Recently I was running errands and noticed a sign for a new local restaurant along the way. Always looking for something to ward off the chain food blahs, I stopped on my way home.

It was nice inside, obviously a new family-run place, busy with what looked like a mix of people dropping in like myself and regulars. A very family-like atmosphere.

After my meal I had the opportunity to talk with the owner when she wasn’t overwhelmed with work (It was extremely busy when I first came in). We chatted about how she was redoing the place and building up slowly and I mentioned that I was starting my own small business in web design specializing in small businesses. It flowed from there and I left her with my contact information.

The important points to take from this are:

1. Local: I was a customer first so it wasn’t a cold call. We have to do those too but this way there was an established relationship that made both of us more comfortable.
2. Timing: She approached me when she had time to talk. Earlier she had been juggling a dozen things at once and trying to break in then would have made a bad impression.
3. Backup: I was able to describe in detail, off the cuff a situation where a basic website might get her more business immediately.
4. Relaxed: No pressure sale. It turns out she relies on someone else’s advice on computer and Internet matters so trying hard when she was already stressed (Who isn’t at the end of a work day?) would have just turned her off.
5. Follow-up: The information I gave her was put down somewhere and floated right out of her overcrowded mind. Which is why I have to wait a week and call her back. Remind her of our conversation and ask if she’s thought about whether she wants me to do her website or not. She won’t have thought at all of course, but the phone call will jog her memory gently enough that she’ll get her IT person on it.