Open up your email, DMs, or even just be on a website for more than 15 seconds and wait for the pop-up.

People are pitching you.

And you can’t help but feel that you should be pitching people too. Isn’t it a numbers game? If your number is zero, are you missing an opportunity?

Well, these things are really just an attempt to start a conversation.

So let’s look for a better way.

Because it’s fine to send zero cold emails, but zero conversations is a problem.

The 3 types of conversation starter

Straight to the Point

A cold pitch is just an attempt to start a conversation that leads to a sale.

The problem with a cold pitch is it requires perfect timing. Most of the people that you want to start a conversation with, aren’t currently in the market for your services.

They aren’t at the right stage of their buying cycle, so your conversation starter, “do you want to buy something from me?” doesn’t work.

That’s not to say that you should never try this, because if you do the work to identify the people at the right stage of the buying cycle, and you do the work to understand what pain point makes them buy, then you can increase the chances.

When you do that, this can provide a return on investment.

But you have to get good. The people that are good at this are few and far between. The people who aren’t good at it are…*checks inbox…*numerous.

Even though it feels easy, we all know how to write and send an email, results are hard.

This is something for the toolbox.

But for purpose-driven, authentic offers, it’s maybe not the place to start.

Something of Value

Better than a cold pitch is an exchange of value.

You talk to me, I’ll do something for you.

This might be a small upfront service such as an audit, or a piece of consultancy that identifies some problems. Doing this is going to start more conversations and those conversations are going to be better.

But there’s still a drawback.

The conversation it starts is loaded. It has an obvious end point. What’s going to happen after you uncover the problems?

You are going to suggest the work required to fix those problems, and they are going to pay for it.

When you are carrying a very obvious self-interest into a conversation, how open will that conversation be?

Not open enough for our ambitions.

Deep and meaningful

When we think about starting conversations, what we really want is deep and meaningful ones where sales is off the agenda.

We don’t want to talk about tactics of limited value, we want to hear where their business is going and what really keeps them up at night.

That’s the conversation that eventually leads to new introductions and big new relationships. It compounds and open doors.

It leads to a proper pipeline because it wants to be more than just a pipeline.

This takes effort. Your conversation starter here has to be something you’ve invested in. Proper analysis, an event or a community that you give away for free.

Something that shows your ICP that you are curious about the things that they are curious about. That you’re one of them and that by hanging out with you, and building a relationship, their life is going to be better.

What can you invest into and create? The thing that works best will be unique to you.

It’s uniqueness will be part of the reason it works.

How to make the deep and meaningful work

What makes you feel safe enough to open up in a conversation?

Even though this is business, we are asking people to be vulnerable. And people will only be vulnerable if then feel that no-one is going to take advantage.

So this activity can’t be the top of a funnel, or at least it can’t feel like that. Because, let’s address the elephant in the room: thisisthe top of a funnel.

Even if you aren’t hard selling, you are slightly tainted, we all know what you are doing really. You need to counter that and cultivate the required trust.

Give value and don’t ask for anything back. Don’t even ask directly for the conversation. Show what you’ve got (ie promote what you are doing), but wait for them to take a step towards you. Because when they do, it means the trust you a little bit, and we are past the first hurdle.

Involve other people. This works because you are deliberately outnumbering yourself and giving them lots of other people to trust that definitely aren’t trying to sell anything. This is why events and roundtables work well. Any semblance of a sale is diluted.

Keep showing up. One webinar won’t cut it. Trust and interest build over time. Your vehicle for the deep and meaningful needs to be something that repeats. Something that builds it’s own brand and fans. Something your ICP comes to expect and would miss if it stopped.

Build trust. There are some businesses that could start a conversation with you even though they are clearly selling something. They can use the cold email on you because you already trust them. So cultivate an authentic brand and back it up with how you behave.

All very nice but what about the leads?

Throughout all of this you are working to put yourself in the invaluable position of trusted expert.

People will come to you when they need what you do.

People will tell their friends when their friends need you too.

We like when our business grows through referrals. Perhaps you could say this is a systemised way of making that happen.

This approach isn’t easy, but it works.

What your conversation starter might look like

What fits the bill for you?

It needs to be something that energises you and you have time for. If you don’t like big rooms and stages then don’t shoot for a mega conference. If you don’t like writing then don’t do a newsletter.

A couple of classics

The Breakfast Brainstorm

(Also available in lunch and dinner varieties)

Get two of your clients that most closely fit your ICP and then see how many similar people you can get into the same space. Real life is best, but this can work virtually.

Ask everyone to bring their biggest problems about a subject broader than, but adjacent to and including, your services. For example, if you’re a marketing agency, the subject can be growth. You want a subject where your services are one of a multitude of solutions.

At the beginning, put all the biggest challenges onto a board and get people to vote on which one they want to discuss. Try and fit two in. Facilitate the discussion. Don’t be the first to answer; let them connect. Position yourself as the expert, you’ll get asked your opinion.

Ask people to come again next time because you’re going to do the subjects that you didn’t get to, and also ask them if there’s anyone else they could bring. Host and pay for the breakfast. Do this once a quarter.

The Extremely Valuable Content

Find out the thing that keeps your ICP up all night. What don’t they know? Is it where the industry is heading? What are their competitors doing? Which path should they choose?

Invest in creating some content that gives deep insight into this area. Market this content using whatever tactics work. Variations might include a big annual state of the nation style report on your ICPs industry. An email newsletter (but please, not about your agency’s achievements), a podcast, or social feed could also work

This is how it’s done

It’s tempting to think this isn’t for you. It’s a lot of effort, do you really have time? What if it’s rubbish and no one cares.

Well, you need to do lead generation. Unlike a cold email that doesn’t get opened, or audit results that get ghosted, this effort builds value.

And if it’s rubbish you tweak it, you try something else.

I am talking to someone who got a business off the ground, right?

What could you have built in a year that’s delivering 50% of your leads?

Probably more than you think.

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