BDU’s CEO Lisa Peskin was honored to facilitate the Alliance of Women Entrepreneurs’ September Founder’s Roundtable. Current and prospective AWE founder members joined Lisa for a discussion on the topic, “How to Get in Front of Prospective Clients / Reaching Top Level People.” Getting in front of decision makers can be a challenge, so there are some key things to remember that will help you do that.

Not in attendance? Here are some key takeaways:

1. Not everything will work for everybody, and not everything works in every situation. What works for one company – or one person – might not work for another. There’s no one magic answer to getting through to a decision-maker. Sometimes you’ll be able to reach someone with just one simple email, while you may only be able to reach another by phone. Try different things and see what works best in each situation.
2. Utilize a multi-pronged approach. Since there’s not one strategy that works for everyone in every situation, sometimes you may need to come at it from more than one angle. Need ideas? Below is a handy visual you can download and use as a guide.

3. Multiple touches are better than one. It’s better to have ten touches to one prospect than one touch to ten different prospects. It’s also better to reach out to ten different prospects ten times each than to 100 different prospects one time each. The takeaway? Don’t just reach out once and be done with it. You may need to try someone multiple times – and in multiple ways – before you’ll get through.
4. Never cold call. Instead, have a reason for getting in touch. You still need to make prospecting calls, but as long as you have a legitimate reason for reaching out you can warm up any cold call.
5. Mention strong benefit statements. Highlight other clients and the ways in which you’ve helped them.
6. Be polite and persistent. Don’t forget that while persistence is key, it’s also important to be considerate and polite.

What do you do when it comes to getting in front of decision makers? Do you have any other strategies you’d add to this list? Let us know!

Not familiar with AWE? Their philosophy is to engage like-minded, like-motivated women founders in forums of their peers where they can exchange experience, advice, and strategy to propel their businesses to the next level. They offer a variety of membership options that reflect where each woman is in her entrepreneurial journey. For more information, please visit PhillyAWE.org.

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