How To Create A List Of Warm Contacts
When you're just starting out in your career, the circle of people you know is probably small. And the circle doesn't get much bigger as an entrepreneur—especially if you're looking to grow your business.
I love this post by one of my favourite bloggers, Steve Blank, on creating a list of warm leads and contacts. In it, he says: "One initial step that most entrepreneurs take is to develop a strategy for adding more investors to their customer base." He has some excellent advice about how to start and maintain connections with potential investors.
He also has some great advice about managing your own warm leads and contacts—what he calls your "warm list." If you're looking for a place to start, I really recommend reading Steve's article.
But here are some of my thoughts about creating a list of warm leads or contacts:
Don't spend too much time focusing on the numbers. It's easy to get hung up on building a huge list so that you can have dozens of sales conversations. But at the beginning stages of your career, it's more important to have the right dialogue with just a few people than it is to talk to many people poorly. Focus on one or two people per industry, and really understand their business.
Follow up to stay top-of-mind. When you have a warm connection, don't let the relationship quietly go cold. Follow up every few months; send the person an article that you think he or she would find interesting, ask for his or her recommendation for someone in the industry who you can talk to, etc.
Make a point to see any warm contacts in person if you can . I like going to conferences as much for networking opportunities as for getting new ideas; it's great when I get both out of an event.
. I like going to conferences as much for networking opportunities as for getting new ideas; it's great when I get both out of an event. Keep your contact lists current and clean . The best thing you can do is to never delete anyone on your list, even if you haven't seen them in a long time. And make sure that everyone on your list has a current email address (i.e., not a gmail address).
. The best thing you can do is to never delete anyone on your list, even if you haven't seen them in a long time. And make sure that everyone on your list has a current email address (i.e., not a gmail address). Let people know that you're paying attention . When I do see an old contact, I always make a point to ask about the person's business, how it's going. If there's been a recent news article about the industry or the person, I'll send over the article. Just remember that these are warm contacts—don't find a way to sell them!
. When I do see an old contact, I always make a point to ask about the person's business, how it's going. If there's been a recent news article about the industry or the person, I'll send over the article. Just remember that these are warm contacts—don't find a way to sell them! Follow up on referrals . I think it's always good to let the person who referred you to someone know that you ended up in touch with that person.
. I think it's always good to let the person who referred you to someone know that you ended up in touch with that person. Be a resource for your contacts . This is one of my favourite things about being an entrepreneur. I love that I have a network of people who come to me for help and advice, and I love trying to help them.
. This is one of my favourite things about being an entrepreneur. I love that I have a network of people who come to me for help and advice, and I love trying to help them. Be nice to everyone (even the gatekeepers). It's amazing how quickly you can get on someone's radar screen when you're nice, rather than being pushy or rude.
I hope that you'll find Steve Blank's post very helpful in your own efforts to build a warm list and develop relationships with people in your industry who you believe might be a good fit for your new business.
http://www.asksteveblank.com/2011/10/create-warm-list-of-warm-contacts.html
Share this: Twitter
Google
LinkedIn
Facebook
Like this: Like Loading...
Categories: Economics and Business, List Building, Life and Success, MarketingNotes (Website), Personal Development Tips & Techniques, Resources for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Ownership, Success Stories/Success Tips To Get You Going! was last modified: by
Comments are closed. 6 comments posted. Responses are closed.
Trackback URL for this entry: https://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451b44369e201767e9481953ef Listed below are links to weblogs that reference How To Create A List Of Warm Contacts:
Comments [1]
Add a comment
Note: The opinions presented here are entirely mine and may not represent the opinions of any other individuals or companies. As always, your mileage may vary… and if it does, let me know via the comment section.
Post a Comment Via Email Please login. Or click here to sign in via Twitter, Facebook, Yahoo or Google+. If you don't have an email account you can create one.
All fields marked with * are required.
Please note that your comment will be approved before being posted here. All fields marked withare required.Please note that your comment will be approved before being posted here. Enter the Security Code shown above into this box:
Disclaimer: While this site is intended to provide helpful and relevant information to our visitors, it is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. The views expressed here are specifically designed to improve health by providing readers with more useful and relevant information about commonly-asked health questions and health topics in general. These views do not reflect the other authors or inflammatorydisease.org, or the employees of inflammatorydisease.
Conclusion: Here's what I can tell you is that this is not the best article on "how to create a list of warm contacts." It doesn't do a good job at all of explaining how to actually build a list. I mean, he talks about email all right but it's really about strategies for getting people to take your cold call and email you back. He does mention some ways to get others to refer you warm contacts that are worth noting, though.
Comments [1]
Add a comment
Note: The opinions presented here are entirely mine and may not represent the opinions of any other individuals or companies. As always, your mileage may vary… and if it does, let me know via the comment section.