Advocates and Ambassadors

Who is your advocate and ambassador? Your clients can be. We know that Networking is a necessary skill for finding and developing new clients and retaining the ones you have. It’s also an opportunity to create advocates for your business. These advocates will be your best sales and marketing champions because they know and respect you. Here are some potential advocates and ambassadors you might consider:

• The satisfied client: Where else could you find a better advocate? Though you may feel awkward asking for strategic introduction, there are ways to make asking easier. For instance, ask for feedback after you have provided a product or service. Suggest you would be “happy to meet anyone whom they could recommend and introduce you to.”
• Your team: Everyone including the new intern needs to be aware that they are an ambassador for spreading the work about your firm. Smart networkers know to build relationships and alliances with people up down sideways and across—otherwise throughout the organization- be building relationships.
• Keep in touch with receptionists, office administrative folks, and those in other departments to stay informed of opportunities they may have and for ways to connect.. Think how can I be of help to them and what can I learn and what can I give to them.

   

• Colleagues in business: In today’s specialized world, many of the contacts you make in your industry will refer business to you because you specialize in an area that is needed. Fine tune your 20-second “infomercial” about your services or products that will “stick” with people long after the conversation has concluded. More on this at the end of this tip section.
• Friends and neighbors: You work hard at building friendships based on mutual trust and respect. As you find out more about your friends’ and neighbors’ work, you’ll want to help them, and over time, they will most likely want to help you if they can. Always put the relationship first when networking with personal connections. Yet, always be aware that opportunities come up in places you may least expect!

Of course, even when you’ve developed advocates and ambassadors, you still need to market yourself directly to prospects and clients. When your advocates open the door for you, you must stay in there and move the project to the next level. The more advocates believe in you, the more convincing they’ll be with new clients. Make a list of your advocates and get a plan together to cultivate these relationships starting today!

Dr. Oz said on the Today Show that one way to live to 100 is to stay social—and he suggests reaching out to one friend daily to say hello. Very much like my Power of 3—I say to reach out to 3 people a day- via phone; email; and handwritten note to stay in touch. So- take either Dr. Oz’s advice or mine—and help your longevity as you also nurture your universal network.