Cross-Country Move Highlights Time Required to Build Meaningful Business Relationships

by Joan Friedlander

You've heard it before, and I'll say it again, people do business with people they know, like and trust. It doesn't matter if we're working in a good economy or difficult one, this "law of business" persists. Anyone who has ever seriously studied marketing will tell you the same, and that it's doubly true when you're selling a professional service. Unfortunately, many service professionals don't understand the importance of this "law of business" and therefore misalign their expectations with unrealistic goals.

"When you have a strong relationship with people, they are more willing to spend time with you, share information with you, open doors for you, and the like. You have to build those relationships and you do that by showing a genuine interest in other people." - from The Connect Effect by Michael Dulworth

My Experiment with a High Touch Low-tech Approach to Marketing

When I moved from California to Virginia last year, I decided I wanted to change my approach to networking. Having grown weary of the traditional business-to-business networking that most independent professionals engage in, I wanted to get involved at the ground-floor level with organizations that are directly involved in economic development, and offer my services as a volunteer. I wanted to do something that would actually matter, and that would also give me exposure to my target audience.

Furthermore, I felt a strong pull to get out of my office, off of my computer and into my new community. Frankly, I was tired of the tippy-tappy-typing on my computer that continuous engagement with on-line marketing required. I had the feeling I was more connected to my keyboard than to people.

While I suspected that going this route might take more time to produce business results than other marketing tactics, I decided to give it a try and see what would happen. After all, moving to entirely new place gave me a natural opportunity to do things differently.

A Pattern Emerges: Time Invested, 6-7 Months

A recent series of unconnected outcomes signaled that the ground-level, community approach is working, and in interesting, diverse and surprising ways.

Volunteer Project - To get things started I set out to volunteer at an organization for which I've been a long-time financial supporter, Green America (formerly Co-Op America). I had a choice of assignments and decided to offer the majority of my volunteer time to the senior researcher for their green business screening committee, and a small portion of my time to lead a couple of lunch-and-learn programs to help the staff with email and productivity challenges.

For the first 5 months the majority of my time was spent making follow-up phone calls to business owners who submitted applications for Green America's seal of approval. The calls were short and sweet and to the point. No schmoozing, no showcase. I was not Joan Friedlander, the business coach, I was Joan Friedlander, the GBN volunteer. I loved it. I got to go into DC once a week, sit down, make my calls, and leave. I knew I was helping the senior researcher, who had many more high-level things to do than make those calls, and I was happy to help. I always showed up to my 3-hour shifts with a smile on my face. My calls produced results.

In December the senior researcher asked to meet with me, and to talk about my plans for 2010. I assured her I was planning to continue volunteering, with no end-time in mind. To my surprise and delight, she asked if I'd be interested in helping them plan and launch a new mentoring program for the members of the Green Business Network (GBN).

Aha! Here was the opportunity to present myself to the thousands of members of the GBN as both Joan the volunteer, and Joan, the business coach. Thrilled that my steady engagement led to the request, I was excited to take this on.

Time invested? 6-7 months
Lesson learned: follow your heart and trust the outcome

Coffee shop owners finally start to call me by my name - I love a good coffee house, so one of my first quests upon moving was to find one that served great coffee, and offered a community friendly feeling. I found 2 coffee places to hang out. The second is a little farther from me than the other, but it is a fully independent coffee house, open for less than a year when I found it. The owners are engaging in some sustainable business practices (such as offering left over grounds to customers for mulching), and doing what they could to reach into the community. So I decided to put my coffee dollars in their coffers and become a regular patron.

To help get the word out, I chose their establishment to launch a local small business mastermind group. I told the owners of my plans, put my business card on the wall, and started running my mastermind group there shortly thereafter.

Even with all this, it still took a few months before I was greeted with a full-on smile and by my name. The shift came when they were running a contest for selling prepaid cards. I overheard the husband tell the wife that he was going to win the contest. Feeling a little mischievous, when he stepped out I went up to the counter and bought my first prepaid card from the wife. I told her, with humor, why I wanted her to ring it up and not her husband. That's what it took! The next time I came in, the husband called me by my name.

Time invested? 6-7 months
Lesson learned: You just never know what it will take and when it will happen.

Creating a personal relationship with my hair stylist - Shortly after moving here I stumbled upon a hair stylist just a little over a mile from home who is, by far, the best short-hair stylist I've ever had cutting my hair. In our conversations I learned that she loves to create beaded jewelry. I mentioned my amateur interest in beading and asked if she's like to get together to "bead" some time. She said yes, and then a couple more cuts went by. In the meantime, I referred my husband to her, and have been, otherwise, a good steady client.

Knowing I love artsy earrings, when I went in for my last cut she showed me several pairs of earrings she made to help raise money for another stylist in her salon that has been very ill, and for whom the entire salon is raising money to help defray her medical bills. I told her about my new blog, Heartway to Success, and asked if I could interview her, and otherwise tell the story about the creative ways the members of the salon have devised to help the other stylist and her family. She agreed to ask the ill stylist if this would be OK. And, not only that, we set a date to get together and have fun creating some jewelry together.

Time invested? 6-7 months
Lesson learned: 6-7 months!

In Conclusion

Trust comes later. You can't just show up some place, no matter how nice, professional or credible you are and expect to be fully welcomed into the community, as it were. Furthermore, though it's now possible to connect with people all over the world, nothing beats the direct, interactive, connection you make with another individual - or group of individuals - whether by phone or in person. One without the other equates to throwing money down the drain.

You have to show up. The people you meet have to see that you are the real deal. They need to know you're not going to disappear as soon as your needs are met, or that you're there, but only for yourself.

Have you had similar experiences? Do you think my experience is usual or unusual? If there is something "true" about 6-7 months, what does it mean about your own marketing efforts? Write to me. Send an email to joan.friedlander@gmail.com, or post a comment to this article post on www.heartwaystosuccess.com.

 

 

by Joan Friedlander, © 2006. All rights reserved.