Increase deal flow through relationship building

Is your deal flow dependent on word-of-mouth referrals?  Most professional service companies rely on others (Centers of Influence) to tout their expertise and share their name.

So how do you ensure your deal flow if you are dependent on others?

It’s quite simple.  Speak up, and do so consistently.  Your Centers of Influences are just as busy as you are.  They are working with clients, out networking and focused on making their numbers, too.  Help them keep you top-of-mind by speaking up, consistently.

Send emails and handwritten letters. Take them out for a face-to-face meeting. Send them interesting and relevant introductions, and by all means don’t forget to say thank you. To sum it up: take an interest in them. Build a meaningful relationship.

While that is easy to say, it’s not easy to do. What does it take to create relationships with a vast number of people?  We have three tips to get you started:

• Rank your contacts. Not everyone is a perfect match for you. Learn who makes the perfect referral and client for your Centers of Influence.  The more their perfect client aligns with yours, the more time you should spend together.  The more distant your “perfect clients” are the less time you should invest.
• Be in touch. People are busy. They forget. Even though you spent an hour having coffee and telling them about you and your business, they forget. So, keep in touch.  Find ways to remind them of what you are looking for and what you offer.  Take advantage of all modes of communications; send emails, comment on their social media posts, make introductions, use a stamp and send a letter, pick up the phone and call, and of course, carve out time to sit and connect face-to-face.
• Maintain relevancy. Share ideas, insights and helpful information. Everyone wants to remain relevant. Help them be knowledgeable and relevant with content that informs and shares your expertise.  Keep it short and simple, but share and share often.

Creating meaningful relationships takes time and effort but it pays off in spades. Create a system that you can maintain and then execute on it.  And, by all means, call in for backup when you need it.  We can’t do it all alone. There are great resources to help you maintain your system and simplify your workflow.  Need help? Give us a call and we’ll share more ideas with you.