To walk in or not to walk in...

Much depends on the size of the company, who you get to speak to, and if you walk in at the right time....And, what it is that you are actually handing to them....A business card by itself is not much.

I think it's always better to call, find out who it is that you should speak to, and see if you can get an appointment with them.

Though,...I've done it myself...There have been times that I was passing by a company, and I decided to take a chance and drop in on them.

Your biggest problem is if you are simply handing the card (or even a brochure) to someone at a reception desk. There's a good chance they haven't got a clue who to pass it along to in the company...And, that is why it is better for you to know who it should go to in the company.

With a smaller business you could have more success...I have had occasions in which someone did have the time to speak with me...But, the larger the company, the less of a chance of this occuring.

All in all. I think that rather than simply handing out business cards, you should have a small brochure or at least a simple letter describing what it is that you are offering.

And, make a call before you drop in...Use your cell phone if you find yourself nearby...And tell them this..."I'm in your area, and I wonder if you have a few moments ....".

I find visiting and meeting people is the most productive (successful) way to generate business. If you are going this route, plot out a route for yourself in the afternoon, call for appointments for the next day, and visit them with a brief pitch. But, at the same time, hand them more than just a business card.

And, if you want to get more done...Use the phone...It's effective.

I suppose if you are just walking into businesses in a random fashion, just hoping to "get your name out" and that they will do business with you. Then, no, don't think it is a good idea. It is the facetime equivalent of spam.

If, however, you truly have a service or product that that business would benefit from. Then why on earth would you not want to share that with them?

Cold calls can take a bit of nerve. But, if you really have something that would benefit them, I encourage you to go for it. Just do your best to make sure they could benefit or have an interest in what you offer.

Also, it could be your friend just does not have the nerve to put her/him out there. Don't let their fears determine your methods.

I agree it is the equivalent of spam unless you set it up with a phone call. Cold Calling is very hard but in some cases the only way to get face time with some businesses. I would much rather give my clients incentives to refer their contacts to me.

Jill,

I think the nature of your business almost requires you to know who you are going to speak to before you walk in. An appointment is even better. Your clients are busy people - that's why they need you - so I'm sure they will grateful for the respect you show when you make an appointment. The "personal" part of personal assistance says this to me.

Most of the time, the front desk person isn't going to know what the needs of the CEO are, but the CEO certainly might need a PA to take care of his errands. If you speak directly to him, and explain how you can meet his needs, you'll probably have a much higher conversion rate.

Hope that helps!

Bri

Hi Jill,

I think the walk-in is a potential waste of your energy. You are better off calling and asking to make an appointemt, otherwise you coul be seen as annoying and wasting people's valuable time if they weren't expecting you. I was given this advice by an art gallery owner when I had a line of jewelry, and she was right.

Also, you should figure out a word-of-mouth marketing plan targeting your desired market: a community of people with shared needs that you can service. This is Dominic Canterbury's area of expertise. You should talk to him.

Good luck! -g

Ditto to all the above with an addition.

You do not want to get to the CEO. You want to get to the CEO's Executive Assistant. She or he is in the know of what the CEO needs! And she or he will get the information to the CEO if that person needs it.

First do your research on a target company. It is easy to find the CEO and other top executives. Google the company with the term CEO and you can usually find it or you can go to Hoovers Online to find it.

Second, call the company and dissemble! Pretend that you are someone's assistant trying to get the name of the CEO's Executive Assistant; you had it but lost it and you are supposed to be setting up a meeting with the CEO (call the person by name) for your boss. Sound slightly ditzy and distraught and they will give you the information every time. Or you can make up some reason you need her or his name to send them something, "I was supposed to send it attention to their name but I can't find the slip of paper I wrote it on and don't want to have to ask my boss!" You get the idea!

What I would do in Jill's case is to find an interesting newspaper or magazine article related to the industry that the CEO is involved in and a second article about why busy CEOs should use her profession (personal assistant) and drop them both off with her card and a note saying that she thought that they would find the first article useful to read the next time they have five minutes to kill waiting for a plane.

I think people appreciate it when you look out for them as they don't often have time to find this information for themselves and you are clearly stating what you can do for them without having to directly ask for the sale.

You cannot go wrong cold calling. Yes, some people might be rude or think it is intrusive but overall I still think it is the best way to get business. I have been cold calling for years. I try to make it fun, you can learn alot about a business just by walking in the door. If you are pleasant and respectful of their time usually most are willing to help. Also looking at your profile and your target prospects, the larger consulting firms that work with CEO's ect... are usually very high cold calling environments. Marketing yourself is great as well, but I have found whenever I need a quick sale or to fill my pipeline I hit the street. Have fun with it and good luck to you!

Yvonne

If they keep them at all, most retailers have a pile of business cards, rubber banded together in their desk drawer and it's the last place they remember to look for services.

I'm a talker, so it's easy to strike up a conversation with a sales person when I'm shopping and if I can move that conversation to what I do, I have a business card in hand.

However, I think the business card, in itself, is superfluous -- it's the interactive physical contact and the subliminal message of getting something for free that helps. Business cards are only good when they make you remembered.

Alright, so what's the verdict? What does the Biznik community think about dropping off business cards?

Almost always a complete waste of time.

What are the best mediums for letting people know about your services without being "so annoying"?

Drop off an item that will assure that you are remembered.

Try this:

1. Design a marketing piece that descibes what you do in such a way that it will be of intrest to real prospects (who cares what the effect is on people that don't need your service.
2. Aquire aa apropriate promotional product that will appeal to the secretary, receptionist, gatekeeper.
3. Drop in on likely prospects, give the item to the receptionist and ask him/her to pass the marketing piece onto the right person (describe whom should get it).
4. Get the card of the person you spoke to.
5. Follow up with a phone call the next day. Mention the gift item to remind them of who you are and ask who they gave the information to. They almost always spout off a name. Ask if they know how this person liked the information. Unless the reaction is, "They hated it they said that you are an unproffession piece of excement that they will never do business with," ask if it would be okay to mail some supporting information.
6. Mail, Fed-Ex, courier your information as follows: Outer envelope is addressed to your contact, it contains a thank you note to them and an envelope addressed to your target. The inner envelope has your material. (Envelope could be a box if you need the extra room)

This is a GREAT thread! Wonderful comments! To the "been there, done that" crowd, thanks for sharing your experience!

Just wonderful!

Hmm, I might toss my thoughts in with Michael Max, if you've got something you know there's a good chance they need, do it! If you have the cure for the disease, you OWE it to people to take it to them.

Viv brings up the idea, I think, that made me want to ask, what are your other marketing strategies? Your presence, filled with the passion of your mission, is the most effective way to get to people.

With all due respect to the variety and talent of the mail folks, no piece of mail can touch either a well placed call or your personal presence talking about what you do with passion. The value of the web is the targeting and the volume it CAN provide...........

Besides, I can write a book about my experience as a door to door salesman, it's how I paid for college.............

Jill -

Go right ahead. Walk in with a smile.

Try to research the company first and have at least one person to ask for. Or you can just rely on the receptionist to direct you to the right person. If they are not available, fine, just leave a card and single page brochure.

Stop by again in three weeks, then two months later. etc.

If the reception is not cordial try the telephone.

Don't expect to make every sale. Remember the volume of calls is a salesman's best tool.

You have a dignified service, don't hesitate to let people know about it.

For a long time I felt like a lot of folks, “People who drop in suck.” However, after thinking about it for a while, I realized that some of my favorite artists and business partners were folks that had just stopped by. The difference was that they stopped by and listened to me and then offered me something I really needed in a away that made me smile. As it turned out, I loved people that just popped in. My issue wasn't with the action, it was with the approach.

That’s when I started dropping in to different places. I would do my research first, figure out who might actually need La Familia Gallery, what their interests might be, and who I might actually like hanging out with - then I would put on my walking shoes and go meet them.

When I go though, I don’t go to blindly sell myself to strangers. I go with two goals: the first is to make a new friend and the second is to discover how I can help my new friends succeed. That means I take my time.

My first visit I might not even mention I do business. Instead I go to get the lay of the land and see who is approachable and what they might need, always searching for a personal way to make the approach rather then impersonal. People want to work with, and be around, people that take the time to search out and understand their unique needs – not folks that pop up out of no place and try to convince them of what they need.

By taking your time, tuning in to real need, and being a truly personably and honest person – no one will hold it against you that just showed up. In fact, they will be honestly happy arrived just in time to help them solve a big old problem. They will actively want your services and your help. See, now you are a hero not a pain the ass.

Certainly not the only way to do things, but I have found it a much more enjoyable route for me. Much less stressful, much more fun.

The key to sales, especially in B2B, is getting to the decision maker. So instead of walking in, which rarely leads to a conversation with the decision maker on the first visit, just call ahead and find out who it is you should be talking to.

The coolest part of this whole method is you don't need to resort to any dishonesty or misrepresentation. No tricks. Just simply call and ask whoever answers the phone, "who makes the decisions regarding your widget purchases?" 8 out of 10 times the person on the other end will tell you the persons name. That just means you need to call on 2 different occasions to find out who it is, if they di9dn't tell you the first time.

Now, they won't let you talk to that person, of course, unless you call back a day or two later and ASK SPECIFICALLY for the person you ouwld like to speak to. You will get through to that person, again, 8 out of 10 times. If you do not get through the first time.... you know what to do! That's right, call back 2 more times.

Now you have to get the appointment. Only ask for 15 minutes (they will give it to you - it's not very long) let them know they may or may not be interested (take the pressure off), and let them know you would like to show them some information (they can't be 'shown' over the phone, only in person) and ask what is the best time this week or next, to stop by.

This is what we call a "Killer Appointment Setting Technique." We call it that be cause it virtually ALWAYS gets an appointment. And all without yucky sales pressure and/or chicanery.

Best of the best to all. Hope you can close all your appointments... but that's another thread.

Mike D

Jill: You and I have similar companies. When I am cold calling on real estate agents for example, I always ask the folks at the front desk if they prefer if I put the flyers in the agents boxes myself. They usually take me up on this and that guarantees that the flyers get dispersed. It always help to get your foot in the door by speaking with the people at the front desk or the mail room and making their jobs a little easier.

Elizabeth

From the business owner's perspective: I like how Mike D lays it out. When I had a store-front business, we had cashiers/sales staff at the front desk who would field calls and talk to customers as they came in. If a salesperson came in (or called), the staff would call me (it was a 40K square foot building, and the offices were a ways from the front desk), and I would usually just have them put the person on the phone. As the business owner, I was busy with whatever I felt was most important at the time, and it's hard to be pulled out of that to meet with a salesperson who has a different priority list--selling me something that I might or might not need. However, if they were friendly and wanted to schedule just 15 minutes of my time as Mike D mentioned above, I would often schedule a meeting with them if the product or service sounded interesting to me over the phone. Now, if I felt right off that that the product/service wasn't something I was interested in, I was not shy about saying no thank you--I want to be fair to the person and not waste their time either.

So, whether you called or came in on foot, I usually would end up initially talking to you on the phone, and then setting up a meeting, so that the time was more on my terms. I agree, call first if you want to guarantee to meet the decision maker.

Oh, and a note about business cards being left at the front desk--the owner is not as apt to call you back from just a business card. There is no personal connection to you yet. I disagree with the adage "It's not personal, it's just business". It's actually all about being personal first--at least in the long run.

From your perspective: Per Lanae's comments, walking into a business can give you a better feel for what the business is all about. You can use those "scouting trips" to learn how your product or service might help the business prior to talking to the decision maker. I always felt more confident about someone who had been to the business (or had done research online) and knew what we were about before calling me versus someone who obviously had no idea.

Perhaps this is industry based?

I've never walked in anywhere and given my business card, but I've certainly worked my way into conversations at datacenters, or left cards in people's cages.. In certain ways I think it was antagonistic (by leaving my card, customers thought I was saying I thought they needed help, and one or two told me so).

On the other hand, my sister is the director of marketing at a company in the midwest that owns 6 or 7 dozen restaurants of a few different chains. She likes to rent a limo every week, or every other week, and have her girls swarm local businesses, handing out flyers, coupons, schwag, etc. Sort of a guerilla marketing campaign with style, and ridiculously bold.

Successful marketing is made up of many, many small steps. By not going for the heroic home-run strategy, you're committing to inviting everyone you meet to sample your talents. And handing out business cards is one of many ways to start the ball rolling. Sure, you may have to cultivate a thick skin in response to being ignored, but that's a small price to pay for your success. Also, I've found we're living in a mystery. I've long ago given up trying to control or predict outcomes, i.e. we never know which seeds will bear fruit. So I think it's a great idea to devote some of your energy to this approach even though it may be just one of many strategies. And I agree with everyone who reminded you that it's the presence of the person holding the card which brings results, not the card by itself.

i think we should make a list of businesses we'd like to target. then we find out who the decision makers are and who there assistants by making an introductory phone call.

next, we'll show up with a nice little gift for the owner and her assistant..(i think anything small & chocolate would be perfect) finally we deliver a 1 min pitch and leave something with our business info that 1. wont get buried in a stack of paper and 2. will have all the necessary order contact info..

fact is, we could even go around inviting folks to join biznik: business networking that doesn't suck. in the process, we get our exposure and yet we help them too. every business is looking for more exposure. biznik could be like our online chamber of commerce without all the BS!