McLellan: Deepening your circle

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Marketing introduces us to audiences who either don’t know who we are or want to know more about us as they move through the buyer’s journey, but the handoff between marketing and sales is all about relationships.

We’ve talked a lot in this column about the sales sequence of know-like-trust. Marketing moves a potential buyer through know and like phases, and if that marketing is consistent in both messaging and delivery, it can also earn some trust. But sooner or later, marketing gives way to sales, where you begin to build a relationship. Sometimes the sale is transactional and the relationship is fleeting, but in most cases, the goal is to create a connection that builds on that trust.

There can be a long lag time between the initial connection and that first sale. Our job is to stay relevant and top of mind during that time period ­— whether it’s a day or a decade. Even if that prospective client never buys anything from us, the more they get to know, like and trust us, the more likely they are to be a reliable referral source and connector to other people who may become customers.

You may be a natural relationship-builder, but even for the most relationally driven, a little systemization can go a long way. To broaden your connections and to strengthen the ones you already have, try these simple tactics.
Build a list and use it every day. Create a list of people (shoot for 100) you should be staying in touch with on a regular basis. They could be prospective clients, vendors, media reps in your industry or even friendly competitors.

Take 15 minutes every day to contact someone from that list. You can just shoot them a friendly email or write them a handwritten note. This isn’t about selling. It’s just about letting them know you were thinking of them. You might ask about something you saw them mention on Facebook or if they’re going to be at an upcoming trade show. These shouldn’t be about you, your business or what you have to sell. This is a human-to-human contact, not a sales pitch. If you can’t do this without selling, skip to my next suggestion.

If you send at least one note a day Monday-Friday, you’ll send a personal touch to each person on your list at least twice a year. Once you’ve sent your note, record the date on whatever tool you’re using to keep your list and move them to the bottom of the list.

Be a connector. Odds are there are people on your list who would benefit from knowing someone else, either on your list or in your sphere of influence. Set a goal of making at least one introduction every week.
This shouldn’t be a “Bill, please meet Mike, who bought a lot of XYZ from us. He can tell you why we’re great.”

The introduction should be about the two of them and what they have in common. Your only role in this is building the bridge between two people in your network. Sometimes one can help the other, and if that’s your purpose, spell it out clearly. In other cases, it may just be that they have something in common, be it a love of tennis, poodles or microbrews.

If you make at least one introduction per week, ideally you’ll have helped everyone on your list meet someone new at least once a year. Again, use whatever CRM you prefer to keep track, so you make sure that you do.

Odds are you are doing some of this already. But by systemizing it, you will create a new habit that generates deeper relationships, more referrals and increased sales.