02 Dec How to Reach Prospective Clients
In our webinar series “Industry Veterans and Experts” we were joined by Glen Cooper, Founder and Managing Partner of Colorado Business Brokers. He shared his decades of wisdom with those new to the brokerage industry as well as established professionals. Cooper’s goal, in part, was to outline some key thoughts on what business brokers need to do to reach their potential clients.
Cooper is quick to emphasize that business brokers and M&A advisors should realize that reaching new clients is about having the right strategy, the right approach and being willing to put in the effort to cultivate results. In short, results don’t simply appear. Instead, they are the result of logging the hours and building a strong foundation for moving forward.
Cultivating Referrals
To this point, Cooper notes that a large percentage of the clients he has had over the years were the result of referrals. He explains that that laying the foundation with a client may pay dividends months or even many years in the future. This factor underscores the extreme importance of implementing a consistent strategy and maintaining professionalism.
Always Know Your Market
In his webinar, one of Cooper’s points of emphasis was on that of correctly selecting one’s market. It is vital to know your market. That means that it’s essential to understand who the competitors are in that market and what they are doing. Also, you should make it a point to understand what gaps may exist in the markets. Cooper points out that those who are new to the area in which they are operating must be willing to dive in and do what it takes to understand their market.
Correctly Analyzing Your Region
A key aspect of selecting a market is considering its size. Or as Cooper states, “You need at least a thousand viable small businesses that you can put on your prospect list for every business broker in the territory.” He also noted that the market will tell you if it is, in fact, large enough. In time, brokers will discover whether or not an area has enough viable businesses for them to operate in effectively. He notes, “If you’re in a city with a quarter million people or less, you might not be in a big enough market depending on how many business brokers there are.” Again, his key point is that a thousand viable businesses should be on the prospect list for every single broker in a given territory.
In the first part of his webinar, Cooper masterfully laid out that strategy is multi-faceted. The process of determining whether or not a market is viable for you isn’t as simple as just looking at the number of prospective clients located in that region. Other variables, such as the number of business brokers, will also play a key role.
