It’s time to make the call

As entrepreneurs, we spend a massive amount of time planning and thinking about our marketing.

We produce documents and spreadsheets and charts. We analyse and strategize and brainstorm. And then we start the whole process again. And again.

Fair enough, too. We live in such a competitive world with so many choices and so many marketing messages. Marketing is clearly central to our business success.

Well, I want to offer perhaps the simplest and most powerful marketing strategy there is. It’s super quick to implement and it will cost you all of 40 cents.

Step one. Have a think about that one new client or customer that you would love to win. Think about who would make a genuinely massive difference to your company.

They may be valuable because of the potential size of their account or they might have a top-notch reputation that would really position you as a serious player in your industry.

Got them in your mind?

Step two. Just ring them up. It might be the CEO or the CFO or the CIO or the CMO or the CTO or the COO or any other capital ‘C’ you can think of.

Don’t plan the conversation. Don’t work out a strategy. Just pick up the phone and make the call and see where it gets you.

Be bold. Be cheeky. Be yourself.

What’s the worst thing that can happen?

Well, you might not get through – screened by the person’s PA. Or you might get through and have a really short, awkward conversation that produces nothing except embarrassment.

Fine! You’re really no worse off than you were ten seconds before you made that call. But then again, you might just kick off a really fruitful conversation. You might have just launched that key new relationship that will take your business to the next level.

I know. I know. We live in a world of social media, of LinkedIn and Facebook, of search engine marketing, of YouTube and viral videos.

Blah. Blah. Blah.

All that stuff works and has its place. It may be exactly what you need to do. Feel free to take out ads and re-do your logo and website and invest in that database marketing campaign.

Just don’t underestimate the power of a simple telephone call. Yes, it’s old technology. But people are still people and there still is nothing more powerful than having a chat.

And feel free to flick me the money you just saved on that marketing campaign you were about to launch (less the 40c for the phone call).