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15
Ways to Get a Foot in the Door
by
Kim Peek
In this
crowded, competitive world, it’s tough to get face time with potential
customers. Since you don’t own a sled pulled by eight tiny reindeer, you
probably won’t score a meeting by sliding down the chimney. But, with a
little magic of your own, you can turn the client into a believer and get a
foot in the door.
The
first rule of cold calling is to give first. Provide the
client with a beneficial business reason for meeting with you. Before you
drone on with a data dump, remember that people like to hear about
themselves. Begin your conversation by letting the prospect know that you
have a piece of information that’s perfectly suited to their business
circumstances. Answer “What’s in it for me?” before asking for
the meeting.
If you’re
having trouble setting appointments, try a few of the following ideas:
1)
Offer a no-risk meeting. Describe your background, and explain
that your role as a marketing consultant makes it possible for you to assist
in a variety of areas. Offer a
“no strings attached” meeting guarantee: if they don’t come away with
beneficial information, you’ll run 20 PSAs for their favorite charity at
no charge.
2)
Host a seminar series. Topics might include: production
basics, marketing 101, media effectiveness, positioning or achieving
awareness.
3)
Send in the network representative. The next time your network
rep is in town, schedule time for her to meet with clients whose product is
a good fit for the channel. You’re sure to impress star-struck clients.
4)
Deliver a promotional opportunity addressing the client’s unique
business circumstances. Don’t bring in a promotion you’ve shown
every client in the market—unless you’ve customized it in some way.
5)
Take information. Provide an article specific to the
client’s business, his competition, the industry or his customers. As long
as it is about the client’s business, and not yours, your efforts will
open doors.
6)
Capitalize on current events. Read USA Today. Watch the
news. Know what is going on in the world. Help your clients use news and pop
culture to make a connection with consumers. To learn about all the significant and lesser-known days of
celebration, purchase a copy of Chase’s Calendar of Events.
7)
Play secret shopper. Call the prospect with a report on your
most recent experience as a customer in his store. Talk about customer
service, merchandising, promotions and advertising. Describe your experience
from a customer perspective.
8)
Have some fun. Celebrate holidays with your clients and
prospects by caroling in the winter months, sending Valentines or dropping
off Easter baskets or May Day baskets.
9)
Feed them.
Promise to bring donuts or breakfast for the client’s staff if they’ll
let you make a brief presentation to the staff on a business topic of their
choice. By the time you leave, they’ll be convinced of your
professionalism and business knowledge.
10)
Host a research day.
Invite clients to meet with your research team to receive a business profile
or marketing analysis. You and your research specialists will sit with the
client to create a custom research report tailored to his business needs.
11)
Arrive with all the ingredients to make an ice cream sundae.
Who could refuse a delicious snack, especially when you have a gallon of ice
cream that’s about to melt?
12)
Host a programming party…or several. Single out a few of the
top-rated cable programs and plan a party around the program’s theme. Show
clients and prospects a good time while you demonstrate cable’s value in a
non-threatening environment.
13)
Call in the experts. The next time your system brings in a
consultant—whether their expertise is sales, management, marketing or
customer service—get that consultant in front of your best potential
customers.
14)
Take a trip. If you aren’t in a major market where you have
access to luxury boxes at a professional sporting event, take a road trip.
You’ll have a captive audience while on the bus and you’ll have a common
experience on which to build a friendship.
15)
Start your own Treat of the Month Club. On the same day
each month, send your top prospects a special treat they will remember. Send
pizza with a message in the box, a big cookie with an M&M message, your
city’s finest chocolates or a hometown specialty (don’t forget to
enclose a brief note with a simple selling message.). They’ll begin to
look forward to your deliveries. And, eventually, you’ll earn a meeting.
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