So you have to make that first visit; deliver that all important pitch or submit a proposal for a piece of work. We’ve all been there and we all know how important it is to have some rapport with the people on the other side.
But what if you haven’t had chance to build any?
Supposing you don’t really know the people you’re dealing with?
Well this real easy cheat can help you connect with people you don’t even know.
What to look for
Simple. Most companies have some phrases or statements that their marketing team have decided supports their brand and helps to reinforce their message. We call this “hot text”.
Marketers like to use “hot text” in their literature and on-line and the good news is it’s relatively easy to spot. All you need to do is trawl through their website and if they’ve used it you’ll see it straight away.
Even if they’re not that obvious if the odd phrase resonates with you it probably resonated with them when they wrote it, so this will do.
What to do with “hot text” when you’ve found it
Even simpler. You include this rapport building “hot text” in a subtle way into your proposal/presentation/pitch and watch for a reaction.
Even if you don’t get one you’re likely to hit home.
Warning: don’t overdo this by repeating it too often. The idea is to communicate that a) you’ve read their stuff and b) it resonated with you. That’s enough.
Example
These are two extracts from the website of Crimson Ltd. one of my companies.
Example “hot text”
As you can see the designers have used the same text in two different places. In fact it actually appears several times throughout the site as do the words “full range of IT support, consultancy and search and selection services”.
So if I wanted to create some rapport I might include the following text in a written proposal: –
“as a fast-moving technology and recruitment company I expect you need to react quickly to opportunities that present themselves to you. For this reason I believe a Revenue Factory would be your best option and here’s why…”
Or if I was presenting and wanted to be a bit more subtle I might change both phrases slightly: –
“You have a range of services from IT support through to search and selection so you’re going to need a very flexible solution. Added to that, of course, as a fast-moving company you’ll need to react quickly to opportunities that come your way. I believe that the solution I’m about to present ticks both of these boxes and provides some additional benefits as well”
My reflections
If you just spend even a few minutes on most websites you’ll notice the owners “hot text” which you can then use to help you build rapport.
Personally I like to alter the text slightly rather than quote verbatim but I have no proof that this is any better or worse. Why not give it a go and see what you think.
