The Pedestal Group

I belong to a chapter of BNI – Business Network International.  This group is a great source of business, friendship, ideas and a place to talk to other entrepreneurs.  Love that!  But what really hit home for me recently was talking to a competitor.  She asked how I can offer solutions in marketing and social media, planning, hiring and technology and I explained my background. Then she asked what I do when a small business needs something outside my expertise.  I explained I have partners that handle the other aspects of business that I can’t.  As we talked, I realized how amazing that really is.  Need a bookkeeper?  Got one!  Need promotional materials?  I know the people to call!  Need to set up solid retirement strategies for yourself and employees?  No problem!  Need insurance so if something happens to a principle in the company everyone is okay? Done.  You get the picture.  And since I have done business with them and know many others who have, I can confidently recommend them to my clients and know they will get top-notch service.  Perfect!

So what can’t you offer that your clients need?  What areas would be great to have someone to refer to and have them refer business your way?  It is always important to narrow your offering to be easy to explain and allow you to deliver consistently.  Now, it is time to think about what areasyou haven’t covered. A solid partner who understands the value of what you do and how it fits together with what they do is invaluable and when you hand off that client, you know they will come back.

Once you figure out the area(s) you could use a partner, you need to find one.  Keep in mind this is going to be someone you refer clients to so spend some serious time talking to their sales team, understanding what they offer and make sure you are comfortable.  If they offer a demo, be sure to go through it and fully understand.  Then, do an experiment – referr only one person and closely track the progress with your client.  I have known some people who have split the cost with their client to test out a service.

Once you have this established, you get the benefits of knowing where clients are going for those services, you appear bigger than you are since you made the referral, your clients will begin to see you as a one-stop-shop which can be invaluable as you grow your business, and you get to know what’s going on in multiple industries.  Partners can  be a huge strength and seriously help grow your business.

Recently there have been a series of articles about just “diving” in to cold calling and even one that expanded the metaphor to either just getting in the pool and doing it and how that will make it easier.  For my clients, cold calling isn’t like jumping into a pool – we can all do that.  It is more like walking into a huge party, knowing no one and everyone is already in a conversation so no matter who you talk to, you are interrupting.

If I jump into a pool, I have to deal with the change in temperature but it only affects me – unless I splash everyone else in the pool. In reality, most of my clients don’t mind jumping headfirst into something they want to do but is unknown. They know they can figure it out or get used to it or whatever. But walking into that party and bravely walking up to a total stranger and introducing yourself is tough for anyone.  So here are some ideas to make it easier:

1. Know who will be there – research your list first. Don’t just call and ask for a position, call and ask for someone by name.  At that party, it is much more powerful to walk up to someone and say, “excuse me, aren’t you Jane Smith from ABC Company?” than just try to interrupt.  Same with calls – know who you are calling.

2. Create bullet points for what you want to cover. There is nothing worse than answering the phone and having the other person say, “Oh! I expected to get your voice mail!”.  Only once have I said, “okay – here ya go!” and transferred that person to my voice mail but that one was fun.  Scripts are nice, but they often sound like scripts so only read a script if you know you can make it sound natural.  Bullet points allow you to check them off as you hit them but also allows more flexibility.

3. Leave a voice mail – many people have told me over the years they don’t leave voice mail because it is never returned. Well, when I look at my missed phone calls or if I’m in my office and see a number, if the person doesn’t leave a voice mail I wonder why.  It seems odd that their  information wasn’t important enough to go in a voice mail.  Likewise, compelling voice mails CAN get results so have something to say in your voicemail!

4. Actually, have something compelling to say either way.  Tell me something I might not have known, could use in a meeting, could quote to a client, could send in an email, SOMETHING.   That gets people’s attention and gives you the instant credibility you need. In fact, if I have a good piece of information to give a prospect, I generally like to leave it in voice mail or send an email first because then they call me to get more info.  Very powerful stuff.

5. Remember that the difference between interrupting someone at a party and calling them on the phone is they can choose whether they take your call.  If someone is standing next to you trying to talk it is tough to ignore them but if the person is truly busy, they won’t pick up.  So in that regard, they gave you some permission to interrupt – even if it is for a very short time.

Everyone has to make cold calls at some point and they aren’t easy. But having a plan, knowing something of value to say, being honest and professional goes a long way to making it easier.  You have a product or service to offer that this person may need or you wouldn’t call. Just keep that in mind and uh… dive in?

This morning I read an article by Clate Mask about Hunting vs. Harvesting. In the article, Mask talks about businesses often going hunting for new business rather than harvesting what they have grown.  The idea is you choose what you want to grow, where you should grow it, and then you tend it until it bears fruit.  A long term strategy for sure but at some point it pays off more consistently than hunting.  That isn’t to say hunting isn’t a good idea as well, but you get the metaphor.

When I began my business, I embraced this philosophy whole-heartedly.  I am not a good hunter.  I don’t like the uncertainty, the failure/misses, or the need to put myself out there like that.  Coincidentally, my clients aren’t either.  They don’t like the hunt.  So we build programs that are more about the harvest.  Being a gatherer has its advantages – people remember you longer and with more warm feelings if you are a gatherer.  I know this is true because in the last two weeks I have run into people I have been cultivating for 6 months who are now ready to do business.  They’ve gotten my newsletters, phone calls, emails and blog articles and now are ready to go. Hooray!

So when I say to be a gatherer – here’s what I recommend:

Know what kind of fruit you want – what kind of business would be best or second best?
Know where the fruit is – know which prospects could give you the type of business you want.
Provide the water and sunlight to the fruit trees – Give them vital information for their business.
Check on the plants – Contact your prospects to see how things are going.  Have a good reason to be checking though!
Be ready to harvest when the fruit is ripe – There is nothing worse than being ready to buy and not being able to for some reason. So when the prospect is ready, be available.  Answer the email or phone call, schedule the meeting, whatever it takes.

The tasks involved in cultivating plants is the same as managing prospects.  Be sure you have the tools you need and backups to help if the market conditions don’t provide what is needed.  After all, slow and steady often wins the race!