PRSA-LA’s Independent Practitioners Alliance (IPA) recent webinar addressed a key component to maintaining and growing a successful business – building your business pipeline.
PR and communication industry veterans Jonathan Fitzgarrald, managing partner of Equinox Strategy Partners, Claudia Santa Cruz, president of Santa Cruz Communications Inc. & PRSA-LA board member, and Larry Kohn, president of Kohn Communications shared insights on how to build meaningful connections that can translate into new business leads, the art of the follow-up and how to balance new business with current client work. Their key takeaways included:
- Networking with the right people who could be potential clients or resources takes years. Continue to build a reputation for yourself. One touch point won’t get you a new client, but repeated exposure seen as a trusted advisor will.
- Find a niche. Entrepreneurs must determine what they can offer that other businesses can’t.
- Effective follow-up is essential, consider creating your own system for managing contacts, or using a Client Relationship Management (CRM) system. There is value in “warm connections,” and make sure you are adding value to each connection.
- Always be building your business pipeline with a focus on meaningful connections that have the potential to translate to new business.
Stay tuned for details on our PRSA-LA IPA Summer networking event coming soon!
