• Pro: You can target market by joining the right groups.
• Con: There’s a long timeframe. You can’t be pushy.

Asking for Introductions — Social connections often transition into business relationships. Identifying interests in common establishes the rationale for getting together.

• Pro: It’s target marketing.
• Con: Another long timeframe. Forcing a transition from friend to client rarely works.

Social media — Platforms like LinkedIn enable you to build a network and broadcast.

• Pro: You can position yourself as a subject matter expert. It’s low cost.
• Con: Everyone is on it. LinkedIn has approximately 467 million members. Do a search on your profession to learn how many competitors had the same idea.

Cold calling — It’s annoying, but it works. Even with “do not call” legislation in place you still get calls at dinnertime. Business-to-business selling theoretically fits outside the ban.

• Pro: You can buy scrubbed lists. It’s a numbers game you drive by the time and effort you devote to the task.
• Con: Back in 2010, the DNC list topped 200 million! There are about 324 million people in the United States.

Client/prospect dinners — It’s halfway between a referral and a seminar. You ask a client or two out to dinner. You request they bring a neighbor or co-worker. Everyone has a good time. People generally do business with people they like.

• Pro: Your client does the work.
• Con: You pick-up the check, which can be expensive. Sometimes the guests don’t show.

Prospect business owners — Even if your product is sold to individuals, they are people too. They are used to making quick decisions.

• Pro: You can make calls in the daytime. They usually aren’t covered by DNC rules.
• Con: They have screeners to keep you away. Calls go to voicemail.

Speaking engagements – Assuming a person collecting Social Security is considered a retiree, there are 45,401,000 of them. They have time on their hands. Over 55 developments, alumni groups and community organizations often have programs featuring guest speakers.

• Pro: Someone else does all the work assembling the group. You show up and speak.
• Con: They don’t want to be sold. Educational content showcases your expertise.

Mailings — You still get surface mail delivered daily. Often it’s bills and advertisements.

• Pro: The channel still works with high volume.
• Con: The high volume requirement makes this extremely expensive.

Cold walking — Your area has plenty of industrial parks and office developments. If you can meet a business owner face-to-face, it’s time well spent.

• Pro: There’s very little cost.
• Con: The concept of “door to door sales” puts people off. You learn what the “No Solicitors” sign means.

Talking to friends — Your friends have little or no idea what you actually do for a living. This works both ways.

• Pro: Raise your visibility. People do business with people they like.
• Con: There’s a long timeframe. You need a large universe.

Advertising — Years ago it was billboards, newspaper and magazine ads. Today it includes positioning on Google searches, banner ads and ads on cable TV.

• Pro: You reach a large audience. You build name recognition.
• Con: It’s expensive. You need to keep doing it for a long time.

These are all strategies a person involved in sales can initiate by themselves. Some cost more than others. They take time to start generating results, so perseverance is important. It’s rare that business comes to you. You must find it.