3 Tips on How to Reach Corporate Clients
Once you take the giant leap and finally start your own business, naturally, the next step is how you can expand it. Reaching the right people and getting your products or services to them can be crucial to growing or sustaining the business. Whether you started on a small scale or went for the big and bold approach, landing the big corporations can give a massive boost to your enterprise. It usually ensures a steady volume of work with timely payment while opening the doorways to more such prominent clients.
But approaching the big guns may seem daunting, especially when you are just starting out. Read on to find out how you can reach out to those corporate clients in these three steps.
1. Research your client
The first step towards approaching your potential client is knowing them. Its vision, business approach, goals, the products or services they use, and anything else you can get your hands on. The company website or annual reports can be a good start while doing your research. You can also look for publications or mentions of the company by other authoritative institutes to understand their public perception.
The idea is to find out what they need. What problems can you solve? And then create a solution surrounding that issue. Going through their plans and goals can also help you prepare better, so you can explain how your product or service can help them reach those goals. This way, you are not selling them your product but rather solving their problem with your expertise.
2. Craft a proposal
After identifying your potential client, it is time to strategize an extraordinary proposal. While it needs to be unique enough to grant you entry through the gate, it is also essential to maintain some resemblance with the company’s tone and pitch. A good idea is to go through their email responses, social handles, or newsletters.
Your proposal should clearly state why you want to associate with them and why you are a trustworthy service provider. And do not be shy to throw in your credentials in the mix. Recruiting a new vendor can be a high-risk business decision for giant corporations, so reassuring them why you are reliable with exact data and numbers is always a good idea.
3. Make contact and follow up
Now comes the time to present the proposal you have created for the corporation. You can look at your existing client base to see if you can find any common link with the biggies you are about to approach. Social media can be an easy way to establish contact, but face-to-face meetings remain relevant.
However, when you have no direct reference and start from the reception, you may have to prepare for multiple attempts to ensure your presentation reaches the decision-makers. In today’s cutthroat business environment, generally, it takes about 8 to 12 tries to get to the key people. So, regular follow-up is the final step you never forget. Keep in mind the more prominent the enterprise, the more people are involved in the decision-making process, so it can sometimes take months to get a definite answer. Being persistent without pestering is a must.
Following these steps can take you a step closer to your dream clients. But you do not have to be bound by some hard and fast rules. As the creator of your company, you know your business inside out, making you the best person to draft a plan of action for its future. So, follow your instinct and do not hesitate to break the norm when you see fit. Being honest in your approach is essential.
And once you land the project, make sure you deliver on your promise without fail. Despite spending your efforts and resources on advertising or marketing, your most prominent endorser should be your work. Have transparent communication with the client periodically to ensure your products or services still meet their satisfaction.
Hope this takes you a bit closer to your goals. For more, listen to my podcast here.
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