There is a great book authored by a friend of mine, Keith Ferrazzi, called “Never Eat Alone”. In it, he talks about the power of relationships to get where you want in life. He also talks about the power of gratitude. From my personal experiences, you will often hear me say that all of my first deals (money, investors, sales) have come from people I knew. These are the people who believed in me as a person, and knew that even if the business hiccupped at any point- that I would be around to make sure they were taken care of. They were willing to take a bet on me more than taking a bet on the business.
That’s why cold calls are not necessarily the best way to make a sale. People cold calling don’t have any connection to us other than they are calling to make a sale. Who wants that? No one in my book. A friend of mine at Microsoft told me once, “People like to buy from their friends”. Its such a common sense comment- but him reminding me really struck a chord with me. I thought- how true this is! If your friend calls, or a business colleague that you have created a relationship with and who you know knows how to take care of you calls- then you are likely going to pick up the phone and take a minute to talk and more importantly, listen. Then an interesting thing happened.
I got an email from a guy named Lawson Tree. Lawson has a great business idea and knew that I could likely connect him to people that could help him grow his idea and his business- especially funders. So like many people do- Lawson emailed me to see if I could help him. Being swamped, I saw the email and thought, I will get back to this. The reason is, before I can help someone, I have to have an understanding of what they are trying to do before I can open my Rolodex. People I send opportunities to know that I will do so because I think there is an opportunity for a real win-win. So all of this takes time- which is what I have very little of. Then Lawson did something VERY clever…
Knowing I am pretty busy, and Lawson needing and wanting help right away, he sent me an email that said, “As I mentioned I really appreciate the work you are doing. I learned something in the last few days: if I need help with something, I must help that person out. Therefore, I had an idea of how I could help you and "American Made" out with some cool content. Perhaps, I could arrange an interview with Dr. Andrew Weil for you as a service that I could provide to you?” Dr. Andrew Weil?! I would LOVE to interview him, have never met him, and until now, had no easy way to get to him. I had heard that he has even turned down interviews with CNN. A lot of you probably know Dr. Weil. He is an amazing health expert that is frequently featured on Oprah.
Long story short, Lawson reached out to Dr. Weil, arranged for the interview with me and came back to let me know when and where it would be. He made this happen for me! “Lawson, I would LOVE to interview Dr. Weil.” Honestly, knowing how difficult it can be to score guests for interviews a part of me thought “lets see if he can make this happen”. Just to provide some background, its hard to believe- but people who are already very high profile move from wanting/ needing PR to wanting to protect their privacy as much as possible. SO this can make getting interviews very difficult. A few days later, I get an email from Lawson saying, “Ingrid, I have secured the interview with Dr. Weil as long as we can do it in January and as long as its in Tucson (where he is located).” “YES!!!!”- this is wonderful! So, Lawson totally hooked me up.
So what was my very next step? I picked up the phone and called the venture capitalist he wants to meet and that I know. Lawson is getting his warm introduction and I scored an amazing interview. So what is the moral of the story?
If you want to grow your business- then reach out to other people and ask them how you can help them?
Do something for them and ask them how they can help you.
Build that relationship, protect it like its family- its gold…and remember, “People love to do business with their friends.”
About the Author
Ingrid Vanderveldt is the CEO of Club E Network, a Broadband TV & Social Network for entrepreneurs. Club E provides original television programming and resources for entrepreneurs and connects business owners around the world through its online community and on the ground chapters. Ingrid also hosts CNBC’s “American Made” and “On The Road With iV”, interviewing some of the Nation’s leading entrepreneurs.