups of people and maybe they have a lot in common that brings them together in a niche — and the challenge is tracking them down,” he said.

Pricing is probably more important for clients than it was 20 years ago, when companies were much less conservative with budgets and more willing to take chances when testing lists, in his opinion.

Elder relishes that repeat list users oftentimes can exercise some leverage on pricing with list owners, compared to those renting a file for the first time.

“I push for price breaks. I try to be aggressive as possible in dealing for clients, even if it’s only for waiving a selection charge,” he said.

One client that has been renting the same hotline segments consistently month after month has been able to maintain steady pricing. “This particular client has avoided price increases because the list owner knows they’re going to be there every month,” he said.

How are you adopting to changes in list brokerage?

Eldert said finds himself scrutinizing e-mail lists more closely as that media become increasing more popular.

“I’ve seen more success with business-to-business e-mail messages targeted to specific professions or job titles, compared to lists of consumers who’ve searched online for car loans,” he said.

The Internet has become such a large source of new names that may or may not work for mailers, depending on the specific circumstances.

“I’m skeptical but open. I’m not so interested if it’s a list of a million names generated online from survey registrations with some data overlays,” he said.

Eldert has his own one-page checklist for evaluating lists. Basics he considers include data recency and frequency of updates, but more importantly he’s concerned about the source of the names and learning who else has tested and continued using a particular file, he said.

Know someone you’d like to suggest for Meet the Broker? E-mail Jim Emerson at [email protected]