Cross promotion with a compatible business helps generate more new business.
Unfortunately, we often get so
involved in doing our own work, that we lose sight of the big picture. We
forget the huge untapped marketing potential of our network of contacts.
No one questions the value of
network contacts as a source of new referrals. But that's usually where our
collaboration with these people ends.
Promote
Each Others' Products & Services
Another easy and amazingly effective
application of collaboration is cross promotion of other contacts' products and
services.
Extending beyond individual
referrals, cross promotion is about two or more businesses that serve the same
kinds of clients, promoting each others' services to their own clients.
For example as a marketing coach, I
occasionally deal with clients who know people who need professional
services like life coaching or graphic design. Whenever the issue arises, I am
more than happy to suggest sources of help.
But why wait for the issue to be
arise? Why not include in your own promotional material, information about how
individual contacts help clients?
In my case, I could include the name
of a life coach and graphic designer, a brief outline of the benefits their
clients enjoy we well as appropriate contact information. By way of incentive,
the coach and designer could include a free consultation or at the very least,
free information.
When they include in their
promotional material similar information about me, the arrangement becomes a
cross-promotion among those of us participating.
A
Win-Win-Win Scenario
By promoting qualified and carefully
selected network contacts, we become part of a triple-win scenario.
As individuals we win, by extending
the range of services that we offer and by increasing our respective profiles
among our contacts' contacts. And as collaborative participants, we all win by
basking in the reflected credibility of cross-promotion partners.
Best of all, our clients win. They
can save the time and hassle of sourcing people who can help them by relying on
your endorsement of your collaborative participants.
By cross promoting your services
with selected network contacts, you can enjoy the same benefits offered by
referrals, continuously and far beyond the one-at-time approach common with
referrals.This collaborative approach offers a
huge return on a very small investment. All professional services marketing
should be as effective in generating new business.
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