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Lost touch with old contacts and clients?

Posted byIan Brodie on April 6th, 2014.

It was probably the most uncomfortable I've ever felt sending an email.

Shouldn't have been. But it was.

I was six months in to a role in a new firm I'd been headhunted to help set up. The restrictive covenants from my previous employer had expired and I could now get back in touch with my old clients and actively pursue working with them.

But getting back in touch wasn't as easy as it sounds. It had been FAR longer than 6 months since I'd spoken to most of the people I was about to email. A couple of years in some cases.

Consulting is a project based business and each project is pretty intense. So it's difficult to peel your attention away from your current focus to do something to maintain your relationships with your other contacts.

As a result, many consultants – me included – let relationships wither and die.

Then when we need those people, instead of having an ongoing relationship, an easy way of connecting and a few deposits made in the goodwill bank; we have to call them out of nowhere and beg a favour.

Hence my churning stomach as my mouse hovered over the send button.

I really didn't want to come across as desperate or needy. Or just a “taker” who only contacted them when I wanted something. But in truth, that's exactly what I was.

An hour a week is all it takes to keep in touch with your top dozen ex-clients. Or with email marketing you can reach many many more.

Keep in touch, keep adding value and building trust and the next time you finish a project and need a new one, you'll have the right relationships to get one quickly. It took me years to learn that overcoming my laziness and finding ways to connect and be helpful would save me a ton of pain and discomfort downstream.

There are more ways of keeping in touch than ever before. Apart from phone, email and good old fashioned snail mail, you've got a bunch of social media you can connect and chat on.

The only thing holding you back is your discipline in putting aside an hour a week.

By the way, my desperate email trying to resurrect relationships did in fact lead to one new client. It'd have been way more if I'd kept in touch. But at least it shows that you shouldn't be afraid to reconnect, even if you haven't done the right thing and kept in touch.

Who can you get back in touch with today? What relationships can you rekindle that would be a real asset to you?

And how can you make nurturing a habit so you don't fall out of touch in the first place?

Think about those questions for your own business.

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Hard facts slay unicorns and melt rainbows

Posted byIan Brodie on March 23rd, 2014.

A While ago when I was doing a bunch of Q&A videos and posting them up on my site someone tweeted a link to one of the videos and I got a tweet back from one of their contacts saying “Make me enter my email to watch a video – no way!”

Leaving aside that with my videos subscribing is optional, I tweeted back to ask why she objected so much.

Her answer was “asking to subscribe on first visit is so last century. I have to get to know and like you first”.

Interesting.

I'm a big believer in the importance of building credibility and trust before someone will be ready to buy from you. Does the same principle apply to subscribing to emails I wonder?

Only one way to know: check the data.

In this case, two reports from google analytics can help us.

In that month, 577 people subscribed to my emails (not including people who subscribed as part of registering for a webinar). Of those, according to the Path Length report, 64% (369) subscribed on the first page they visited on the site, 17% (101) on the second page, 7% (38) on the third page and the remaining 12% (69) on the fourth or further page.

So that tells me that the vast majority of people subscribe on the first page they visit on the site. They don't need to learn to know, like or trust me before subscribing – they do it straight away. Probably because of the offer of something useful in return.

And if I look at my Page Depth stats, it tells me that out of 12,381 visits last month, 9,051 of those visits (73%) only looked at one page.

Now my site is pretty good. Lots and lots of great, free content. Well designed. Easy to navigate.

And yet still, 73% of visits terminate after just one visit.

Sure, they might come back later (in fact, 41% of my website visitors return later that month which is better than average). But it's still a huge percentage of people who come, see one page then go.

It's not that they hate what they see. The majority of my subscribers are happy to subscribe after seeing just one page. But they've got what they wanted and head off elsewhere.

So although we might like to think that the way our website works is people fall in love with it, they keep coming back for more, we build credibility and trust, then they subscribe to our emails. The truth – as told by the data – is very different.

They come to our site. They see something they want. They subscribe (or not). They go away.

Those that have subscribed, of course, then go on to get regular emails where you can build credibility and trust over time because you're not relying on them remembering to come back.

Ideas like my twitter correspondent had that “asking people to subscribe on first visit is so last century” are very, very common. The people who hold them would like the world to work that way. Those concepts maybe apply to them and they've maybe seen one or two incidents of it happening so they extrapolate and assume it's a general rule.

But they're examples of what Hubspot's social media scientist Dan Zarrella calls “unicorns and rainbows”. Wishful thinking. You'd like it to be true so you end up believing it.

Nothing wrong with that. No harm done. Until you start recommending it to others as a course of action. Then it becomes dangerous.

Adopt the recommendation to not ask people to subscribe on their first visit and you could lose up to 73% of subscribers.

And unfortunately, far too many people – especially in the social media world – extrapolate their own preferences into assumptions about the way the world works and then present them as recommendations.

Luckily for us, hard facts slay unicorns and melt rainbows.

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Why I flew to Geneva to “bump into” a client

Posted byIan Brodie on March 16th, 2014.

Back in my corporate consulting days I ended up as the account manager for one of our big global clients.

It was a big change for me, from being primarily a consultant to focusing 100% on business development. And it didn't start particularly well.

Because I was now contacting clients to try to set up meetings to sell to them, they were rather less eager to meet with me than when my role had been to support them as a consultant.

One client in particular, one of their Global VPs who I'd worked with in the past, just stopped taking my calls. Very frustrating as I'd seen him as my best source of new business.

I was convinced that if we got into a decent discussion, I'd have some valuable things to talk about with him that he'd be genuinely interested in. But I just couldn't get through to have that discussion.

So when I heard he'd be speaking at an industry conference in Geneva I persuaded my organisation to fly me over there to attend, aiming to “bump into” him to start up the discussion.

And it worked exactly as planned. I listened to him speak one morning, then later that day saw him over coffee, had a brief chat and obviously said something interesting enough because we arranged a follow-up meeting back in his office for a week or so later.

Of course, now that I look back on it, I can see it was both a good strategy and a bad one.

Good in that it worked. The methods I was using to get through weren't working, so I tried something different that did work.

Bad in that it was both a big investment on the off chance it would turn into something. And more importantly, it was still me chasing him.

Had it been less easy for me to snag the budget to attend the conference I might have been forced into something more creative. And I might have realised that the best route would have been not to try and find a way of fooling him into a meeting he didn't really want, but to get him to want to have the meeting.

When we met up a few weeks later I discovered that's exactly what another firm had done. He told me that they were about to start a big global consulting project with a relatively small, specialist firm.

The difference was that the specialist firm hadn't approached them, my client had approached the specialist firm. Their CEO had published a book and had been featured in one of the industry magazines on exactly the area my client was looking to improve. They'd positioned themselves as authorities in that field, and my clients had contacted them to talk about working together.

My firm could have done that project just as well – we had a lot of experts in that area too. But we weren't well known for it and we hadn't established any sort of reputation. So while I'd been phoning, emailing and flying over to a conference; our competitor had stolen a huge march on us by establishing themselves as experts and having people calling them.

Now this was nearly 15 years ago. Building a reputation then was often done by writing a book and appearing in big publications. It took time and relatively big budgets.

Today even individuals and small firms can become known as one of the leading experts in their field. Clients are much more likely to seek out experts themselves and even less likely to rely on suppliers contacting them.

That's why one of the primary marketing strategies I use is to become known as an Authority. It's one you can follow too.

That doesn't mean you stop reaching out to clients proactively. But you're a lot more likely to get a response if they already see you as a leader in what you do. So in parallel with any outreach campaign, make sure you're devoting at least as much time to building your perceived authority.

To your success.

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Follow up is for losers?

Posted byIan Brodie on March 9th, 2014.

It's no secret that follow-up is one of the absolute keys to winning clients. Only a small percentage of the potential clients you get in contact with are ready to buy when you connect with them.

So you need to follow up to build credibility and trust and to be top of mind when the time is right.

Here's something rather more surprising:

Some of the very best people to follow up with are the ones you lost business with. Here's why:

Firstly, with potential clients who chose someone else rather than you,  our natural reaction is to ask for feedback, send a snarky reply questioning their evaluation, then never contact them again.

But the truth is that clients often have second thoughts after hiring someone. Sometimes it doesn't go as well as they'd hoped and they have to find an alternative.

If you haven't kept in touch, there's not much chance of them picking you as the alternative.

By keeping in touch I don't mean repeatedly nagging them to see if they've had any problems. I mean continuing to nurture your relationship just as if they were a high-potential prospect.

Remember, they may have made a decision to hire someone else – but at least they've made a decision to hire someone. That means they have a problem or goal big enough and urgent enough to warrant addressing. And they're willing to spend money to address it.

So if things don't go well with their first choice they'll need to find an alternative fast.

That's where a strategy of proactively adding value pays dividends.

Send them useful, insightful information in the areas they're working on and you'll be the obvious person to turn to should they need help. And even if things go swimmingly with their current supplier, it sets you in the right light for the future.

And that nurture strategy also applies to clients where you decided you weren't a great fit or that someone else could do a better job than you.

People often say that if you turn down work you'll gain the respect of the potential client and they'll recommend you to others.

I've found that although they may start off with that intention unless you keep in touch and top of mind, those good intentions often fade as other priorities begin to occupy their mind.

So whether your client chose to go with someone else, or you chose not to proceed – keep them on your nurture list and keep adding value.

Pretty soon that loser will be a winner for you.

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Are you a shining light?

Posted byIan Brodie on February 23rd, 2014.

Have you ever noticed how some people just seem to stand out?

Tom Peters in the world of consulting for example. Whether you agree with everything he says or not, there's no doubt he makes a huge impact.

Charlie Green in the world of trust. Tom Searcy in the world of winning big deals.

These are people who have the courage to stand up and say what they believe in. What they think is the right way to do things in their field.

They don't just go with accepted practice. They push the boundaries.

They don't just say what people want to hear. They tell them what they need to hear.

Many businesses talk about differentiation. About having a USP.

But it's all just so many words unless you have the courage to stand up and share your message.

To be a shining light. A rallying point for others who come to feel the same way.

I'm not much of a fan of macho leadership. But I am a huge fan of courage. Courage to stand up for what you believe in.

Courage to say out loud “this is how it should be” and open yourself up for criticism.

I don't necessarily mean standing up for a big world changing agenda. I mean the issues your clients face day in, day out.

Are you out there showing them a better way? Or are you waiting for them to come asking for your advice (a quick hint: they're probably not coming).

In times like these many of our clients are desperately waiting for a shining light to lead the way.

It could be you.

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Rant!

Posted byIan Brodie on February 23rd, 2014.

I filled in one of those forms recently that you sometimes get when you're signing up for a free report. What's your job title? How many people are there in your organisation? What's your biggest challenge with marketing?

Sneaky one that last one.

I typed “finding the time”.

The minute I pressed enter I felt guilty.

“I just can't find the time for marketing” is one of the excuses I hate the most when I hear other people use it. Or sometimes “I'm struggling to find the time to do this course to improve my marketing”.

It's self-deception, of course.

Unless we're working 16 hours a day seven days a week then there's something else we're filling our time with. “I can't find the time for…” really means “It's not as big a priority for me as…”.

And if watching TV, going out with friends, relaxing with a good book is more important than getting more clients then that's OK. If improving the consulting or legal skills you're already good at is what you'd rather do then that's OK too.

But let's be honest about it.

The same goes for me too. When I said “finding the time” I was really just admitting that I was prioritising other things.

If you want to get more clients you need to invest in learning marketing and then doing it. And your investment of time is almost always far more important and far more of a challenge than any money you need to spend.

Now there are some techniques you can use to get more productive and make the most of your time. And some forms of marketing give you more leverage than others.

But eventually, it comes down to a decision on priorities.

When I was setting up Momentum Club I spoke to another consultant who'd set up his own membership program about nine months previously to get his advice. I asked him about how he managed to create all the content without cutting down on his current marketing and client work.

His answer was “I didn't”.

“I cut back on client work for a while and took the hit financially so I could get the material developed. And I didn't have a social life for a while. But I knew this was the future of my business so I prioritised it”.

As I pressed send on that form and realised what a cop-out answer I'd given when I typed “finding the time” I resolved never to use that excuse again.

I hope you won't either.

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The Know, Like and Trust Myth

Posted byIan Brodie on February 16th, 2014.

“People do business with people they know, like and trust”.

You've heard it a million times.

It's true. Of course it is. But it's also a lie.

The lie is in the implication that the only way to win business is for people to know, like and trust you first.

Now that used to be true.

The traditional way of doing business in the professions was to get out and network. Build relationships with people who could be clients for you or who could refer you and vice versa.

Knowing, liking and trusting came first. Then when you had a need you asked the people you trusted for their opinions on who could do the best job to help you.

It's a style of doing business that favours the extrovert. The person comfortable socialising and schmoozing. Making those initial know and like connections.

Plenty of people still do business that way. Perhaps even the majority.

But more and more people don't.

You're probably not reading this email because you knew me, liked me and trusted me right up front.

You probably subscribed because you thought there'd be value in one of my free reports. And then hopefully I built credibility and trust over time.

Value came first. Then liking and trust.

It's a way of doing business that people like me who aren't extroverts can master. Maybe you fit into that mould too.

If we're experts at what we do, we can share our expertise up front and find an audience who then grow to like us and trust us over time. And we don't need brilliant social skills to make it work.

We just need to take what we do, what we're passionate about, and turn it into a form that can reach our ideal audience.

Maybe it's a presentation. A book. A series of videos, a podcast or free report.

Form is less important than what we put into it and the value we share.

Value first.

Most people struggle with marketing not because they don't know what to do. There's no shortage of advice on marketing tactics.

Most people struggle because they don't enjoy doing what they're advised to do. So they don't do it well or they don't do it at all.

But giving value first by sharing what we love doing is a strategy almost all of us can enjoy.

I hate giving elevator pitches. But I love sharing my knowledge and experience.

I get much better results doing the latter than the former.

And I think probably you will too.

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What do you stand for?

Posted byIan Brodie on February 2nd, 2014.

The first rule of marketing is to focus on your client – address their “What's In It For Me?”.

Help them achieve their goals, give them something they need.

But beyond our basic functional and economic needs, most of want a bit more in life.

Most of us don't just buy Apple stuff because of what it does and because it's easy to use. Those are kind of givens. We're also buying into that whole “cool” image.

And likewise, many people won't buy Apple because they don't want to buy into that image.

Over here in the UK consumer journalist Martin Lewis has built a huge following as the “Money Saving Expert”. Not just because his consumer advice tips are good (they are). But also because we see him as someone who's on our side.

He doesn't just give us advice. He goes to the high court to fight against unfair bank charges on our behalf. He goes to parliament to lead a campaign for better financial education for our children.

He stands for something more than just good advice. And we buy into that.

Selling his website for £87m recently is an indication of how valuable standing for something has been for him!

Now I'm not saying that you should make up something to stand for just to try to get a following. People will see through that pretty quickly.

But the truth is that we all have things we believe in. Causes we'd like to champion.

Putting meaning into your marketing is a matter of allowing those things you believe in to be visible. Sharing more of who you really are.

Doing that builds stronger bonds with people who feel the same way.

I get lots of emails from subscribers. And many of them don't just say “that was really useful” or “I got great results from that”. They talk about how my philosophy of giving value in advance really resonates with them.

Or how moving from trying to sell all the time to building trusted relationships makes them feel good about marketing.

When people buy into more that just the benefits they get from working with you, it makes them more loyal. And more likely to spread the word.

To do that you have to open up. Weave what you believe in into your marketing.

More Clients Memorandum

Are you too risky?

Posted byIan Brodie on January 26th, 2014.

Are you a risk taker?

I'm not really. I know it's supposed to be a great entrepreneurial trait, but it's not really me.

But even accepting that risk taking can often be useful in business, there's one time when risk is definitely a major disadvantage.

It's when people are thinking of referring you.

When someone refers you they're putting their reputation on the line. So they just won't do it if they feel you're too much of a risk.

Great to take risks in your own business if that's your thing. But make someone feel like they're taking a risk by referring you and it just won't happen.

So how do you make people feel like you're a safe bet?

Person by person.

Clients and ex-clients are probably already there. They've seen you in action and know what a great job you do. Sometimes though, they're just not connected to enough potential clients for you.

Colleagues, contacts, business partners and friends are often better connected to the people you'd like to work with. But since they've not seen you in action they may think of you as a bit of a risky proposition.

Not that they don't trust you. It's just they've never seen you in action the way your clients have. So they don't quite have that confidence.

So work one at a time to change that perception. Invite them to a seminar you're running. Or send them an article you've written. Or introduce them to some of your best clients.

Anything to make sure they know what a great job you do for your clients.

In short, make yourself a less risky proposition. You'll get more referrals as a result.