Déjà vu

--> again

I was talking to my son earlier this week. He’s getting involved with a new startup and was asking me about their marketing.

The conversation reminded me of a bit of an epiphany I had when talking to a client nearly 30 years ago.

It was one of those “shooting the breeze” conversations over coffee and he was having a bit of a grumble about how busy he was.

“You know, I used to invite guys like you in all the time to tell me about your latest products and services so I had a handle on what was available on the market. Now I just don’t have time for any of that”.

From his perspective, his lack of time meant he was getting out of touch with what useful services were out there he could call on when he had the need.

From my perspective, I realised it had much worse implications for us.

Because those discussions we used to have with potential clients did a lot more than keep them in touch with what we had to offer.

They built relationships.

And those relationships were crucial to the client feeling comfortable buying from us.

When a need arose for the kind of thing we did, even if they quickly found out we had a relevant service, without the relationship those chats would have built up they just wouldn’t feel OK about hiring us. They’d go with a supplier they knew, even if their services were less of a fit for what they were looking for.

Over time I came to realise that the key to winning consulting work wasn’t just to have the best service for the client. It was to be top of mind and a known quantity when a need arose.

And to get there you absolutely needed to be having regular interactions with potential clients *when they weren’t yet ready to buy*.

Sure, there were exceptions. Brand new services no other consultants (yet) offered. Cases where someone was unequivocally the best by miles, even if they didn’t have a relationship.

But 80% of the time the work went to someone with a good service that had a good relationship. You needed both.

The key to establishing that relationship was to be in regular contact.

And the key to be in regular contact in a world where clients are just way too busy to meet with you just to see what you have for sale was to have something else of value that made meeting with you useful to them.

Something interesting and useful even when they’re not ready to buy. But that gets you talking to them and building a relationship to put you in pole position for when they are ready.

In the sector I worked in we started using a regular research program to identify new trends and issues that affected our clients and new technologies and approaches that could help them.

Clients were more than happy to have us come in to present the results of that research (and often to participate in the research themselves).

They found the insights valuable. Sometimes it directly led to discussions about working in the area of the research. But often it just helped to position us as insightful and trusted partners so when we bid for other work we were seen as a preferred option.

The company my son is talking to face the exact same problem today. Except it’s even more extreme as clients can find out all the factual info they need from a quick Google without needing to call suppliers in.

Their natural opportunities to interact and build relationships are limited.

So they need to create some.

They need to find some way of clients valuing a meeting or call or discussion with them long before they’re ready to buy - so that they’re in pole position when the time is right.

I don’t know what that thing is. Maybe it’s research or benchmarking or an innovative point of view they can share like we used to. Maybe it’s organising industry events or facilitating valuable discussions. Might even be a regular newsletter.

There are many ways of doing it - the only given is that you need to do *something* to keep in regular contact with potential clients before they’re ready to buy.

What’s your approach?

- Ian