It’s Time to Pollinate Your Pipeline to Get Business Blooming

Spring is in full bloom, thanks to the pollination by bees, butterflies, and birds. It’s a reminder that as solos we need to be in pollination mode all year long. Listen to today’s episode for tips and inspiration to grow your business development.

 

Transcript

Michelle Kane (00:02):

Thank you for joining us for this episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves like me, Michelle Kane, with VoiceMatters and my ever-steady co-host Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro. Hi, Karen. How are you today?

Karen Swim, APR (00:17):

Hey, Michelle. I'm, I'm doing a lot better than you. I know that you are an allergy sufferer and spring comes with the reality of allergy season. So,

Michelle Kane (00:28):

Exactly. It's been a, an agonizingly beautiful season here in southeastern Pennsylvania. So that actually informed our topic today.

Karen Swim, APR (00:39):

It did.

Michelle Kane (00:40):

We're going to talk about how to pollinate your leads. Let's use pollen. Well, we know pollen does good, even though it does get all up in our sinus cavity. So apologies for how I sound today. I sounded worse three days ago, so there's that. But yeah, we're just going to keep it a little light today and just kind of give you, give you a pep talk of how to keep that business pipeline fluid, which we all need to do, no matter how things are out there.

Karen Swim, APR (01:06):

And, and also it's a spring thing. It, it actually was a topic that was kind of rolling around in my head. ‘Cause I get to talk to so many small business people and so many solo PR pros and I have noticed this trend. And so as always, we want to help you to have the business that you want. And again, you know, I, I always preface that because I, when I first started my business, there were a lot of people out there that were, you know posting pictures on Twitter. We didn't have , I'm embarrassed to say this, but we didn't have Instagram yet, let alone TikTok . And yes, I'm that old, but people would post up pictures of like, these fancy cars and mansions and it just didn't speak to me. Yeah. And it, it was their measure of success.

(02:00):

And that's fine if that's your measure of success, but it wasn't for me. I wanted something different. I was looking, I was going into business for myself for completely different reasons. And so I always like to preface that because whatever your why is, and, and however big or small you want your business to be for everybody, there's a way to do that and, and have a healthy business. And that's kind of what we're aiming for, for people not to struggle. This year we've seen a lot of economic tumult. We've seen a lot of companies doing layoffs. There's a lot of fear, uncertainty and doubt. The famous fud, and I'm , I'm watching a lot of our small business and solo PRs fall into discouragement. Right. And so we want to talk about, and, and the reason pollinate is such a, a good theme is because here's what some people do, and people that are in traditional jobs do this too.

(03:03):

You, you're, you're working, working, working, head down, and then you lose an account. Or if you're in traditional employment, you lose a job, then all of a sudden you're on LinkedIn like a crazy person, you know, running after job leads or you're running after leads for your business. Pollinating is something that happens before the blooms come; pollinating is critical. And so we want to talk about the things that you really should be doing before the season starts where you will need the business. And so this is why we always talk about business development being an ongoing activity.

Michelle Kane (03:40):

Right. Right. And I think a key way to do that, and I challenge myself to do this as much as anyone else, you know, speaking of LinkedIn, pop in every day, you know, offer, offer just a little nugget of advice. You know, seek to be a helper because then when people are looking for help, they're going to think of you. And if you want to expand that into some content marketing for your business, by all means, please do.

Karen Swim, APR (04:07):

Yeah. You know, there are these habit builders out there. There's yeah. Dig. There's, there's a lot of habit builders. Build a habit of being the face of your business every day. I, I mean, I find that, you know, these consistent habits really do pay off. So for me, I will tell you and, and lean into what you're good at. So for me, I am a relationship person. I genuinely love people. I mean, I genuinely do, even though I'm kind of an introverted extrovert, I care about people and I build these really long-term relationships. And so my superpower is maintaining connections. So I am always, you know, talking to the people that I've worked with. Even when clients go away, I keep in touch. We, you know, we set up like check-ins, like quarterly, monthly, sometimes a little less frequently, but I'm always checking in and not for business, just for relationship building. I stay connected through social media, you know, I'll call somebody or text somebody. I will, you know, I just maintain friendships and I maintain contact with all of my former clients. And so that just continues to pay off. For example, this year I have already gotten three leads from a C E O that I used to work with.

Michelle Kane (05:37):

I love that. I love that.

Karen Swim, APR (05:39):

This is not the first that he's ever referred business to us.

Michelle Kane (05:42):

Right

Karen Swim, APR (05:43):

And it's because I maintain those relationships. Yeah. And here's the funny thing about that former client, I've also gotten leads from three other members of his executive team or his former executive team, and the company was purchased by somebody else. But we've maintained those relationships, we've maintained contact, and so they continue to refer business my way. So don't underestimate the power of adding relationship building into your routine activities, if that's your, if that's your superpower too

Michelle Kane (06:15):

Now. And honestly, that, that is my main why, you know, business is relationship. Yeah. I, it's, it's on my, my website. It's, it's how I present. And it's so true. I mean, I love connecting people that can help each other even if I'm not involved. And I love that you schedule these touch base moments because I also kind of stink at that. Yeah. But I, I too, I love to stay in touch and not, not just because, you know, and it's, it's certainly not for a a, you know, a, ooh, I might get something out of this, but it's just because, hey, you know, we, we did, we went through something together. We built something together that was great. You know, why wouldn't you stay in touch? Because if,y ou're in business, especially in this business, I think it, it is in our ethos to be helpful. And, you know, I think that it's just a natural occurrence that you would want to remain in close contact with these people. And it makes such perfect sense. I love that. I'm gonna take that up. Scheduling things.

Karen Swim, APR (07:15):

Yeah. I mean, and you know, so I, I will open up my playbook and tell you some of the things that I do because it's natural to me. During the course of business, I always tell clients that we know that business comes and goes, but relationships are forever. So from

Michelle Kane (07:32):

Exactly

Karen Swim, APR (07:33):

Day one I'm always doing business, but also caring for the human beings. And so I am asking questions, I'm listening, I am responding to things. I'm supporting them in their career goals. I'm supporting them when personal things come up. If somebody is going through a challenge at work, like they're going through this challenging time, I might send flowers or I may send a card just to say, Hey, you okay? I do, you know, mental health check-ins, you know, that are outside of work. So I might text their cell and go, just check in on you today. I know that things are a little rough right now, and it's just about being a human being. And I know that some of us have come up in the era where business is like super professional and it's not very human, but I know that that's not our solos. I know that all of us get pretty close to our clients. So I'm saying, you know, lean into that and, and maybe you're not, you know, going on vacations with them or having dinner with them, but always tend to the humanity of your clients because that is definitely a way to pollinate future business. But even more importantly than that, it makes your work more satisfying when you are genuinely bringing your whole human self to the business.

Michelle Kane (08:51):

I agree. I agree. Because, you know, we are, we are our client's trusted resources. And, and it is a two-way street. I mean, I love, every year I try to send a little something to my financial client because it's tax season, and I know they never leave their, their desks. I feel so bad, especially since their new location is far removed from their beloved convenience store where they used to coffee up all the time. But it's just, you know, little touch doesn't have to be anything grand. You know, it could just be a little note, you know, if, if one of their family members has accomplished something. It's, it really humanizes the relationship, which I think is key. And you know what, that goes also for pollinating leads. If you see a prospect out there that's achieved something, whether personal or a professional, send a note. I mean, there used to be a chiropractor in my area that used to send me notes as a student, and it was just sunshine notes. And you know, as a kid you think, oh, isn't this neat, this person who is called doctor is thinking of me? And then of course it is, as an adult, you realize what they were really up to. They were trying to generate leads, but it's okay.

Karen Swim, APR (10:03):

And I mean, another way to pollinate is to spread your marketing seats. Yeah. I find that we solos are terrible at marketing our businesses. I want to believe that this younger generation is not following the poor example set in the past. Because you are not being selfish. You are not being it's not obnoxious to talk about what you do. Why wouldn't you? And, but here's the thing, and I I just want to remind you, you must stay top of mind with everyone. You have to, because life is busy. People are bombarded with information, and you think that people know what you do, and they will forget that you do it if you're not constantly reminding them. So there's so many ways to do this in ways that might feel comfortable to you. But I don't hate the sales process. I don't hate selling because selling is simply uncovering needs and offering solutions to people who are looking for it.

(11:09):

It's not a dirty thing. So talk about what you do. And you could do that, you know, as simple as, you know, commenting on something that's happening in your target audience's industry, posting on LinkedIn and sharing tips out there. You know, you see people sharing tips about, you know, here's how you do this. Now, I will say that I find it more valuable to speak to business and my client's industries than to speak to PR people. Not that I don't love PR people. We do that here on this podcast. So we have a place for that and we have a blog. But when it comes to marketing my business, I'm not really marketing to other PR people. I'm marketing to the clients that will hire me. If your target audience is PR professionals, and obviously, yes, you should absolutely serve content that's going to attract that audience, but just, you know, think about that because sometimes I see PR people sharing things, you know, on press releases and how to do this and how to do that, which is great. But if those aren't the people that are hiring you, you're really not speaking to your audience and their business challenges.

Michelle Kane (12:27):

Right. That's very true. Yeah. I mean, if, if, if your business model is that you are trying to work with fellow PR people as a coach or something, that's Yeah, that's fine. But yeah, you definitely want to be demonstrating your talents, you know, within the pool of, of those you want to do business with. I think that's absolutely true. I mean, there's definitely room for tool sharpening moments amongst ourselves, but you really want to be active in the circles, you know, where hopefully one day you can generate some business from people.

Karen Swim, APR (12:59):

And I mean, don't be afraid to ask that is so many times you leave stuff on the table because you don't ask for the business, ask if you know somebody, Hey, are you working with anybody at Love to Chat? Yeah. And if we are, of course we, we don't do that in pr. We are respectful if there's an agency in place, whether we know them or not. So we don't want to steal business, but there's a lot of people out there that could use PR support and they don't have somebody. Speaking of PR people too, even if there's an internal PR person, get to know those internal people because I just, there's a statistic that I will look up for you all, but I just went to an event where they were sharing that the companies that are able to 20 times their revenue, when they looked at the characteristics that are common across these companies, one of the things is that they use independent contractors.

(14:00):

We know that we are a superpower for companies. And so even if a company has an internal team, especially these days, those teams need to be laser focused on very specific types of initiatives. And so having an outside agency brings in a more global perspective. Because if you're inside of an agency, you're focused on the company's messaging, you're, you're, your perspective is a little bit different. You're not working with, you know, 10 other companies. You haven't seeing the inside of other businesses, you've only seen your company and you're focused on that, and you see it from that lens that an outside agency can focus on a different set of outlets. We deal with a wider set of reporters, and so you can even carve out responsibilities. Like I've had engagements where the internal team handle tier one and we handle trades or the internal team handled you know, one facet of media relations. And we did thought leadership for the executive. So you can, you know, slice and dice it, but don't be afraid that Oh, they have an internal team that they won't need outside support.

Michelle Kane (15:13):

No, that's totally true. I mean, I, I've had situations where, you know, the internal team handles strategy and I'm, I'm on the team as a copywriter, happy to be there. It's, it's nice not to have to lead. Sometimes ,

Karen Swim, APR (15:28):

It is nice not to have to lead. And sometimes it's nice, like in the times where we've done trades and the internal team has handled tier one, I've been more than happy because it's, I mean, media relations is work, period, but it's like, yeah, good luck with that Wall Street Journal. ,

Michelle Kane (15:50):

You take that.

Karen Swim, APR (15:51):

Yes, that's

Michelle Kane (15:51):

Fine.

Karen Swim, APR (15:52):

Happy to let you have that. You go for it. And our team has killed it. And I mean, and not to say that we haven't supported them on some of the tier one stuff too, but again, you can stay in your lane and you can add value just because of your perspective and then what you bring to the table of having this expertise across often more than one industry, and definitely across companies. So you have, you have different ideas and a a different perspective to bring to the table.

Michelle Kane (16:20):

Yeah. And, you know, building new relationships along the way.

Karen Swim, APR (16:25):

Yeah. And I, you know, here's another way that you can pollinate, you can run webinars And market it to prospects. They're, you know, companies are always going to be grateful to learn something that's going to move their business forward. So take a step back and think about what problems are happening in the industries that I serve, and how can my expertise help these companies? And so with that knowledge, you can sit, sit down and craft things. Now, if you're not like the webinar type of person, that's okay. Maybe you want to do, maybe you want to do in-person workshops. I've known people that have been really successful at that target companies and offer an in-person workshop. I just had a client yesterday have a need for wanting to train on empathetic communications. So, you know, ask and see what the needs are in the communities that you serve, and put something together. You can also do an email course. If you are somebody that rocks your email newsletter, use it to actually serve up content and invite people to subscribe for practical and actionable tips and insights. People will do that. I mean, I know that sometimes we have subscription fatigue, but people still read, they still learn from reading. They still appreciate that. So if that's what you do, use it.

Michelle Kane (17:49):

Yeah, that's true. That's true. And even if you also repurpose some of this content into blog posts and content for your website, Google loves that. And then you have the advantage of the serendipity of the Google search results.

Karen Swim, APR (18:03):

And I mean, if you're a video person, rock a video rock a reel rock, rock a short, I mean, yeah. There are just so many ways to do it. I, I think the key is though, making sure that you are not down so far on accounts that you're in panic mode. Right. Because that's just a terrible place to sell from. And I say that from years of experience of actually being in a sales function. I managed sales teams, and I would tell my team members this because it never, ever, ever, ever failed to be the truth. When they were down, they were not effective. Right. Because your mind is not in a calm place where you are really looking and you're being strategic and you're being creative. You're panicked, you're freaking out about your income.

Michelle Kane (18:54):

Right.

Karen Swim, APR (18:55):

And if you know, even if that's you today, I would say do what you have to do to bring in enough income to get you, you know, solid again, where you can start to be more proactive. And so there is no shame in offering services on Upwork if that's what you gotta do. There is no shame in taking a slice of your business. You know, if you are a copywriter, go hire yourself out as a copywriter just to get your income levels back up. And you know, don't forget to tap into your current clients for referrals or more work, because Right. Sometimes clients forget the breadth of services that you offer.

Michelle Kane (19:41):

Yeah, it's true. It's true. So even though it is, it is difficult to calm your mind and the fear in those moments. Yeah. Even if you just do it for an hour, try it and, and, and do it chunk by chunk. And we know that you are talented and we know that you will get there. Well, we thank you for joining us for this little pollination moment. And we do value your time. We value, if you find this meaningful to you, please share it around. We want to get the word out to as many people as possible so everyone can grow the business that they love in a way that they want to work. So thanks again for joining us for That Solo Life.