For savvy salespeople, personal prospecting means implementing a personal marketing plan. It’s not cold calling. With that in mind, I wanted to share an idea that really isn’t brand-new but may be something worth thinking about when looking for buyers in today’s ever-toughening economic situation.
With buyers becoming harder and harder to find, the time may be right for you to reach out to organizations you may have previously viewed as possible competitors and try to establish some sort of collaborative relationship.

You’re probably thinking “What in the world is he talking about?”

What I’m saying here is that you may want to sit down and think hard about organizations that are parallel to your industry; organizations that sell products and services that complement (and could sometimes potentially compete against) what it is you sell. Then, reach out to these organizations and create a cross-referral agreement.

A perfect example in our world is something that ties in with one of the business services we sell here at The Brooks Group: personal assessments for hiring.

Many times in the past, when we’ve advised a client that a potential hire was not going to be a fit for their environment, they’ve asked us if we knew of any reputable recruiters. In the past, we had to admit that we really couldn’t recommend a solid placement firm (and we frankly didn’t want to, as many of them offer assessments of their own). However, one of our salespeople recently built a relationship with a proven placement agency and created a solid cross-referral agreement. Now, when asked if we can recommend a recruiter to one of our assessment clients, we say “absolutely!” And on the other side of the coin, we are finding that our recruiter advocate is sending assessment business to us.

In conclusion, if you can think of complementary businesses (or a product or service that you don’t currently offer, but can refer someone to) — reach out to that organization yourself and develop a relationship! In short, competition is good. However, cooperation is great when we’re all working as hard as we can to find qualified buyers!

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