By age six or so we were sufficiently fluent in language that we could go to school and understand the teachers, our fellow students, etc.Similarly, few successful investors remember their initial struggles to understand the language, the concepts, the subtle art and fine science of real estate: negotiations, deals and transactions.Only a very few of us are natural teachers - able to understand how others learn and able to tailor our language, presentation, modality, etc. to suit each individual.

Once you confirm the above facts you will know exactly what set of rules the other side is playing by and can tailor your strategy accordingly.

That way you can tailor your note to them so you are addressing the issues they have.

After all this research I ended up going with Zoho due to its flexibility to tailor it to my needs (you can create your owns fields for leads, contacts, etc), the ability to pull up and edit the info on the web and my iPhone and the price ( there is a free version but I needed something more powerful so I pay $12/month).

This certifies that the company building your list has run the file through the Post Office's National Change of Address.You can write letters yourself  tailored to the audience you have chosen, but NEVER make statements that indicate personal knowledge about the person.

I don't see the need to custom tailor it for this situation.

Of course, consult your own licensed tax adviser for specific guidance tailored to your unique circumstances.  

But it sounds like you need to focus on establishing your agency business on a good footing, so advice from real estate investors, while terrific for investing, may not be ideally tailored to the agency side.

They send to several groups/lists, with marketing messages tailored for each group, and they know that it takes 3 to 5 touches before things start to really happen with direct mail.

Is it tailored to the mailing list?