Book Yourself Solid Illustrated: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even if You Hate Marketing and Selling

4.12 THE DIRECT OUTREACH STRATEGY

You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take.

—Wayne Gretzky

As a business owner, you'll need to proactively reach out to potential clients, marketing partners, and other decision makers to create business opportunities.

In fact, the most important direct outreach you do will be to network, cross-promote, and build referral relationships with other service professionals and associations.

You will find yourself using the Book Yourself Solid Direct Outreach Strategy time and time again when you want to reach out to:

• An ideal client or a referral partner within your target market
• The decision maker at an organization or association to cross-promote, secure speaking engagements, submit articles for publication, and more
• The press
• And a myriad of other business development opportunities

Spam Is the Noise That Interrupts Their Quiet

As you know, spam is not the Book Yourself Solid way. It never has been and never will be. Before the advent of the Internet, direct outreach was a very common marketing strategy. I suppose it's no less common today, but unfortunately, it is often perceived as spam. You must be very careful and discerning with respect to how you contact others.

Spam has typically been considered unsolicited mail or e-mail, sent, without permission, to mailing lists or news groups. However, I think the way people now see spam has grown ...