It really depends on the type of service you are selling. In general though, I like going the sweat equity route versus the paid route (at least to start) - you should look at this like building a machine, and before you build an entire assembly line you want to try to produce a few of your widgets (e.g. interactions/responses) successfully and then scale from there. So, keeping yourself connected to the channel selection, content crafting and ongoing metrics or results will be helpful so that when you want to drive scale (and have the sales dollars to invest in expanding paid marketing services) you know how to be more effective in that rollout.

A big issue with getting in front of these CEOs comes down to 1) gatekeepers and 2) timing of when they are in need of your services. The good news is that with the size of the organizations you are targeting (25+ employees as a start) the gatekeeper component becomes a little easier to navigate (with a little effort, connecting directly with CEOs of companies with less than say 200 employees is very feasible on scale.) The second part can present a much more interesting challenge. CEOs and business operators are busy folks, and dont typically have the time to think about anything other than the problems on their radar currently. So if they receive even great content or messaging related to something not on their current agenda, the chances of it being disregarding are much higher. Sending direct mail (or even a drip email campaign) can only be as effective as your guesstimate on when they may or may not be experiencing a pain point your service can solve. this is further complicated if they have a current contractor or partner who supplies the service you want to provide - so it's a function of hitting their pain point timeline but also their dissatisfaction period whereby they are open to alternative service providers.

The bottom line is that you have to work a solution that keeps you top of mind with your target prospects so that when those pain thresholds or dissatisfaction points are crossed they can recall your name/service. There are a myriad of ways to achieve this, plus other tactics that should be utilized (crafting targeted/consultative/solutions driven messaging, creating tools that will bring your audience to you such as white papers, blog posts, seminars or even some sort of automated online tool that helps their business.) Cracking the code for getting in front of your target market (especially these CEOs) can be complicated, but there is most definitely a manageable and scaleable process that can be achieved here. I'd be happy to connect and talk about your specific services and help craft a more targeted plan that can help you start seeing results quickly! Feel free to schedule some time and we can connect to discuss further.