We all know it’s easier to sell to someone who knows and trusts us. In fact, it’s essential. We can either try to create that sense of connection and trust during the sales process or it can already exist long before the sales dance begins. I have seen many agencies build their entire biz dev strategy around the latter — creating opportunities for getting to know and collaborate with prospects and then initiating the sales conversation once that collaboration has build the foundation of the relationship.
One of the methods for creating this pre-sales bond is by inviting your prospects to co-create content with you. Whether it is being a guest on your podcast, featuring them in an article you are writing, interviewing them for a book or some other way of putting the spotlight on them — it works. Forbes asked me to write about some best practices when it comes to collaborative content and I’m hoping you find it useful if you are thinking about deploying this strategy.
By the way — this is also a brilliant strategy to help clients adopt as well. Practice on yourself, demonstrate how it works, and then create a program for them using the same methodology. It’s a very sustainable way to generate fees for the agency and new relationships/sales for your client!
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