Tips for strong business development conversations

By Krystal Covington, Marketing Consultant

📍 Broad requests for connections never get returned.

I recently spoke with a business development associate for a real estate company who asked for introductions to anyone who hosts or attends events regularly. The ask was so broad I froze and had to be reminded 3 times to help her.

Requests that are extremely broad are difficult to take action on. Being more specific helps people act quickly by giving them a clear picture of who to refer.

The challenge here is that I know hundreds of people who host or attend events, so I can’t determine where to start. A more specific task would be to ask for an event host who does lots of tech events in the city of Denver. That’s much easier for me to pinpoint in my broad connection base.


📍Don’t just ask for customers. Think about the people they  interact with.

If you’re a writer who works with personal injury attorneys you may think about who those attorneys are interacting with regularly. Are they talking to certain medical experts? Do they go to the city and talk with local court liaisons? Are they interacting with financial companies to discuss settlements?

Learn their processes and daily habits and ask for intros to people who are also closely interacting with your target client in a non-competitive way.


📍 Bring value.

What’s valuable and impactful for the people you’re asking to meet? If they’re well connected already or in a busy season they may not be open to a simple chat, even with an intro. It’s important to find a solid entry point that adds value and compensates for the use of their time.
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For example, a writer who wanted to work with me offered to review some content and give bullet points for how he might improve it if offered a job, and a marketing firm once offered up a free in-office training session to get considered for a contract.

Your value offer needs to be in line with the level of financial investment your product requires, so you’ll want to consider higher touch (more personal) opportunities for services and products with a higher monetary value over time.

Join us for our next WOD business development workshop to discuss your strategies and connect with other women in business.