How To Introduce Yourself To SMBs

Last month I wrote about Getting Involved In The Community To Build Trust Instead Of Selling in which I mentioned how Jordan Arron from the BDC was able to become the first outsider to come in and present his company's value proposition to my Mastermind Group members.

Jordan took the right approach and wanted to build relationships instead of selling. He was genuinely interesting in helping my members and did not come with the "always be closing" attitude.

I asked Jordan if he wanted to write about his experience to help others who are trying to make connections and sell into the small business market. Here are his thoughts:

"Last month was my first opportunity to introduce myself to the business owners of Evan Carmichael's Mastermind group. It was a tremendous opportunity which I had the privilege of being a part of for two reasons. Firstly, because not only did I get the chance to hear Frank Cianciulli of Enunciate speak about his experience growing his business, but I was also given the chance to introduce myself to a very targeted group of individuals to grow my business.

As an Account Manager at the Business Development Bank of Canada my one mission is to support small and medium sized businesses by providing the combination of aggressive and customized financing solutions, with consulting services. The way I become successful at this is by being as deeply rooted into the various networks of business as possible. The challenge in this task is that people are always busy, and groups like the Mastermind groups are highly solicited, which can make it difficult to present your offering to them. It was only after I was given the chance to speak to the group that I realized that it was because of my approach that I was given this opportunity.

I think that if I were to summarize my approach, that it would have two specific characteristics (which I will admit, certainly are not unique, nor do they reinvent the wheel). This first characteristic is that I want to listen more than speak. So often people in sales are trying to tell people what they are selling or offering, without being able to understand who they are talking to. Not only does "active listening" allow you to collect your thoughts, and to understand your counterpart better, it also doesn't give such a "hard sell" approach which can put some off quite quickly. Even if you are about to sell something as simple as a pen, people will jump to all the features of that given pen, as opposed to understanding if the person is looking for a $0.50, $50, or $500 pen.

My second habit is that I naturally want to help people in any way possible. Even if I am not going to be lending money to them, I always look to leverage my network by putting them in touch with a potential joint venture partner, purchaser, supplier, or other financial institution. I realize I've actually started building strong relationships with people that I didn't offer money to. This approach in its truest form, works excellent amongst like minded individuals, and in the end they often end up pointing people in their network back to me.

In summary it was great meeting the members of the Mastermind group, and I look forward to the next event I can be part of. As Evan was kind enough to let me enter this circle of individuals, I will look to make every new relationship a two way street where I not only support group members with BDC financing or consulting services, but to just always keep in mind what they do, and to make appropriate introductions for their business where possible. I consider it a privilege and truly enjoy working with entrepreneurs and learning about their visions of success. When I can make a contribution to this success, it's even better."

Get Involved In The Community To Build Trust Instead Of Selling

On Tuesday morning I am running an event for my Mastermind Group members. The typical member is between $100,000 and $1.5 million in sales and are looking to get their companies to the next step. I have set up an intimate event with Frank Cianciulli who is one of the most celebrated up and coming young entrepreneurs in Canada. Frank is going to share his secrets to success with the Mastermind Group members and it promises to be a fantastic event.

Having a group of growing small business owners attracts a lot of attention from people who want to sell to them. I have received calls from insurance companies, bankers, real estate brokers, and countless other B2B vendors who want to sell their products and pitch to my groups.

They are taking the entirely wrong approach. Entrepreneurs do not want to be sold to and therefore nobody is allowed into the groups to pitch their products. Very few account managers realize this and stumble back to their offices wondering why they cannot break into the SMB market.

Then I was contacted by Jordan from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). The BDC has a number of small business financing options and Jordan was interested in discussing how we might be able to work together. Jordan is a young guy but understands the importance of relationship building - he wanted to meet and get to know the members instead of handing out literature and promoting his products right off the bat.

Because of Jordan's approach, he is going to get in to meet the groups where many other companies have failed. For the event on Tuesday, Jordan is sponsoring the food and will be the only non-business owner in the room. He will have a captive audience and no competitors to worry about because he is there for the right reasons. I am sure the members of my groups will take well to his approach, making him the default supplier they turn to when it comes time to financing their businesses.

The message is a simple one: Get involved in the small business community and build trust with entrepreneurs instead of trying to come in and sell your products. By doing so you will not only be more successful and surpass your quotas but have a lot more fun in the process.