My daughter is not the only one who is struggling with homework. I made a classic newbie entrepreneur mistake. I reached out to a potential client without looking at the news and made a fool of myself. What a bonehead.
In my own defense, I had just received my certification as a Woman Owned Business through WBENC and I was anxious to reconnect with some of the corporations I had previously talked with. Unfortunately one of those companies had something HUGE happen to them over the weekend and, well, almost everything within the company was ON HOLD. Ok – there is really no excuse - I know better.
For those entrepreneurs who sell to other businesses, it is critical that you do your homework before contacting them. This also goes for anyone who is approaching another company even for a partnership or other type of alliance. And I’m not just talking about the first time you talk to them.
If possible, visit your favorite news outlet like Google News, Bloomberg, or MSNBC before every conversation. Most news services provide opportunities for you to customize your news by region or even company. There are also news feeds that you can subscribe to that send the information to your inbox or Crackberry. If you have one or two specific companies that you’re working with, it may also be worth setting up a Google Alert on them to get the latest news about them.
In addition to not being caught off guard, the more you know about your customers the better you can tailor your pitches to them. They always like it, too, when you’re up on what’s going on with them. It shows your level of interest. The bottom line is that today’s technology makes being educated about your customers easier than ever and it is a smart way to set yourself apart from your competition.
Do you have any good stories about how your preparedness (or lack thereof) won or lost you the business? Please share them!
