Today's article is for the advanced business developer who is prepared to test tactics and strategies mixing offline and online methods like email, postal service, the ole' tele, and video conferencing. If you are a beginner at 'biz dev' you are encouraged to review previous articles so you fully understand how all this works together.
If you have been doing business development for any length of time you already know that technology is having a major impact on how we interact with our prospects and clients.
Having been a frequent business flyer for over 20 years, I can remember the days of having to pay to send a voicemail message to a colleague in another city. Now technology allows us to communicate and work with people throughout the world and from almost any location of our choosing. This new wave of technological advancements has changed the way we do business as more and more business people choose to communicate via video conferencing, tele-calls and webinars.
There is a bridge you can cross which allows you to maintain the personal aspect of the relationship but also enables you to connect faster than ever before. This bridge can be really long or really short, depending on how, when and where you want to connect.
By utilizing the offline methods of personal interaction and the telephone you can integrate online tools like email, skype, tele-calls and webinars to further enhance all your development efforts.
If you are really serious about kicking it up a notch and taking your business to the next level, then consider testing and implementing these six steps:
1. Create separate landing pages (web based) that offer something of value to your prospects and clients.
2. Send your prospects and clients to these pages and have them opt in to a specially designated email list.
3. Write a series of messages that is designed to connect and warm up the subscriber.
4. Create and split test physical letters that are designed as 'warmups' but also like newsletters, but more personalized.
5. Send these letters to both your prospects and clients and see how they react.
6. Periodically call to check in - which enables you to reconnect and see how they are doing and what they think of your communications.
With all that said, there is much to read between the lines, but hopefully you get the idea and concept that mixing offline tactics with online technology can be powerful combination that allows for flexibility and creativity.