Dave, thank you and good luck to you.
Let me mention 3 examples (all non-wood businesses) of what I was talking about and relate it to what Pat said.
1) Back when I was 19 (too young to hold an insurance license) an Aetna agency hired me. I got together with a guy a few years older who had a huge pile of years-old D&B reports on all sorts of businesses.
I cold-called 8 hours a day and set appointments for him. I had the advantage of knowing the name of the business owner. So, I could just ask if Jim or Bob or John or whoever was in. Gets you by the secretary virtually every time.
If I got an excuse or "get back to me" from Jim or Bob I always asked when I should call back. When that date comes up, now you're telling the secretary that Jim or Bob asked you to call them. Now, you're like an old friend, you obviously know Jim or Bob and he wants to talk to you.
Not only that, but Jim or Bob probably remembers you and you're no longer just some guy cold-calling him.
After a few months, I had my partner booked solid, every day. The lesson is always, always, always follow up. Relentlessly.
Some people won't like you bugging them. Others will give you points for being tenacious and indefatigable in the face of their excuse-making.
I've made a lot of great friends out of business owners who initially didn't want to talk to me any more than they wanted to talk to their mother-in-law.
Usually after I saved them 10 or 20K on their group health policy (this was the '70s.)
2) After I developed my commodity futures trading system for gold and silver, I had to market it. Did that at metals conferences. Gave away a Krugerrand, but of course you had to sign up for the give-away at my exhibitor booth.
What did I then have from hundreds of total strangers, most of whom had serious money? Everyones first and last name and phone number (this was pre-internet.)
Every salesman to whom I distributed these expensive leads was REQUIRED by me to call them and follow-up constantly and be able to prove it with their call-logs.
My best guys also often mailed their prospects updates on how early accounts were doing. Lots of follow-up and keeping your name in front of the prospect works best.
3) In the private-brand computer business (we built our own FCC-approved CPUs,) my best guy was one who knew no fear. He waltzed into one major university after another, all cold-calls, and sold them.
He gave them an alternative to Apple and Dell, etc., one where they could make one call and get them the status of anything they had ordered and solve most any problem instantly. If needed, they could talk to me directly anytime they wished.
He religiously followed-up with all of them, even after a steady order flow was established. They probably got tired of seeing his face. But, better that than they never see you again.
Always follow-up. Pat's postcard idea is an inexpensive way to keep your name in front of both clients and prospects. Not like an email that may never even be read.
To throw your postcard in the trash, your prospect has to at least read your company name. That's something.
98 of 100 may do nothing but remind your client or prospect of you and what you do.
It's the one or two where you jog something in their mind that causes them to call and say "You know, I need a ....." or "Can you do this ....." or "I wasn't sure that you were serious, but now I am."
Cold-calling is important. You never know what good stuff you'll stumble into. Follow-up is equally important. Once you have a prospect or client, always keep your name in front of them periodically, because your competition probably doesn't bother to.