An unexpected email
I was sent an email from a recruitment company for Business Development roles in High Profile Firms. It was completely out the blue, I’d not really given direct permission to email me and it wasn’t something I was interested in. I would describe it as a “cold calling” email.
What I found interesting was the actual job description for the roles included the requirement “The roles involve cold calling”.
As High Profile Firms (as described in the job description) I am surprised they need their Business Development people to be cold calling, unless there is something seriously amiss with their brand, marketing and networking capabilities.
Interrupting people through cold calling is part of the old economy. Few of us like being interrupted so that someone can try and sell us something.
The alternative to cold calling and interrupting
Therefore how do we get new clients if cold calling is frowned upon and generally ineffective?
Whether we are a large firm (advertising for business development people) or a one person flexible entity, sales these days are primarily based on these two values:
Trust
Commitment
Doing what you said you would do goes someway to developing these two values, but unfortunately isn’t enough.
(I do wonder if these values have different criteria depending on the individual i.e. what we need to do to build trust for one client maybe different for another client).
As these two elements are important, what if we were to ask ourselves two questions:
“What am I doing today to increase the trust my clients have with me?”
“What am I doing today to increase the commitment between my clients and I?”
As I mentioned at the start, if a high profile Firm requires its Business Development sales people to be “cold calling” then their trust and commitment levels with clients and staff must be low. Whereas when these elements are high, then the brand is clear, existing clients are happier and consequently makes marketing, networking and referrals easier.
I would love to hear what practical things you are doing to develop your relationships with your clients.
Enjoy your day!
Matthew Broomhead
“Raising the level of Business Skills in Britain”
Creator of Broomhead Business Channel