Is there someone who owns a business that provides the same service as yours who you respect a lot? Do you wonder why they decided to start their company? Have you wondered what their focus is? Or why they are so successful?
You have a choice. You can keep wondering or you can ask them if you can meet and get to know one another. Lunch, dinner after work, breakfast, a drink—give them some choices. Keep it short. One hour is fine. Set that expectation.
If they ask why you are inviting them, tell them that you have noticed their business and regard them as a very respected competitor. You feel it could be in both of your best interests to learn more about each other and how your businesses approach delivering a similar service and product to clients. By learning more about one another and the perfect client for each of your businesses, you could begin to make referrals to one another.
Think of professions like attorneys and doctors. They participate in professional associations and interact with those doing the same work as them on a regular basis. Contractors don’t do this with any regularity. That is odd given that those who do the same work as you can give you better insights regarding success than anybody else.
Set aside your fear and take a chance. What might you say when you sit down for the meal?
Sue, nice to finally meet you. I have been following your company for some time. That was an amazing project on Jones Street. How did you pull off getting it done with all the bad weather we had?
A bit of flattery opens the doors.
Paul, glad we are doing this. It’s about time! I’ve been following your company as well. About that project, we focused on getting the waterproofing in place much earlier than we normally would, so that we didn’t have to worry about rain. It took a bit of pressure off the crew.
This is a good tip for your team, too.
Great idea. Thanks for the insight. So, let’s agree that we’ll spend about one hour together. My goal is to get to know you and your company a bit better and for you to get to know some about me and my company so that we can help each other find clients who are the best fit for our respective businesses. How does that sound? And what are your expectations for our lunch together?
Get clear about the point before you get too deep into conversation. Helping each other get more of the business you each want is a non-threatening goal.
Paul, sounds great. Tell me a bit more about your perfect client and why your company is a good fit for those type of people.
And so on. Now you’re opening up to one another. Likely you know a lot of the same contractors in town. You probably work with some of the same trade contractors and vendors. Find the commonalities. At the end, do a wrap-up.
Sue, how do you think it was to meet and talk? Would you like to do this again in the future?
Paul, it was good. We should’ve done this a while ago! Thanks for that tip about your electrician. I’ll reach out to him. Yes, let’s set a date to meet again about two months from now. What works well for you?
Now you have the beginning of a relationship. You feel a bit less like you are on an island, not able to talk to those people who know more about what you do than anyone else. Good for you!