Business Grow System
Week 10
Followup with contacts:
- Databases
- Associations
- Interest Groups
- Referral Groups
- Subscribers
- Colleagues
- Friends and Family
Let them know what you’re doing and how excited you are about helping this group of people with your solution. Find out what’s new and exciting in their world. Ask what’s on their minds the most. Ask if they would mind if you followed up in a month to chat, text, or email them as you unveil new and innovative solutions for solving problems and see how their life is progressing.
Key Take Away
The Purpose
The main reason you want to contact these people is they already know and hopefully trust you. They will be genuinely interested in what you’re doing and how you’re doing it. They may know individuals that fall into your solution bucket and would be happy to either give you their names or give that person your name.
The Reason This Matters
Sharing your passion and journey with others does these things:
- It makes the mission that much more concrete in your mind
- It puts some obligation behind your words to keep you motivated to move forward
- Sharing with enthusiasm gives you more energy and passion to do the next thing
- It allows others to be part of your journey and your story
- It will bring questions you didn’t think of that you can answer before your prospects ask them.
- Get’s you in the habit of reaching out to your circle of influence
- You gain some advocates, salespeople, and cheerleaders
How This Will Benefit Your Organization
Most small businesses grow incrementally over time with very limited resources for marketing and advertising. Word-of-mouth promotion is very important to cross the trust barrier early on with new clients. Having current clients, friends, family, and colleagues who trust you and that can vouch for your values makes launching a new product, service, or business much easier.
Who Should Do This
The sales department would be the most logical, but all departments should participate with their circle of influence being careful to share their list with the whole so that certain people known by many are not bombarded with multiple contacts. Designate the person closest to that contact to make the touch.
How Long To Allocate For This Task
This process can take a week of mastermind meetings to compare lists and sources and make sure the master list has all the right contact information.
Action Steps
- Everyone contributes their names, contact information, and relationship
- Create a master list
- All the contacts
- Who do they know at the company
- How do they know them
- Their role or relationship
- Current client
- Past client
- Members of active civic organizations
- Members of active trade organizations
- How they should be contacted (phone, email, or both)
- Make it a personal touch introduction and not a form letter or email blast
- Set up a future touch with the appropriate person and method of contact after the initial touch.