5 Ways To Get Your Foot In The Door With New Clients

No matter how good you are at selling, it's impossible to use your persuasion skills if you are unable to connect with your potential buyer or get their attention. Of course, picking up the phone or shooting your prospect an email are still commonplace practices for sales people, but, what happens when those forms of communication don't work?

Here's 5 ways to get your foot in the door with new clients:

1. The Hand Written Card: Although most salespeople and businesses understand the impact that a hand written card can leave with a customer after they acquire their business, most salespeople and businesses don't write hand written thank you cards. They think it's not scalable - and the truth is - it isn't. That's why I send hand written thank you cards to each and every one of my clients after they decide to do business with me. However, you don't have to wait to close a deal with someone before doing something special for them! I've personally had a lot of success with sending a hand written card to help introduce myself and schedule an appointment to speak. Remember, even if it doesn't work, your potential customer is much more likely to remember you when you call them in the future.

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2. The Burner Phone: While this strategy works great for high-profile prospects to get them back on the phone while following up, it works great to get them on the phone to introduce yourself. Send your customer a prepaid cell phone, select the number for the phone and be sure to sign up for delivery notifications. When your customer receives the 'burner phone', call the number assigned to that device and prepare to finally speak to the person you've been wanting to connect with. Yes, this approach is a little progressive - but it works!

3. Tweet Them: They say that Twitter is the cocktail party of all the social media platforms, and they are right. Twitter lets you easily 'tweet' at the prospect you're trying to reach and if your prospect's notifications are on, they will be notified that you tweeted at them. I suggest making the tweet as value-driven, educational or conversational as possible. Including a link, photo or video greatly increases your chances for engagement.

4. Branded Products: Most salespeople and companies set aside an annual budget for purchasing branded products and merchandise to give away to potential customers at events like trade shows, seminars or other events. Although this is a pretty effective way of helping your prospects remember you, they can also be used to get your foot in the door with new customers. I've sent dozens of different branded products to potential customers that I couldn't get a hold of, including: knives, cell phone covers, custom engraved baseball bats, cutting boards with cheese and branded bottles of wine. Try to get creative and find products that speak to your customer's values and get ready for a phone call!

Related Article: How to overcome the fear of rejection

5. A Personal Visit: This obviously makes a lot of sense to do if your prospect is located nearby. You can simply jump in your car and head over to the business where your prospect is and try to get their attention. However, one of the most effective things I've done to get in front of prospects is to let my prospect know that I'm headed across the country just to meet them or, that I'm going to be in their town during a certain date and if they would allow me to stop by while I'm there. Since it seems you're going well out of your way to meet with them, your prospect may actually give you time - but at the very least - should respond to you. Make sure you lead with value!

If you're looking for even more unique and effective ways to stand out from the crowd as a salesperson, I provide a ton of additional content here.