I don’t know about you but I’m sick to death of irrelevant sales pitches. My inbox is full of them. My LinkedIn messages are almost as bad.
I am not an agency. I have never been an agency. I have never even worked for an agency. That’s fairly clear on my Linked In profile. However, I get frequent pitches offering to help me win customers for my agency. I suspect my name has found its way on to a Marketing List and some unsuspecting purchasers are thinking they have bought quality data.
I am not an employer so I do not need help with recruitment. I advertise marketing training and consultancy services on my LinkedIn profile so I’m rather insulted by the suggestion that I need you to tell me how to do my marketing.
When we don’t do our research we alienate our intended target. That is not good for our reputation and will certainly not win us business.
Research isn’t hard
It’s never been easier to do research. It took Google 56 seconds to yield 19,500 results on a search for Glenda Shawley. It took the same search engine 39 seconds to pull up around 33,900,000 results for Fabulous Networking. I’m not hiding!
I’m on most of the main social media channels though you might be forgiven for thinking I’ve done a disappearing act on Twitter and Pinterest and I haven’t even begun on TikTok or Snapchat. Still 19,500 results will give you some information about me!
Some research ideas
Obviously a search engine is a great place to start. LinkedIn is invaluable for potential business connections. Check out people’s profiles but also look at their activity on the site. Their comments will give some insights into their knowledge, experience and interests and may show what challenges they are currently having. Their articles and posts will give more in depth views.
So not everyone loves LinkedIn, maybe you’ll find them on another platform. Check them out. Perhaps the person you want to approach has a website, spend a few minutes reading what they do and about them.
I run a business networking community. We have around 15 meetings every month, I’m usually at about 10 of them. Our online meetings are free for your first three visits and the shortest are just 45 minutes. Why not book on and meet a number of potential prospects at once? I have one appointment in my diary with someone who took the trouble to do that this week.
Your research might find more events that your target is planning to be at. We’ve just been to the Big Networking Event in Surrey and will be at the Momentum Day in Bournemouth in March and Ribbons Fest in Guildford in June. That information is online in numerous places. Come and meet us and so many other prospects at the same time. That will give you more chance to find out what I’m about and whether I could be a customer.
When to research
Do your research before you approach anyone about anything.
If you want to appear on someone’s podcast find out what it’s all about. Do they reach your audience? What subjects have they already covered? What value can you add?
Media coverage
If you want a journalist to do a feature on you research what the journalist writes about and who they write for. How can you help to make their lives easier? Why might your story be of interest to them? My daughter used to be an editor in the television industry she constantly bemoaned the hundreds of irrelevant press releases that landed on her desk/ in her inbox. They all went to trash, a waste of everyone’s time. Every journalist is the same.
If you want to appear in a particular publication or on a particular programme research who edits that section or books people to appear. Approach people by name. When something is aimed at everybody it’s nobody’s responsibility.
Winning clients
I know you don’t have time to do in depth research on every potential client but pitching to people who will never be your client or advocate is a waste of time. Start with some top line research. Does this person or business fit your ideal client avatar? Are their connections a good fit with you? If in doubt look to build a relationship on social media and seize an opportunity if it presents itself. (Relationships will always yield better results than a cold pitch anyway)
Attending events
If you’re attending an event and a list of attendees is available in advance spend a few minutes researching those people so you can personalise your communication. Your connection is likely to be much deeper if you can refer to something you’ve read or heard about the person. ‘I see you studied meteorology, so did I’ will make you memorable and more interesting.
When you’ve met someone at an event connect with them on social media. Spend a few minutes finding out more about them and look for things you might have in common. Next time you meet you’ll have something to talk to them about. You’ll also be able to recognise which connections to prioritise.
Collaborations
You’ll also want to do some research when you are thinking about a collaborative venture. What do you and your potential partner have in common? What gaps can you plug for each other? Do you have similar values?
I’m sure you’ll be able to think of other occasions when research would help you to make a positive approach or at least avoid a mistake.
