Loading...
Answers
MenuWhat is the most creative way to introduce myself (and therefore my service) to 100 key decision-makers without selling or pitching anything?
Fortunately, I have thought-leadership credibility in my niche. I've written for trade publications and been a speaker/panelist at conferences. The strategy I am leaning toward is to begin researching for a series of articles and conference presentation on a topic very hot on the mind of my niche (and 100 targeted prospects). In preparation, I could reach out individually to these prospects for their input on the article/presentation topic. That way I get excellent input and these decision-makers will also become familiar with me (and most likely view my website out of curiosity). Your thoughts on this approach or any other suggestions would be appreciated.
Answers
You've answered your own question. Reach out to your prospects with the question, such as "How would you...". Ask what people want then give it to them if you can with integrity and thoughtfulness.
That is a great approach. By asking for their collaboration, you are establishing yourself as a peer and not a salesperson.
If you contact them, pose a question or two to frame the conversation and ask them for a quote to be included in your research publication/book/presentation/etc.
Gary Vaynerchuk talks extensively about woo-ing customers in his book, "The Thank You Economy". He shares examples of sending non-branded goods (a sports jersey, in one example) to new customers, just for being a customer. In your situation, replace 'customer' with 'prospect'; gather intelligence about their likes or dislikes and use this to break the ice with them.
I'm sure if a valuable trinket from their favorite sports team arrived with a handwritten note on their desk, you would have their attention.
Good luck, let me know how it goes.
There are several ways: try being a volunteer key speaker at a trade conference. I, for example, will be doing a presentation at a Marcus Evens conference. They're waving my fees and covering my flight, but I still cover the hotel and food...but there's 50 top and upper executives in front of me for me to show off to.
Try a webanier...that may be a mixed audience but if its good and you're doing a series, word of mouth will spread.
Get on a radio show.
The idea of the articles is not bad, use the other platforms to meet and then personally solicit help directly, while still at the conference. There is always a meet and great time.
If those 100 decision-makers are in your local area, then a good option is to volunteer for charities, so you can make yourself known to them in a non-selling manner.
Write a really good article about their interests. Or if you don't want to write the article, find one and pass it along to the prospects. Say something like, Hi Bill, I know you like....or are interested in.... and so I wanted to share the article with you.
By the way......pitch softly.
Don't stop taking massive action.
Best of Luck,
Michael T. Irvin
michaelirvin.net
My books are available exclusively through Amazon Books. Check out my book "Copywriting Blackbook of Secrets"
Copywriting, Startups, Internet Entrepreneur, Online Marketing, Making Money
If you know the audience well, get to their top 3 problems. Once you know this, relate yourself or your company to these.
People find interest only when you relate to them or their problems. It doesn't matter if you have the perfect solution or not, but they give you the attention that you needed. At the same time, don't boast about your achievement, because that again puts people off. How does it matter to the audience If you won the best company of the year! Its good for you, not them.
Start with a story as they have more power to drive things, because "Facts Tell, Stories Sell."
Many valid and insightful suggestions already.
Your requirement is "How to address them"
The simplest formula is this:
a. What is your target audience or who is this (can you group them)
b. Which problem of theirs do you solve? (or your product solves)
c. Add an active verb of the action
Example: An attorney who focusses on Divorce
a. Couple having marital problems
b. Looking for a speedy and freedom with no headache
Intro: I help unhappy couple settle amicably in shortest span of time
Intro of a Printer focusing on Small businesses:
I help small businesses sell more through my creative and cost effective printing materials
Some more tips:
a. Get to know their problems and focus on the top 3 problems
Can you create a "Do it yourself" material and help them solve these problems?
It can be distributed as a free download on your website
Or a Free Counselling could even help
If your work started yielding results then create stories of success---
Stories that is embedded with Testimonials
How did it help them --so to say
We can have a free ten minutes of call if required
All the best
Business Growth specialist
Chartered Marketer UK
vibavam.com
I have read the answers here and all of them are correct. I just would like to add some ideas. Create your own seminar. Education-Based Marketing will help you introduce yourself without selling. Educate, inform the audience on a hot topic in your niche. Subtly, you can share information that would lead to somehow introduce your product. Its a teaser. Online marketers do this, and to do it offline is through EBM.
Throughout our lifetime, we introduce ourselves to hundreds of new people everywhere we go. Whether it is a formal meeting or a more laid-back meet up, introductions are sometimes tricky. Especially if you want to make a good first impression either way. Here are a few creative ways to show someone who you are within the first precious moments of meeting them.
1. “I’m shy, please come say hi.”: Grab a name tag and write, “I’m shy, please come say hi” in the blank space.
2. A name is worth a thousand conversations: Do you have a name that is unique, or a name that can be spelled 10 different ways? It is okay to spell it out, tell of its origin or give a short but sweet lesson in pronunciation.
3. Highlight something that makes you unique: “I grew up in New York, but I’m originally from Russia.” That is quite an icebreaker! It gives you both something to talk about, something they are at least mildly intrigued by.
4. Start with a pop culture reference: Relate your name back to a character or figure everyone knows. “Hey, my name’s Ross. You know, like the guy from FRIENDS.”
5. Confess your nickname: If you want to be called something other than your name, follow up with that. They just might respond with, “Oh, I have a cousin who goes by that.”
6. Let the way you dress reflect who you are: Dressing style reflects individuality. For example, I know a Chinese girl who deliberately dresses in green to match with her Chinese name “happy to be natural.” Everyone can thus instantly remember her. Hence, the way you dress can become a topic of conversation and help others remember you.
7. Make a T-shirt: On the front: “On the back of this shirt is everything you need to know about me.” The rest is self-explanatory.
8. Make a “business” card: Keep something with you to give away to new people you meet. Instead of your name and contact information, list random facts about yourself, your interests, your hobbies. If nothing else, you will be the most memorable person in the room for taking something old and boring and giving it new life.
9. Just start talking: It is likely the person you are introducing yourself to feels a little nervous and awkward as well. Dare to dive right into conversation and see where it goes. They might feel relieved you talked first and relax immediately.
10. Keep it relevant: Pay attention to your surroundings. There is likely something happening around you that you can use to strike up a conversation without just walking up to a stranger with your hand outstretched for an unsolicited handshake.
11. Be honest: “I came up to you because I felt awkward just standing here not talking to anyone.” Chances are, they were feeling the same way before you approached them.
12. Search for common ground: Do a little digging while you are saying hello. Small talk is only awkward until the two of you find something in common. “I’m studying English, I really love reading classics.” You never know, they might too.
13. Always follow up with a question: Let them know you are interested in getting to know them, too. You do not want to come off as only wanting to talk about yourself.
14. Consider the situation: Draw from the reason you are both in a specific place at the same time. Are you students? Working with the same company? Friends of friends? These are great conversation-starters.
15. Put someone else on the spot: Starting off with a compliment or a question allows you to initiate conversation and introduce yourself without being the first one to stand beneath the spotlight. It also shows you are observant and curious.
16. Pick something in the room to “guard”: “Don’t mind me, I’m just guarding the mozzarella sticks. You can have one if you want.”
17. The mutual friend is the key: “I’ve known Jeremy since college, we took a lot of classes together.” This at least gives you an outlet to talk about yourself relative to someone else the other person knows from somewhere else. It makes you seem more familiar to them, and vice versa.
18. Engage with your surroundings: Even if it is only paying attention to something on T.V., what you are doing can give someone a decent introduction to who you are and what interests you.
19. Help someone out: There is more than one reason why keeping your phone in your pocket is a good idea. Someone approaching might need help opening a door or carrying something, and by assisting, you are automatically introducing yourself as a Good Samaritan, instead of just another person playing Candy Crush.
20. Smile: Your face, particularly your eyes and your expression, is the first thing someone sees when they notice you for the first time. Give off an aura of happiness even if you are uncomfortable. It draws people in.
Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath
Related Questions
-
What are some tips for boot-strap marketing to gain awareness and website visits for a start-up?
There is a tremendous amount of buzz surrounding content marketing and its need within a brand’s overall marketing strategy. Doing content marketing is much more than publishing on your blog occasionally and posting your thoughts on social media. “Do stuff and maybe it will work” is not a strategy, it is a gamble. A risky and expensive one, at that. Even so, many brands have yet to create an effective content marketing strategy. What does such a strategy look like? Where are the examples of brands doing it well? Here, I will show you examples of an effective content marketing strategy and offer ways for you to craft your own for your business. What is Content Marketing Content marketing’s purpose is to attract and retain customers by consistently creating and curating relevant and valuable content with the intention of changing or enhancing consumer behavior. It is an ongoing process that is best integrated into your overall marketing strategy, and it focuses on owning media, not renting it. This generation of customers are taking drastic steps to avoid marketing messages. As consumers, we use DVRs to skip television ads, pay internet radio subscription fees to avoid commercials, mentally block out — or use plug-ins to avoid — internet click ads, and gloss over road-side billboards, rendering them useless and ineffective. So how are marketers supposed to combat this shift? Education. Consumers are still buying and making purchases, but the way they go about making a decision has changed. With all of the world’s information at their finger tips, savvy consumers are doing enormous amounts of learning and self-education before stepping into a showroom or talking to a salesperson. Knowing this is a huge opportunity for brands. If you know consumers are looking for information, be the source of that information. Not with sales-y content that puts your priorities before theirs, but information that the buyer really wants and needs. The Marketing and Sales Departments must align to create a buying path for this new era of consumers that provides authentic and transparent information about a product or service (the mission of Marketing) and closing the sale (the mission of Sales). Content marketing closes this gap by using brand-created educational content to satisfy the prospective buyer while helping the sales team convert anonymous visitors into buyers. Thought leaders and marketing experts from around the world, including the likes of Seth Godin and hundreds of the leading thinkers in marketing have concluded that content marketing isn’t just the future, it’s the present (see the video below on the history of content marketing): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OHgMMpGLzk The key ingredient to using content to attract new customers is in the advanced planning. The strategy. What is a Content Marketing Strategy A content marketing strategy is a roadmap; a “User’s Guide” to how your brand will do the following: - Meet the customer at their specific point within their buying cycle - Align the customer’s needs with your knowledge and expertise - Use your brand’s assets to meet these objectives Business-to-Business marketers who have a documented content marketing strategy are 66% more likely to consider themselves effective compared to only 11% of those without a documented strategy. A content marketing plan helps you see the end-game before you have even started. Further, it gives a clear, articulable vision for your entire team and keeps you on track throughout the campaign. Just like New Years resolutions often fade into a foggy memory, our intentions are good – but we allow resolutions to fail. To be successful in any strategy, we need to be intentional. For proper sales and marketing alignment, and for the success of your bottom line, you must have a plan in place. How to Start Your Content Strategy The framework of a content marketing strategy is fairly straight forward: - Who are you targeting? What are their needs? - How are you going to reach them? (Attract new and nurture existing) - What content do you have now to get started? - What is your plan to develop and share more - How will you measure your efforts 1. Personas Take some time to consider who you are targeting. Are they male or female? Does it matter? Do they have a career? Children? Are they affluent? Coupon cutters? What are their goals? What happens if they do not reach them? Is their a monetary penalty for them? Will meeting this goal further their career? Will it make them happy? Clearly defining your targeted personas will save you a lot of time, energy, and money as you continue your business. With this person in mind, your content marketing strategy will begin to fall into place and you will feel that you are having a conversation with this “person”, rather than blindly throwing stuff out there. 2. Outreach Content marketing and social media are often used synonymously. This is a mistake. Content marketing is a broad method of marketing whereas social media is a tool that complements getting your content seen. Imagine your website as your online hub, where all of your brand-controlled content resides, your social media profiles are spokes that lead back to your home base. Social media has the power to reach incredible numbers of potential customers, influencers, existing customers, and even the opportunity to convert customers from competitors. Social media, in and of itself, is not content marketing. It is one of your outreach tools. 3. Available Content Next, take stock of materials you have on hand already. Many of us sit in offices filled with brochures, flyers, handouts, manuals, and documents loaded with helpful information, but we do little to extend that information to potential customers on the web. Make a list of the content available to you immediately and start identifying which persona is most aligned, where they are within their sales process, and what pain point they are currently facing. Getting started, you can use what you have on hand. But I recommend expecting this low-hanging fruit to run out. You should plan on developing your own, unique content. For a number of reasons, search engines reward fresh, unique content. Further, your prospective customers will be looking for information that is not available everywhere. Your unique perspective and “voice” (the tone in which you talk, the way you communicate, and what you share) may be the first experience a prospective customer has with you. This is the beginning of a long business relationship. 4. Schedule and Share Your Content After you have compiled your educational materials, grab a calendar. I recommend looking out 3-4 months to start. Mark holidays, special events, and milestones. Working backwards, prepare your marketing message for these campaigns. For example, one client of ours hosts 4-5 annual sales. They all surround major US holidays (New Years, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving/Black Friday). By knowing this, it is easy for us to prepare everything from banner ads, Pinterest images, blog posts, Facebook Status, videos, and even newspaper ads (don’t shoot the messenger). Once you have those events marked, consider a “theme” of the week for those 3-4 months. With that theme, and your personas in mind, write out the following for each week: - 2 Blog Posts - 8-10 Facebook updates - 20-30 Twitter updates - 4-5 product photos for Pinterest - 3-4 Instagram ideas - 1 Video By no means is this list all-inclusive. It is a starting point to get you thinking about how to plan content. To get a specific content marketing plan designed for your brand, I need to interview you and understand your goals, personas, and timeline. 5. Analytics Finally, how are you going to measure your work? Remember when we set up our goals earlier? Were you specific in identifying how many leads you want to generate? “Get more leads” is a horrible strategy, better is “Gain 50 new leads by September 1st” or “increase from 6% conversion rate to 12% conversion rate” These types of goals are easily measured and tracked. Do you have a mechanism in place to measure, monitor, and gauge your efforts? Further, do you have the right people on your team to help you know what is working and what is not? Can you explain why certain marketing dollars are generating a return on your investment while others fall flat? Final Thoughts Just like runners know the course of the race before they start, your brand should know the route you will take to your finish line. Having a strong content marketing strategy in place will ensure your team is setup for success. I'm happy to help and provide more specifics. All the best, -ShaunSN
-
What are average profit margins in Ice Cream store business?
Hi! I am owner of an ice crean chain with 45 stores in Chile. We have stores in shopping centers, streets and also karts that you can put in events and parks. The average cost margin of ice cream (depends on the amount of materials you use in producing the ice cream) is around 40%. This is italian gelatto where you serve the ice cream without a specific measurement so your costs can vary due to the size of each portion you serve. About the brand you should focus on your unique value proposition and what kind of ice cream you are selling. We import the pastry from Italy and the fruits and milk from our country. Your ROI depends on your sales price and costs. If you focus on high market ice cream you can charge high and keep costs down.MF
-
What are the best ways to generate traffic or ways to reach to the customers you are looking for as a startup?
It really comes down to 2 major buckets. 1) CONTENT / INBOUND MARKETING Some people consider this option free, but it's not. Time is money, and it requires an major investment to do it right. The options are: - Company blog - Guest post on other blogs - Engage on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) - Press - Videos on YouTube - Create a free App (web or mobile) etc ... This strategy is all about create amazing content/information/tools for your customers. Think about their major questions they have for your industry, and answer them. Even consider teaching them everything you know about your industry. Doing so will attract them, and make you look like an authority. I've done this with my past 2 companies Flowtown (300K U/V), and Clarity (40K U/V) blogs. Each of the items mentioned above have a unique strategy and tactic .. so best to pic the one you'd be most excited about creating, and do just that one with all your resources. 2) PAID MARKETING Paid means using advertising to introduce your company to potential customers. Some options you have: - Google Adwords - Facebook Ads - Twitter Ads - Bing Ads - Banner Ads etc ... The only way I would suggest paid marketing is if you truly understand your customer LTV (Lifetime Value). If you don't know that, then you could be wasting money attracting views to your startup that aren't profitable. So be sure to have a product / service that makes profit, then you can test different paid marketing channels. My rule of thumb, is it'll cost your $200 to get 1 new paying customer (on avg.), so unless you're making $600 profit from a new customer, don't both for now. If you need to discuss further, you know how to find me.DM
-
I just opened a small, upscale, boutique style hair salon. Any ideas on how to market?
I have no experience with salons, but marketing is my thing. So I'll give you some suggestions of what to think about, followed by what to do. Do you have clients already (let's say from your working days at another salon)? If so, you can start profiling them. You can ask them to fill out a form in exchange for a free gift (maybe one of those creams you use in the salon), or an entry to a raffle (where the prize is valuable). In the profiling, you want to look out for which neighborhoods they live in, what kinds of activities they like to do, what kinds of social events they love to do, and their occupations. Then, using each of those profile data, you can market to more prospects who share the same characteristics. For example, - You can set aside a budget to send flyers to specific neighborhoods. In order to get people into the door, maybe you can offer a certain procedure for free in exchange for opportunities to win new regular customers. (You could theoretically do this with Groupon too, but you have less control of who comes into your door) - You could set up joint venture relationships with organizations like ball room dancing schools, professional associations, etc. You could offer an exclusive discount with those groups to entice potential customers to try out your service. More opportunities for you to win regular customers. - With certain demographic data, you can probably make the same offer by advertising on Facebook. If you target specific enough, you can get the price of acquiring the lead to be pretty cheap. You would have to figure out your typical lifetime value of your customers before deciding whether advertising on Facebook would be worthwhile. One last thing, you can offer gifts for your existing customers if they refer you people. If you have any more questions, I'm happy to chat with you. Hit me up on this platform.SL
-
About to launch our new eCommerce website selling well priced unique watches. What is the best initial marketing strategy to use with minimal cost?
Here are some answers for you that I believe will help you. 1. You should implement a long term and short term strategy right at the beginning. What I mean is that there are essential parts to your marketing like SEO and content marketing that you need to implement right in the beginning, but will take a while to filter through, but these are essential if you want to have organic traffic. That would be L-T. The best for Short term for a newly launched site is ad's. Word of warning though. Know your customers demographics such as age, income, education etc, know your competitors demographics and then find the platform (such as social media channels) where your ideal customer is based on those researched demographics and then roll out targeted ad's for them. 2. You have to implement social media strategies right from the beginning of course, based on your demographic research. 3. Get busy Blogging - start with content marketing now. 4. Sweepstakes - start a giveaway to get traction with clients and create awareness. 5. Make sure you collect emails as these are like gold dust for future email marketing. 6. Video marketing is essential for competitive retail space and very powerful to get found on search engines like Google. Prior to me launching my digital marketing business 5 years ago, I built an online retail business and made many expensive mistakes. And they can be costly if not implemented correctly from the beginning. So in summary: SEO - very important, Ad's, Social Media, Sweepstakes, Blogging, Video & email marketing. I trust this will assist you. Let me know if you wish to have a call to discuss these or have follow up questions. Regards KennethKT
the startups.com platform
Copyright © 2025 Startups.com. All rights reserved.