You know what you’re looking for,
it’s that big ole’ buck. You know, the one that keeps evading you season after
season. You have got your weapon of
choice, your ammunition prepped, you are dressed appropriately and ready to go. You have
set the feed out, but no matter how
hard you look he just doesn’t show. Then one day you’re out on the trail, when you
see two hunters, one already with his trophy. You watch them carefully. They
seem to be doing everything you’re doing, except this guy sets out kernel corn,
not the popcorn that you’ve been using to lure your target. You watch while a buck
wanders over to check it out and wham the trophy is his. Ever feel like that in your business?
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| Dreamstime.com 1 |
You think you’ve done everything
correctly to market your process service business. You have placed all your ads, handed
out business cards to every attorney you know, your social media sites have been populated with written or shared informational
and/or fun posts with all the latest, greatest
news you think attorneys would want to hear. But your phone is not ringing quite as
often as you’d like. Maybe you need to rethink your target market.
Yes, attorneys are your end users,
the ones who foot the bill, who keep process servers employed. Your target
market, however, are the ones who hire you to serve process. These people are your true clients. And if you want to have a
successful business you should know all you can about your clients. Learn how
to maximize this knowledge. Understand the needs of your client; sharpen your
mind to appreciate these people, individually an d as a group, and the value they bring to your business.
As a process service business, you
are most likely going to be dealing with legal assistants; secretaries,
paralegals and legal assistants. So what do you really know about this group of
individuals? I mean besides the fact that they work for attorneys. What is
their age, are they mostly female or are there any males in this group? My experience
has taught me that for the most part a legal assistant is female, mid 30s with
a paralegal background.
Okay, so what can I do with this
knowledge?
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| Dreamstime.com 2 |
First, make it a point to get to know
the person. Don’t think of them only in terms of what they can bring to your
business. Think of them as a person who works as hard as you do and who, like
you, wants to be appreciated for their efforts. Then appreciate them. Drop them
a card (not an email) telling them to have a nice day, nothing more, nothing less.
Occasionally, think about including a $5.00 coffee house gift card. Pay them a
friendly visit. I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d drop by and say
hello. Be careful not to get too friendly or become stalker-like. Be
professional, be genuinely nice. Occasionally, bring them some donuts,
chocolates or something similar.
What will this accomplish you ask.
The answer is a business relationship.
When you do business with someone it
is usually because you, or someone who has referred you, have a relationship
with someone in that business. So your
first steps to a solid connection with your target market are:
1.
Know who your target market is and understand as much
about them as you can.
2.
Build a relationship with the members of your target
market.
Next, how to network with your target
market.
Thanks for reading. I always appreciate any and all comments.
Looking for
more? Check out my two books; The
Business End of Process Service, Running a Process Service Company from the
Ground Up or CounterSpy, The
Industrial Counter-Surveillance Manual, both available on Amazon.com
