One of my clients had been reviewing his prospecting activities with me and looking at new potential activities. He decided to explore different opportunities, including more speaking engagements.
His company was an affiliate of a local association, and their industry is one that requires people to be in the association and partake in continuing education.
My client called the coordinator of that program up and was called in to talk with her in person. He expressed that he wanted to see if he could speak at the association and if that could count as continuing education for the members.
Now, my client had no idea if that was even possible or what the process was. So he went into it asking for help from the coordinator. She thought it was a great idea, and she shared with him that no other affiliate in his industry had asked to do that.
They went through a planning process and determined that the next step was to set up a curriculum that the association would then have to approve. She also shared that in a given year, this could put my client in front of 4,200 people.
That's 4,200 potential referral partners for my client!
A few things jumped out to me about this story my client shared with me.
First, he asked for help. He had no clue what the process looked like, so he asked someone in the association for help. It's amazing how many more things we can accomplish if we're willing to ask others for help!
Second, he didn't go to sell. He went to help! If he'd made that initial phone call and tried to sell the association on his services, do you think that would have gone well? By going into it with an attitude of helping, he immediately got an appointment, and the coordinator was just as excited as he was!
Finally, he took action. No other affiliate in his industry had done anything like this!
It doesn't matter whether it's speaking, adding something else to your prospecting cookbook, or just forming a new beneficial habit. Asking for help, not trying to sell, and taking action can make a huge difference!
Crandall is the Principal of Sandler in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He works with business owners and motivated individuals to create and implement Professional Development Strategies to foster the growth of individuals, teams, and organizations.
