4 Reasons to Connect with Clients and Ideal Prospects … Now!

In mid-January, while doing errands early on a Saturday morning, I listened to a radio interview with a family living in lockdown in Wuhan, China. While they were well organized and optimistic, the strain was clear in their voices. At the time, I was foolish enough to think to myself, “So glad that will never happen to us.”

And here it is, the beginning of May, our eighth week of lockdown. My dreams are an indication that this is taking its toll; recently I had one that included Alberta releasing its research and declaring it was shutting its borders for a century. Sheesh!

My dream reinforced what we all know … we are not out of this yet, and won’t be for quite some time. What I know to be true is … we must continue to connect with our clients and ideal prospects. It is vital to their future – and our own.

Why should you be making connections with both clients and ideal prospects? What value you can offer at this time?

1. We all want the economy to rebound as quickly as possible. Having financial worries on top of our concerns about COVID-19 creates a ridiculously high level of stress that can’t, and shouldn’t, be sustained. Our clients and ideal prospects both recognize and respect the actions we take to “make things happen”. Connecting with compassion and a clear value message is appreciated. (I’ve proven this to myself during the past month, increasing my own revenue by 50% over April 2019.) When approaching prospects, we must be incredibly diligent in our research, limiting our outreach to ideal prospects only.
2. Even though we are surrounded by uncertainty, we want to think and talk about the future. We want to plan as far ahead as possible and we want to be cautiously optimistic about the unknown. Conversations with clients and ideal prospects inspire ideas, spark creative discussion and strengthen the likelihood of working together in the future.
3. We are all remembering, and even cherishing, the individuals, companies and organizations that have approached us in the past two months with personal, generous messages. Our inboxes have filled up with COVID-related updates from cellphone providers, banks and online services. The ones that stood out, the ones that have secured our trust and loyalty, spoke to us on a personal level. And the companies that did not approach us at all? They have risked the loss of our future business.
4. Re-opening, rebuilding, reintegrating is coming our way and it is going to be messy. Employees who have been working from home will need to readjust to office life. And what will happen if schools, daycare and home care are delayed? And how will the two-metre rule be followed at work? Then there are the projects that have been on hold since mid-March. They may demand tremendous focus at the same time that budgets will need to be reworked and new priorities established. If we have already presented our value to our clients and ideal prospects, they will find the time to continue discussions despite the chaos, but if not … chances of reaching them for a detailed conversation in June and July are going to be slim.

Right now, take the time to clearly communicate the value you offer to your clients and ideal prospects. Connect with them – by phone, email, video conference, LinkedIn. Do it this week. Do not delay. A new chaos is coming and being heard will be much more difficult.

Have you been communicating with your clients and ideal prospects during lockdown? What has been the result? Share your experiences in the comment section below.

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