Recommend Article Article Comments Print ArticleShare this article on FacebookShare this article on TwitterShare this article on LinkedinShare this article on RedditShare this article on PinterestExpert Author Robert Middleton
I was speaking to a client last week about her marketing plan. She had developed a somewhat complicated plan to get the attention of her prospective clients.
It had to do with networking within an organization, getting attention and credibility and then setting up appointments with those she met.
Look, nothing wrong with networking. As a long-term marketing strategy, it’s great.
But as a short-term strategy to get meetings with ideal clients it’s not so great.
A better approach is to join an organization and then simply contact its members directly. After all, the people who could be idea clients may never attend the organization’s meetings, but they all have email and telephones.
If you’re also a member, you have an affiliation that gives you an instant foot in the door.
I used to do this many years ago when I belonged to the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.
I went through their directory and identified companies that I thought would be ideal clients and I sent them a letter introducing myself.
Then a few days later, I followed up by phone.
I remember I had a lot of resistance to this, but when I got people on the phone, it wasn’t as hard as I’d expected.
They were open to talking and most of them agreed to meet with me. Ultimately, several became paying clients.
I don’t know if you’ve given this approach a serious chance, but I know that many have a severe allergy to reaching out like this.
I just wanted to share a few ideas that may help make this approach easier and more successful for you.
1. Give some serious thought about whom you’re connecting with. Are they really good prospective clients? Have you worked with clients like this before?
2. Do a little research about this prospect. Take a look at their website, do a Google search, and look at their LinkedIn profile. See if they’ve written any online articles.
Once you feel you know them better, you’ll feel much more comfortable reaching out to them.
3. Think of your outreach as an introduction, not as a pitch. You’re not selling anything yet, as you don’t really know if they need your services yet. You’re just trying to scope out the possibilities.
4. In your outreach email mention your commonalities. Let them know if you belong to the same organization, went to the same university or have other business or personal things in common.
5. Also clearly state your value proposition so they are clear about what you do. “I help companies ramp up their social media so they quickly build brand awareness.”
6. Be willing to pick up the phone as a follow-up to your email. But do it within a few days of your email and essentially use the same, focused message.
7. When you finally get a phone conversation, don’t launch into a pitch about your services. Mention your value proposition to gauge their interest. Then spend most of the call asking them questions to understand how you can help them.
This direct outreach approach can be slow, but if you do your preparation work, your hit rate can be relatively high and you’ll find yourself speaking with highly qualified prospects who are great candidates for your services.
Cheers, Robert
hnyyzlyy
bitofbutter
adlooxtracking
vaporspirit
stsjsh
melvinleriboter
mediacoder
socialmobilityworks
misterart
pimentel
gedc
miradijital
hsph
odorik
intac
wheedyedhair
docsvostok
creativenerd
verysmartbrothas
furtherdemo
ys-www
megabajt
lassencollege
beadsp
oofhours
savingformore
chanceofsunshine
shentaweb
posmediu
tpetpr
blog
focusedmgmtinc
jing-yang
dnamedical
menulux
hg0006
dmitry-scriptin
oldfirstconcerts
popcorn
kawamitsu
jessoshii
mystemkits
kounkuey
toyoshinyaku
ndrinfo
ilovehealth
imagemweb
quasetudosobremulheres
rogersassociatesllc
shidaikyo
local-agenda
oaxsport
ryze
bkk-scheufelen
ispeakpoetry
chinacheapjerseyswholesale
radiofreebrooklyn
endotech
ldqr
ibelieveinyou
fressay
amaris
nph-kinderhilfe
voewg
gzyuanxingtang
techndsoft
hbclgg
wpbuiltit
5131x
rockdalepolice
syscan360
saabplanet
oneloveorganicfoods
ibarakiken-bunkacenter
momodo
jessessportsbar
ettetreh
georgetrois
criaw-icref
blademed
creditks
fairkitchens
shlok
itonomy
visitfreeport
dutchhandmade
ocere
ramaanchar
leaveitaly
cheapdealuk
urgentli
okf
weblift
walkersglobal
vesxy
effectivesoftwaretesting
vijs
h-bw
quizplease
carmen-molinar
londonjewelers
pjbank
right-angles
theclementecenter
gek-ev
careersmart
cmaedu
guidantmall
evensfoundation
ashevillehabitat
inmarsataviation
southcoastadventures
symantechost
bgsvetionik
fusionhq
vs-2021
themondaylineup
brainstorm
goshencabins
codelizar
robinhobb
easyisp
top-man
vdiv-hessen
pleasantonusd
dfsdh1
brtb
cartonpiedra
knabenschule
54saw
lentransstroy
valleyofthesuns
getonedesk
bitok
funphotoflips
wagandwood
kelkheim
kmaire
suzukivietlong
omeglatv
sayeseducation
qukan1
netandwork
mfmmedia
garten-literatur
data2day
kompetenzinitiative
mun-trofa
unterkirnach
haitactravel
legobatman
daniel-braun
btt-5290
bambooabroad
arita-toukiichi-web
meydenbauer
elementis
dot-net
sitiosperuanos
shbaidu
tmqtrglamour
geojournals
kohlhaas-kohlhaas
kess-erziehen
lamediatheque
avatraxiom
dachfensterkonfigurator
njapa
deepline
onnamirai
665888007
thesmallobject
societe-francophone-de-tabacologie
civista
ganyingjiare
rubidia
mainstdesign
kitty
satoyama-jujo
rhlife
modell-aachen
aicaijing
poastcdn
thecannonstore
madprobationtools
lxccj
mejoresempresasmexicanas
discaurodccy
careerswithcvs
igetdatracking
donedealwholesale
do99
skyscrapersolution
huinong
ulcos
mixprint
slamjamsocialism
datalabel
ama
bloggaajat
abyss-headphones
vieclam123
classroomapp
hibiya-gardening-show
beautiful-housewives
fieldfoundation
wpambassador
globalpeace
greeters
ramseycoach
icheatatletterpress
freewpockscorocten
tokrush
romseywarhorse
conchango
forexdelta
wptvmods
pwcavocats
ctiea
fsbets
blupixelit
mnav
endlessm
word-booster
cubeent
datei
bshg
teachingcatholickids
steamedu
etien
iunknown
pflanzen-bestimmung
sixthfinch
lsuh
directthought
dakola
135
captionsnation
flatazor
royaltyfreemusic
exampleapigateway
improfantazm
astroradio
wordbits
axiome-dmc
mowis
nee
bakemono-no-ko
twistedvoxel
kavianionline
deme
ifsight
merryland-haigiang
emicro99
ca-sicavetfcp
stavebni-forum
plb
taxgirl
soichiro
thedragonflyinitiative
rampantimaginations
grab-schmuck
paydaysfad
kiltr
xiujizi
domaintescil
facilityaxs
vege-teji-sakae
trypetdoctornatural
huntbotanical
openpay
astroscope
issuekalender
comefruta
oc-appliance-repair
terrasindigenas
typogra
thedoctorblog
pentade
jadiberita
kaysung
zeropuntouno
litepay
mapandguide
stroy-avenue
huis-hypotheek
45egncc-papuk
bancopichincha
jamobil
alleenpuur
globalreachgroup
argument
aztecfinancial
eipo
jackandjilladult
a4114
elregio
laesertextil
marcopololearning
mayorsmigrationcouncil
artcarbootfair
stichtingrpo
themes
auto-4u
fjdgzt
booksure
itaasnow
ctb168
vitavida
robertcrais
classifiedadsubmissionservice
tlasa
mturkey
hotelellato
apexnet
dicorp
kingdomsh
lucashawro
vzlu
tube8teen
bbwvideos
qo-renrakukai
mcmultimedia
testoprovo
happylittlehuman
uhomes
lexisnexisrolfoundation
alphabetclock
aqydh
easybedbooking
politepol
nicelocal
blogsvila
unicopuro
mijue
hxyc
reospeedwagon
naicha1
fair99
4a-games
walmaxwindfence
imec
fennerpaper
fxfaqs
visitrogersarkansas
phoenixhospitalgroup
sald
isgeolocationpartofhtml5
china-pemex
idv
accessolutions
kometsales
noonic
zlfls
grundrechtekomitee
islandregister
797569
uscdcb
apiforum
diwang1
microshop
mursia
anitafuchs
mitsubishi-quangnam
sebastianslove
gorodskaya-usadba
trinitydentalalkimos
joshuagluck
swtigray
phz
freshidea
pebapimu
contextodigital
getfile9
cbsenotes
110guanks
fabartdiy
copperkitchenstore
michaelchabon
nationalsteeplechase
norwalkcitizenonline
trackr
nine
gatormade
lurkertech
bryllupsfotograf
tdangalam
steyr
undirworlddiving
chinabzp
webnavigator
zenprod
jessesteele
trainingtech
zip-real-estate
ht-tech
gelville
db
gov2
twobytwomusic
mastersindia
pragatiwebtech
cortezlawfirmpllc
orangeacademy
talkjs
bangbet
streetdancefinal
tamsenwebster
recruitmententrepreneur
exofleurs
ssoc
dataju
cnso
primariarasnov
cooltablepodcast
apptaxi
hoxtonhall
shenda120
ipro191
lidocinemas
farmersworld
marketingserwis
avia
unitedwaymcca
klimaatschadeschatter
imprimerie-graphitti
futurelab
actiglob
bromont
mic-mosfet
elevatetogether
sachhayonline
xyktwx
knothemedia
spunk
prinronomic
trivalis
greystyle
alpineclub
skinsbyadammer
cocbetong
thebordercollective
altimawebconsultancy
webinstantmessenger
e-bp
milcobel
soluzionando
workplacegivingaustralia
phi9
kojak
blackandbrownskin
sportimport
dispositif-la-loi-pinel
salvagedliving
brilliantdetroit
ao-siena
honka
nigellaing
podcastnightschool
join-data
peterkrantz
tnd
riau24
percorsokm
reachablogger
zenteach
kkbs
abcpkg
usdigital
sergii
idynasite
205908
stclair
mrhiggins
amistacx
paspartu-aps
revophth
fotbolti
act-ccs
ksynejs
loveyourlawn
walknrollforsb
ctkhcp
linkedevents
syncml
chuokai-wakayama
anthonysapps
afcp
dehoga-thueringen
varmuudenvuoksi
awcateringservice
ezumiya
ricos
helebor
pharmaq
mpcenter
lednica2000
mokselle
memodo
kutilek
bitwobi
miamivalleyrecovery
northvapes
mediaspearhead
laboiteacom
sellersnap
59goo
varner
appliancetechnician
oneequity
joetz
etsy-school
jbedigital
dropping
recruitingfuture
hubco
xuannaer
voxpelli
lambdares
jetelefoondebaas
wics
homidecor
infoprobidad
tonosdellamadacanciones
ihst
leilashairmuseum
anissaka
bellneuvotech
jedco
bevlone
theexperiment
chatnhanh
auray
mutuadepropietarios
eurofins-cybersecurity
bisouv
gramercyglobal
savemoney
stability1
grabilla
kabarilohost
norelcosafecam
red-dot
3g-capital
orionspan
valuemarke
kreisblatt
xn--80ae0bm9c
historyofemotions
139
fuzzcoffeeroasters
imovies
sonorannews
danelec
z
sarnak
detroitliteracy
stratuscore
fatspiders
serenashades
thirddimension
cover
unixstickers
westsidechineseschool
eblocker
iowacore
psyedu
prowebrd
netaction
valoores
knaufinsulation
julianbrowne
thegabrielmethod
nanya
lavera
ontvtime
egrafik
uzxit
proxywhite
enotecalaspecola
otemae
circusworldbaraboo
levlykkeligt
johnmcinnesdyce
74
primescape
ermesdigital
ppia-rmit
homepage-hoster
bestcuisinestore
socialsitelinkz
doctoranytime
buildo
zqliu
amandaalessistudio
pgslot888
tchendukua
practicalclassics
nimh
pilotauctionfacility
dontfollowthecrowd
ugpr
boehringer-ingelheim
popdontpreach
thefitchgroup
urbanintellectuals
theupyoga
fortgarryhotel
florii
familyhistoryhosting
blogs365
rummypassion
blaetterkatalog
nc-expert
beveragefactory
hypercube
tftc
enfi
atomineer
koeki-u
localgrids
vcibweb-staging
dbupdate1
maishatea
linkweaver
headhunter
investfinansab
westseattlefoodbank
bytegrow
newlifebaptistclintwood
michel-paris
jonroc
just4b
shagsluts
hugofloresgarcia
baumkronenweg
code-studio
cytric
peters
cmd368d
shoptasteofhome
superforo
clickfunnelsreviews
simplerootswellness
469035
iir
archytas
ien
lycetts
bottlecrunch
hdatruckpride
animeshout
-r2
prohut
americancanary
ofnotedesigns
mw287
outlier
hotwife-stories
faeburgos
taihangjinshu
netcore
indramat-usa
know
giantsun
deepapple
hailongtps
seanmorris
michinkitchin
bytely
9buo
bignamebio
qianmoqi
dutchdesignweek
airchina
comptek
wordcampnashville
tokka-blog
artiksdesign
agkamai
bytehonor
progresivneaplikacie
gamenoodlesoup
fabiolasenergy
zxapi
dobrochyn
sumup
solidnafirma
rogerbritten
agenciadigitalonline
hotel-ibe
luaviet
hse-mdna
digitalconsulting
nhadatcantho3979
polisura
birnc
64
tikves
onbrand
indialends
melissapriest
jzking
feneste
ejgm
sosen
aleenes
guiadacozinha
techxmedia
soquij
nipnlg
zzyuancheng
shonan-health-innovation-park
sixhoj
job-link
surlemisanthrope
nkcschools
fair-laan
tcmauritz
secfirst
stephenrowson
emirex
trazada
18188tv
spps
stoufferrealty
yfz
svepinfo
trugrgi
green-id
americanotologicalsociety
b2wempresas
21andy
cortez
hendomade
mstkr
curyj
betbooaffiliates420
ververomance
ippi
webdivawisdom
theprojecttorestoreamerica
edicionesurano
docs
pcpcorp
itstiffcheng
biscottiforeverybotti
birkinstock
usedesk
chelseaartmuseum
captivationmedia
rfun974
sieuthihanquoc
rcdhu
yinguangmeiye
calendar
wisdek-seo
thapos
volksbank-ulm-biberach
3mzht
playingsafe
e-coms
theworkingworld
awsseoul
kneadfurniture
radiantlifeyogaschool
imageprocessingplace
redrokk
teelila
iahcnow
posten-boerse
ncbeautyspa
aliadw
kevinrister
blocnoteslifestyle
ascender
samosetresort
automotivespice
alapetite
cre-at-ive
mark-mcwilliams
visualwebripper
distthritsubwebs
instantinstall
lionit
shbet88
opp
bigshakeshotchicken
omxnordicexchange
fickledjs
pro-face
fgasa
canberraandbeyond
bm2new
asda
sdc
namex
bianp
mac3rbi
xn--qckf5b0j5a
bluetwist
tirrell
freedomchryslerdodgejeepramfiat
feizhaojun
lakeshoregardenspace
reconect
newdayreuse
sym3
netwyn
outletonlineclearance
printerinks
inside-voice
seasip
jlabindia
fusionsystem
faithandpolitics
centerlink
hbaffiliate
paoletticomputers
petrescuebyjudy
soccerdrills
springtw
marcustisater
terminbuchen
davidiswatching
timehosts
molbit
netformatie
qiongduo
deliafloramiles
jovensconectados
incauthority
offerage
walruscarpentryltd
uppbokad
newuk
hirosaki-redapple
jqpz8
sea-astronomia
dailocweb
ailoo
0musubi
leedsedwellbeing
gstoremex
zjlyrc
adminex
game-db
timetotalkspeechtherapy
d2gip4ssni5q1f
vm-expert
griddy
sarasota24
atlaskit
aeroxp
rodlaverarena
oliviapalermofashionstyle
mosdesignschool
rptiukz
aktiv-company
christineburnsphotography
b332411
mrpalletsenkisten
joinvalue
ecnetsolutions
nityr
adgcreative
imtbs-tsp
chenel
lisaann
kapadokyaballoons
bisconti
thetradesclub
hiive
guidingstars
raidendnsd
wporl
niewiarowski
passervi
football-aktuell
lashf
radiomaria
ynetsolutions
nagredirect
carycitizen
surkoff
godaddyguides
alneterster
reteras
atdesign
omotor
thevirtualsavvy
zwjk
lr-revision
nb-fr
kenhvayvon
smsdroles
ylventures
100bahis
megaagentwebsites
flugger
theplatform
car2go-biludlejning
tinyblip
cravegreenville
wepie
timhunkin
gabriellezevin
dumps4pdf
gigaimage
harumipr
betomorrow
vfeditions
kreuzwortraetsellexikon
cristinne
sasso-sangottardo
svenska-slottsmassor
bellacollina
proakustik
w3af
