Before You Chase New Leads, Start Here | Jeff Kruszyna

Where should a business look for its next sale? Jeff Kruszyna’s starting point is the people who have already bought from it.

Jeff joins me on CEO Insights to discuss direct response marketing, customer relationships and the choices behind a message that prompts someone to act. His work spans political fundraising, non-profit organisations and businesses. In this conversation, recorded on 16 October 2025, he describes nearly two decades in direct response and explains how that experience shapes his approach to audiences, testing and offers.

The first part focuses on practical marketing decisions. The second explores Jeff’s perspective on American politics, brand values and the relationship between a company and the people it serves.

What direct response means

Jeff describes direct response as one-to-one communication delivered at scale. The message needs to make the problem, the offer and the reason to respond clear to the individual reading it.

His main channel is direct mail, but he sees the same principles applying across digital channels. A letter may lead someone to search for the company, visit its website or look for more information. The experience after that first contact matters too.

We discuss why Jeff still uses physical mail and what businesses should consider before trying it. His examples come from his own fundraising and marketing work. They offer a way to think about a channel test, rather than a guarantee that the same approach will suit every business.

Start with people who already know you

When I ask Jeff to make the advice practical, he suggests looking at past customers. They have already tried the product or service, so the next conversation can start with that shared history.

He also suggests asking what they did not like. Feedback can help improve the product or service as well as the next campaign. The useful question is what their previous experience tells you about the offer and what needs to change.

Jeff sums up that starting point as: “master what you’ve already got and then build from there.”

Test the message and make the next step clear

Jeff recommends starting small, testing one thing and comparing a new approach with an existing version, or control. The point is to learn which audience and message fit before expanding the campaign.

We also discuss deadlines and incentives. Jeff stresses that a deadline should be real and tangible. The conversation then returns to a broader question for B2B and higher-value offers: why would this particular customer buy?

Knowing that motivation should shape the explanation of the offer. A message needs to make its relevance clear, rather than assume the reader will connect the dots.

Brand values and the audience you serve

The second half moves into Jeff’s political fundraising background and what he calls the “Patriot economy”. We explore why some businesses make their values central to their positioning and how those choices relate to their audience.

Jeff distinguishes a company’s lasting convictions from adopting a fashionable position. He gives examples from different parts of the political spectrum and discusses the importance of a product people actually want alongside the values attached to it. These are his perspectives on the market, rather than a recommendation that every business take a political position.

The closing conversation looks at repetition, memorable language and why a clear message can travel further than a complicated explanation.

Put the customer discussion into practice

For a focused B2B application, How to restart conversations with past customers sets out a practical exercise. It covers choosing a relevant group, learning why the relationship went quiet and testing a useful next step.

Connect with Jeff

Jeff shares JMK Victory as the place to find out more about his work in direct mail, fundraising and marketing.