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Have you heard the joke about the pastor in the pulpit talking about the capital campaign? He told his congregation he had good news and bad news. “The good news is, we have found the money to reach our goal. The bad news it, that money is still in your pockets.” You have identified several high-profile prospects in your community. They have the potential to be great clients. The problems are they do not know who you are or why they should do business with you. How can you get on their radar?
1. Become their client. Sometimes this needs to happen. They own a store or restaurant. You become a regular. You say hello to the owner every time you visit. You send business in their direction. You tell them about it ahead of time. They see you making an effort to support their business. They take an interest in yours or should be receptive to listening to your story.
2. Connect through social media. This is everyone’s favorite channel. Do you have a reason to send an invite on LinkedIn? Do they have a company page? Do you follow it? If you are connected, are you part of the same LI groups? This is an opportunity for drip marketing.
3. Get an introduction. We are back to IRL (In real life) strategies. Through personal connections or social media, you identify someone who also knows them. How well do they know them? Can they bring you together over coffee? Can they tell you where to show up and are likely to run into them? Having a person you know in common can mean you have an advocate. They might need some coaching on how to bring up your name.
4. Meet through a shared organization. You can learn a lot through social media and the Internet in general. Are they active with the chamber of commerce? What nonprofits do they support? Are you both involved with your college alumni association? This can provide the rationale for reaching out. You can meet when you attend the same events.
5. Can you show up in the right place? People do all sorts of ordinary things. They shop at the sane supermarket. They buy wine from the same store. They cheer on their daughter at school sports on weekends. Your daughter is on the same team. They play golf. Woody Allen said: “80% of success is showing up.”
6. Ask them for a charitable contribution. You are confident you would be turned away by the gatekeeper if you called their office and asked for an appointment to talk business. What would happen if you wanted to solicit them to sponsor a hole at the charity golf outing? You would call for an appointment. You might bring along a heavy hitter from your board, someone who knows them in person. You get them to commit. You attend the event with them, seeing they have a really good time.
7. Can they hear you speak? Do you speak at community organizations? Do you have a seminar series scheduled? Do you speak at chamber events? Are you an industry expert, speaking at conferences? People who appear on stage are often automatically granted status as subject matter experts.
8. Can they read about you? Are you published in the local newspaper? Have you written articles on LinkedIn? Do you write for the Chamber newsletter? They can either come across this firsthand or you can send your article to them.
9. Congratulate them. Have they won any awards? This might be an industry award or recognition for community service. You have the opportunity to clip the article and mail it, have the article laminated onto a plaque or simply send a note of congratulations. Who is offended by a compliment?
10. Connect through a shared interest. You have heard about people seeking to meet a visiting executive and are told they go running every morning. If you show up, you can run with them. If the person is an avid collector, they like attend shows and auctions. If you are a fellow enthusiast (seriously) you can show up at the right place and start a conversation. Collectors often enjoy sharing their passions with fellow enthusiasts or someone with a sincere desire to learn.
11. Have you received third party recognition? Many publications have started producing “Best advisors in the state” lists. Local newspapers do the same. Have you been entered? Did you win? If not, were you a finalist? This should help raise your name recognition, especially if you are mentioned by a third party.
12. Write a letter or send an e-mail. Sometimes, what is old becomes new again. Research shows the response rate for direct mail is 5.3%.1 This means one out of 20 are responsive. By simply sending a letter or drip marketing, you can try building name recognition.
Ideally you want to get this person as a client. The first step might be to get them as an acquaintance and build the relationship from there.