Making The List Recognition lists represent a wealth of opportunity in business, not only as a source of pride for the recipient, but as a benchmarking and prospecting resource for everyone else. By Lindsey Davis, MAS PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION can pay dividends in more ways than one. For the recipient, it’s an acknowledgement of business success, talents and accomplishments. For their peers, it’s an example to learn from. For those of us in business development, it’s a reason to reach out – but only if we do it right. Have you been named to a list? You get these emails saying, “Congratulations on being named (insert accolade here)! I’d like to book a meeting with you to sell you this thing …” Is there anything worse? Let me tell you how to do this better. At the very least, No. 1 should be personalizing the message to include the recipient’s name and something unique to them so it doesn’t feel like spam – as much – and No. 2, explain how your offering can complement their achievement to make it relevant. Do you want to go a step further? There are several things you can do to make recognition programs a better prospecting tool. Leverage the networking opportunity: Be where the winners are. Are they being honored at a ceremony or event? Be there! Use the gathering to network and build relationships. Pro tip: Arm yourself with a great question for the winners to get them talking. Tailor your solutions: Recognition programs typically include quite a bit of data on the recipients and why they earned their honors. Spend time researching the specific challenges that the award-winning companies face. This might be something they all have in common or something unique to each of them. Be prepared to pivot – naturally! – in conversation to demonstrate how your product or service can address these issues and contribute to their ongoing success. 30 • JUNE 2024 • PPAI Voices | Your Business
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzU4OQ==