marketing

Crux Rainmaking Intro Redux

Posted | 0 comments

As we embark on a brand new year, I thought it might be a good idea to bring us back to the very beginning for a moment.  On January 1, 2011, I published my first post on Crux Rainmaking (CR).  Since CR is an integrated business development approach, and we are delving into various aspects of it in these Blog posts, it is certainly helpful to refamiliarize ourselves with the overall approach to help keep everything in context.

Please CLICK HERE to be redirected to that first post!

Thanks!

J.B.

Read More

Crux Rainmaking’s 1st Anniversary!

Posted | 0 comments

Where has time gone?  It has been exactly one year since I started jotting down my musings on the topic of business development in this Blog.  I have been honored with the reception the Blog has been getting, with subscribers and views from all over the world.  The support I have received from so many people has, frankly, been humbling.

I just wanted to take a moment to thank each and every one of you for following this Blog.  Believe me, I know your time is valuable and limited.  There are many competing options for your time.  The fact that you take a few moments every week to read my thoughts on sales and marketing is very, very much appreciated.

Having almost 100 published posts now, I feel like we are just scratching the surface.  Of course, there is no end to the ways we can improve our business development efforts.  We need to now dig deeper, and look for more useful ideas and ways to not only originate more business, but have even more fun in the process!  If we are not having fun, then no amount of money is going to matter.  In the end, we will be unhappy, no matter how successful we become.  So, please remember to have fun as you continue to grow your business.

Happy New Year to everyone!  I truly wish you much success and happiness in the new year.  As always, I welcome any thoughts or comments you have about the Blog, or any other topic for that matter!  Just email me directly at jb@cruxrainmaking.com.

Thanks!

J.B.

Read More

Crux Quick Tip (CQT) #25: Make Friends with a Ticket Broker

Posted | 0 comments

CQT #25: Identify and befriend a reputable, local ticket broker.

Are you friends with a ticket broker?  If not, you should consider how important such a friendship could be for business development purposes.  As a rainmaker you want to be able to provide value of all kinds to people in your network, including existing clients, customers or donors, prospects, and referral sources. One type of value—aside from the substantive aspects of what it is you do—is access.

Access

One example of access is the ability to provide great seats at various events, including concerts, sporting events, and theater productions.  Just about everyone enjoys going to a great event. Whether someone enjoys going with his or her family, with you or friends (or all of the above), being able to facilitate access to great events is a great way to provide a level of value to your network few can provide.  If you attend such an event with your contact, it is a great way to further get to know that individual and continue to grow your Unique Business Relationship with that person.

How to Develop a Relationship with a Ticket Broker

Developing a relationship with a ticket broker is relatively easy.  If you know of a reputable, local brokerage company in your area, but don’t know anyone there, go introduce yourself in person.  If you don’t know of any, do a quick search online or ask someone you know.  You will quickly identify the best brokers in town.  Pick one and go introduce yourself.  When you appear at their doorstep in person, try to meet the owner.  This is the person with whom you will want to try to develop a relationship.  If not an owner, then a manager or other high officer of the company.  When you meet the right person, your basic message is this:

“I am [insert your profession] and I do a lot of business development, entertaining people. I’d like to develop a relationship with your company to provide the best tickets to my clients as possible when needed.  I just wanted to meet you personally because my clients are very important to me and I want to work with the very best broker in town.”

This message will provoke a lot of good will and make the person much more willing to “take care of you” when you need it the most.

Use Your New Connection

After establishing a relationship with a ticket broker, use that relationship to get the very best seats for your clients.  A quick call to you contact prior to tickets going on sale online may lead to that person reserving some great tickets for you.  Try to get discounts on tickets, because great tickets could get quite expensive. Then tactfully announce to your clients and other contacts when appropriate that you would like to invite them to a special event, and are otherwise able to help them get the very best seats in town!  They will appreciate it and you will soon curry much favor with them through your ability to deliver this sort of value.

J.B.

Read More

Making the Most of Organizations

Posted | 0 comments

Strategic Lead Generation (SLG) in Crux Rainmaking advocates involvement in three organizations, namely an Industry organization, a Charitable organization, and a Strategic organization (i.e., an organization that is difficult, or impossible, for your competitors to join).  Participation in one or more of these organizations can bring a windfall of great contacts and leads for your business.  But how can you make the most of your involvement?
Attend Organization Events
Active participation is critical.  Attend as many organization-sponsored events as possible.  A good organization will have various events throughout the year for its members, and others.  Take advantage of these events to meet other members, learn more about the organization, and learn how you can begin to add value to the organization and to other members.  I always recommend going to several events for an organization before joining to get a better feel for the organization, but active attendance at these events after joining is equally paramount.  It is a great way to start developing a vast network of contacts within an organization. 
Volunteer for Committees
Once you have a good footing within a particular organization, take the initiative and volunteer for a committee.  You will learn exactly how the organization operates.  This information will help you provide value to the organization and will give you a good background for taking on a larger role in the organization.  This is the first step to a larger leadership position in the organization, and will impress upon others how much you care about the organization and how you are willing to work to make it better for its members, and those who benefit from the organization.  You will also start becoming known to a wider group of members which helps increase your ability to develop relationships with them.
Become a Leader
Rainmakers are leaders.  After volunteering for a committee, consider discussing with current leadership your interest in assuming a role on the Board or other governing body of an organization.  This will establish you as a leader within the organization.  You will know as much about an organization as just about anyone in it, and will be resource for members.  This enhances your reputation and you become a go-to person for members.  All of this can substantially contribute to your ability to attract the very best leads through your numerous additional relationships with the organization.
Here are a few places to find organizations that may be right for you:
  1. Your local business newspaper (example: http://www.chicagobusiness.com   )
  2. Search for open board positions. You can find a great post here at http://www.bridgestar.org/Library/ResourcesFindBoardPosition.aspx
  3. Check Google or Yahoo directory for a list of associations and organizations by industry. For examples: http://www.google.com/Top/Business/
What organization are you currently a member of with which you can get more involved?
J.B.
Read More

Crux Quick Tip (CQT) #6: Partner-Up

Posted | 0 comments

CQT #6:  Partner up with a colleague to generate business from a prospect.

We will come across many opportunities as rainmakers.  We will be tempted to take every opportunity and seek the business through our own individual efforts.  But such an approach is short-sighted.  We’ve all heard of the saying, “Two heads are better than one.”  It really is true in many cases when it comes to developing business.

Having another person off which to bounce ideas, who can provide deeper insight on how to pursue a prospect, or who might have a certain network or substantive expertise could vastly assist the pitch process.

Partnering Can Work For Everyone

This CQT can work for both newer professionals and more seasoned ones.  Newer professionals would greatly benefit by having a more seasoned professional involved in the pitch and relationship-building process.  For example, such a professional might identify a new lead, and not be able to map out the best approach for pursuing such a lead simply due to his or her inexperience in the selling process.  A more senior colleague can help direct strategy and provide depth from a substantive perspective.

More senior professionals can find great benefit in this CQT especially in pursuing larger prospects.  There is strength in numbers in certain circumstances.  For those larger, perhaps tougher relationships to build, having two or more senior professionals focused on the process can help make the pitch stage more efficient, increase the depth and breath of experience standing behind the relationship, and can also help in serving the new relationship when honored with the business.

Implement NOW!

Take a moment to think about a lead you have right now.  Select one that you feel could be a good start for implementing CQT #5.  Perhaps there is one that has been in the Crux Rainmaking Lead 1 (CRL1) stage for a while.  Or maybe there is one that will require more of a team effort to be competitive with other suiters for the business.  Then identify a colleague you can approach with the offer of teaming-up to pursue the business opportunity.  Share the credit internally.  50% of something is much better than 100% of nothing.  The nice by-product of this approach is that your colleague will be more likely to bring you into one of his or her lead pursuits as you build this sort of team-oriented relationship.

Once established, use your new partnership to forge the best strategy you can to generate business from your chosen lead.  Share ideas, map out a course of action, and confidently work to build a Unique Business Relationship with your lead, thus substantially increasing your chances of winning the business.

J.B.

Read More