EMBRACE A CAUSE

There is still a lot of reluctance among small business owners to meet people. Cold calling is “out of the question” thus a few possible alternatives are:

• Watch your phone in hopes that it will ring
• Call “nag” your friends, relatives and past clients ( you are familiar with them) and ask them for a referral. Are they getting tired of your calls?
• Hide behind your computer screen and self-teach yourself how to market in Social Media.
• Check your web site for traffic.
• Keep checking your e-mail every few minutes
• I’m sure that we can  grow this list of non-productive marketing efforts into several pages. A few of these effort may produce a new client; I compare these methods to sitting on the bank of a stream and hoping that a fish will jump out of the water and land at your feet.

Here is another, more productive alternative to meeting people:

• Take a sheet of paper and list 10 things that concern you in:
  • Your community
  • Your local government
  • Health care
  • Animal welfare
  • Returning veterans
  • Feeding the hungry
  • Add what every general area of concern that you have.
• Be specific. Don’t just say “sickness”; name the disease. In each of your areas of concern be specific about several items.
• Once your specific list is complete, then prioritize the list according to your “passion” or level of interest.
• Now take the top three specific concerns and research to see what organizations are currently working on these problems.
• Contact, in person, your top three selections. Tell them that you are looking to volunteer (give something back to your community), explain why you have an interest in this area and ask them about volunteer opportunities.
• Select one and go to work!

Your involvement isn’t about working with this organization and handing out cards. It’s all about helping them achieve your goal. You not only  will meet people with similar interests, but now you can contact your friends, family, clients etc  and tell them about your involvement, what good it does and how they can help. Make a special place for marketing the needs of your “cause”  on as much of your marketing material as possible. It will open up many conversation opportunities and yes, new clients will come to you by virtue of your work for your cause.

Without immediate action on your part, good ideas will disappear before they are implemented. Take 15 minutes and start this project now