The right place at the right time
Sometimes, business success means meeting the right people at the right moments. To meet your professional prospects, it means you have to find ways to get in front of them. And that means you may have to think outside the box, get creative, and make that extra effort to prove to them why they should do business with you and your company. With that in mind, here are five ways that you can do to get in front of your prospects right away.
1. Get active
Be an Active Participant in Your Industry – Go sign up for a conference, networking event, happy hour, or workshop that is relevant to your business and industry. Try to get to both local and national events so you can expand your professional influence. Even if you’re not yet a leader in your industry, you can absolutely be an active participant. Once signed up, seek out if the event has an online Facebook group or community where you can meet other attendees right this minute.
2. The old phone method
Pick Up that Phone – While it can be less intimidating to send an email to a prospect, this may not always be the best method. These days, emails are easy to ignore. They can also slip your prospect’s mind. So, pick up that phone and give them a call instead. Sometimes it’s the more traditional methods of contact that really show you’ve put in an extra effort. Reach out to current and past clients, or your personal network and get out there.
3. Free Service
Offer a Free Service and Gather Your Prospects– It’s no secret that people like free things. By offering a free product or service can get your foot in the door at any given business. However, why not take it one step further? Pair that free product or service with a free breakfast or lunch. This is perfect if you want to make a presentation and have a number of prospects there at the same time. Not only do you provide a free meal and a business opportunity to your prospects, but they also have a chance to network with like-minded professionals. It’s a win-win for everyone. Make arrangements, blog about it and announce it to your email database and get in front of people in the next five minutes.
4. Persistence
Persistence and Consistency are Linked to Success – Two of the most important things you can do for your business is to be persistent and consistent. The only way to get access to worthy prospects is to stay visible. And to do that you must continue to move forward with marketing yourself and getting in contact with prospects. However, it’s important to find the right balance being overly persistent and irritating and the right amount of follow-up so that you stay present in the minds of your prospects. In the next five minutes, work on emailing or reaching out via social media to your prospects, and go through your marketing for brand inconsistencies.
5. Be relevant
Be Relevant and Stay Relevant – You’re not going to get the feedback and professional response you want and need unless you’re relevant and on top and ahead of industry standards. There are many ways to showcase your relevancy, including web content, conferences and workshops, and published studies, books, and articles. Staying relevant also means staying in the news. And we all know that staying in the news means stable and increased interest in what your company offers its prospects. Spend the next five minutes writing down ways you can expand your relevant influence through outreach such as sending a list of news ideas to local media outlets that you could be their source about, or spend time creating a list of potential blog topics that could raise your profile.
Getting in front of prospects is a crucial part to building your business and your client list. Never wait for them to find you. Instead, do a little bit of the legwork yourself and go to them. Research their needs and present your product or services as a way to solve a problem or a way to better their lives. If you can do that, you’ll find success.
