You see an opportunity where you may be able to expand your business. There’a key stakeholder in a company you want to partner with at a conference and you make it a point to say hello. You learn a little about them and find that they’re from Dallas- BIG Cowboys fan.
Fast forward a few days later and you are wondering how best to make your next contact with them to get the ball rolling on this business idea you have. What if you sent them a football signed by Roger Staubach? That’s some way to make an impression, right?
Yes, it certainly is. And when I first started Steiner Sports (and even now to this day), that’s exactly how I’ve gotten ahead in building new relationships to help grow my business.
This didn’t have to have anything to do with memorabilia, by the way. The whole concept centers around sending someone an unsolicited gift and using that as a platform to start a relationship.
I talk about this concept a lot. If you have been reading this blog for a while you have seen it here. You would also have read it in my book, or heard it in one of my speeches. Yet, people always come up to me and say, “Brandon, that’s brilliant! Sending someone something to get a new relationship!”
No. No and no. Let’s not get confused here. Sending a thoughtful gift doesn’t make a relationship…but it does start one.
What does this require? Getting to know someone; finding out something about them; having an understanding of what’s important to them.
Here’a memorable experience I went through with Yankees GM Brian Cashman:
