Rules for searching corporate clients
Working with corporate clients requires careful preparation and a thoughtful approach. The first meeting should be in person. Calling with a commercial proposal is very unlikely to lead you to an appointment with the company's decision maker.
How and with whom to meet in a company you don’t know? Attend open events where you can make acquaintances. These can be business meetings, seminars, presentations, conferences, etc. The atmosphere at these events implies free communication. You don’t have to be formally introduced to each other. You can start a casual conversation during a coffee break. As a rule, all participants have badges with their names and company names. Even if the employee you meet is not a decision maker, he or she will tell you who to contact or will help you with this.
The next step is to self employed database outline all the people whose opinions affect important issues. You can ask the contact person you will be communicating with directly: "What is the decision-making mechanism in your company?" or "Who is responsible for resolving this issue?" Another option is to get information from a manager of another company who has been working with this corporate client for a long time. Naturally, a competitor will not help you. To avoid a conflict of interest, choose a company from a completely different field. For example, they deliver lunches to the office, and you offer maintenance of copying and printing equipment.
Once you have identified all the decision makers and decision makers, find out what the pain point is and what problem you can help solve by offering a product or service.
There is nothing wrong with resolving such issues outside of working hours, continuing to communicate with a representative of a corporate client in an informal setting. It is important to understand that this does not cancel out the activity of forming a value attitude towards your product and a professional approach to negotiations.
Rules for searching corporate clients
No matter how you prepare the ground, it may happen that the first meeting does not go well and further communication is cut off. First, find out: is it a matter of personal dislike for a specific manager or a negative attitude towards your entire company. Perhaps this is the machinations of competitors. There may be many reasons. A way out of the situation: appoint another manager. If it is a matter of dislike for the image of your organization, you can try the following:
If you work in a group of companies, introduce yourself as a manager of another of your companies;
attract a partner company to establish a relationship with the decision maker;
take a break in the hope that the client will change the right contact person.
It may happen that you will be the one who has to make amends for the impression spoiled by the previous manager. The best thing to do is to directly apologize for your colleague and ask for a chance to improve the situation.