How to introduce yourself for business opportunity?

shahan

Hi,

I am trying to establish an outsourced accounting business. I am based in Pakistan and instead of looking for individual customers I am looking to contact already established bookkeeping firms in Australia to outsource their work to me to reduce cost savings without compromising on Quality.

My Idea of reaching out
I have already made a list of leads but I cannot get around how to reach out to them. What I have thought is to shoot an email and followup over phone after two days.

Where do I need help?
Unable to figure out on the content of the email the structure and everything. How to get their attention? Is it at all a good idea to send out cold emails? I know it is always better to reach through a mutual contact but since I don't have any I have no option but to just reach out blatantly through email or call.

I am open to suggestions and if you think there is a flaw in my model feel free to let me know.

Thanks

lysella

My experience is that your time and effort are better spent establishing 2-3 warm contacts through mutual connections and growing that way rather than cold emailing a list. When you say that you have no connections, are you absolutely sure? Are you on LinkedIn? Do you know ANYONE who knows ANYONE in Australia. Ask for an introduction to that person. Talk with that person via Skype. Then ask that person if they know anyone in Australia who needs a bit of accounting help. Set up a call with that person to introduce yourself. Don't do a hard sell, but just tell them who you are and what you can do. Ask if there is a small project you could complete for that person for free to show them the quality of your work. In other words, build social capital/relationships one at a time until you can get a few testimonials from Australian clients.

Charlie P

Email is really a dead avenue. Think about how many emails you open and read that are not from people you know. So, your chances of getting in that route are slim.

Is there a reason that you choose to go after the Australian market? Why not India or somewhere in the middle east? Get a few clients closer to home under your belt and it will go a long ways when speaking to companies farther away.

If you don't mind sharing your pitch email, call script, and rebuttal list, we might be able to help you tighten it up a little to help get those first clients.

davidvalera

Hi all, I am seeing many questions about "how to introduce yourself" in order to drum up business and as a business owner I totally get that.

However I no longer do anything like that given I have dedicated myself to selling 75% of my services to the government. Since doing that, I cut out all of my marketing costs, no longer depend on sales tactics and have really been able to focus my attention on simply choosing the projects I would like to get involved in.

I joined this forum because I have learned through out the years that 80% of small businesses in the US DO NOT do business with the government and frankly thats a shame given how much better it is.

In any case, sorry to sound "pitchy" but happy to share my knowledge in exchange for networking together.

Good luck to all.

arjun123

1. Write a compelling subject line.
2. Tailor your greeting to the industry and situation.
3. Make your first line about them.
4. Explain why you're reaching out.
5. Provide value for them.
6. Include a call-to-action.
7. Say "thanks" and sign off.
8. Follow up with them.