Debbie Donley is always looking for the next opportunity at Vocon. Her ability to connect the dots from existing clients to other business prospects is a key reason why the 65-employee architecture and interior design firm has been able to weather the ongoing economic recession.
“I went to my 20 top relationships and was really honest with them,” says Donley, the firm’s principal, who founded the firm in 1987. “I said, ‘We’ll do anything. If you have thoughts where we can assist your friends, please let me know.’ They really delivered. We have real relationships and genuine friendships with people.”
You need to expand the view of your landscape and look for other ways to drive revenue in a tough economy. Got a law firm as a client? Who does their marketing? Do you sell product to a manufacturer? Who transports their materials or supplies their machinery?
Sometimes it’s brand-new business that you need when times turn tough. But often, it’s touching base with existing clients to uncover new opportunities that you just haven’t discovered yet.
“What can I do for you? What can I do for your related ventures,” Donley says, repeating the questions that you need to be asking your clients about unearthing new opportunities. “If people are sitting in their CEO chair saying, ‘Gee whiz, I wish some of our existing clients would refer us business,’ have you ever asked?”
You need to start asking the questions, whether it’s meeting with them individually or setting up group brainstorming sessions.
“If you’re in the chair, can you look yourself in the mirror and say, ‘I’ve been honest in where I am with my business with my existing and strongest clients,’” Donley says. “A lot of times, you haven’t been. You’re trying to say, ‘Oh, everything is fine, it’s fine.’ A lot of times, it’s not. You have to be honest with yourself. If you pretend everything is fine, people won’t go out of their way to help you.”
Start with the clients with whom you believe you have the strongest bonds and see what you get. As for the people with whom you don’t have a strong bond, you just need to start a dialogue and keep working on it.
“You have to put yourself out there and not come in and sit in your office and close your door,” Donley say. “You have to take a long-term approach. It’s the only way I know how to do it.”
It’s the personal touch that will make the difference in getting people to respond to your business.
