The big secret to finding new business associates without the misery of cold calling

If you’re like me, cold calling/emailing is probably your least favorite thing to do in the world. I love people and I love what I have to offer them, but I hate the whole, “Hey, it’s been a while, I love your kids pictures! Want to get together so I can try to sell you something?”

I only like to have to take one shower a day, thank you.

So what are we supposed to do then, get day jobs? In the immortal words of the guy at the beginning of Pulp Fiction, “Not in this lifetime.” But I know a much more effective way to get leads than to collect peoples’ wallets in a restaurant at gunpoint. The answer just the opposite: Be a hero, Honey Bunny. That is, be a champion for your people.

Think back to the playground. What was mom’s advice for making those first couple of friends? Try sharing the toys instead of hoarding everything to yourself. Let someone else play in the sandbox with you instead of kicking sand in their faces and saying, “Mine!” Given that eternal wisdom from mom, this same advice can make a better world for us as adults. There are way too many people that never learned this lesson and are out for themselves/don’t care who they step on on their way to the top of the slide. But we can do better than that.

The key is a servant-mindset. What can I do for the people I want to work with that helps them with their problem beyond just trying to sell my thing to them? People want to work with people and buy from people that demonstrate and prove a genuine interest in helping them. In my case, I hate people trying to sell me junk (and I automatically consider it “junk” if someone is trying to sell it to me), but I like buying things that I want. I want the things that the guy that’s already proved that he can help me has to offer.

What about strategy? The overarching goal is to identify the people you can help, and give them something that helps them wrapped up with an offer for more help from your paid services. The specifics will look different based on what you’re offering and who you want it to help, but you want it all to fit together as neat as a superhero's uniform for the people you serve. The messages you put out need to consistently address that specific group's needs, and they need to have a tie-in to whatever you're offering that has a price.

So write out some things you can do to save your people in your business! If you don’t have a business that’s working for you, I know a great one that I can get you started in FAST along with strategies we’ll design to work for you. As always, remember to comment, follow, and email with any questions!