How to build revenue-driving relationships with your target market through podcasting
If you want to drive more revenue in your business, you need more conversations with your ideal customers and strategic partners.
But the question is, how do you get these high-quality conversations?
The answer… podcasting.
Why podcasts are great for building relationships
Podcast interviews are a high-converting way for you to reach out to your target prospects & strategic partners to build relationships. Now let’s dive a bit deeper into how this plays out.
For a moment, imagine that you are sitting down with your morning coffee… after enjoying that first delicious sip, you open up your computer to check your email.
In your inbox, you receive an email from someone pitching you on a product or service for your company. You find yourself frustrated as you deleted 5 of these emails just yesterday from your inbox… without even reading it, you hit delete.
This is a situation you have no doubt encountered as all of us are hit with countless cold email and Linkedin pitches everyday.
It’s a noisy world online, and it’s becoming harder than ever to stand out.
Now… let’s continue that morning routine. As you sip your coffee while working through your daily email, you see a subject line that catches your attention.
Subject: Can I interview you?
Your reaction is quite different. Immediately you find yourself wondering
“Who is this wanting to interview me? “
“I wonder what it’s for.”
“This could be a good PR opportunity.”
“I’ve been hearing that appearing on podcasts is a great growth channel.”
Instead of just deleting the email, you open it up to read more.
Inside you find a message that hits the following points.
A podcast that is in your specific niche is interested in interviewing and featuring you.
Other successful individuals in your industry have already appeared on the show.
Your episode will be shared with thousands within your industry.
You will receive a copy of the episode along with social graphics & videos that you can use to promote your interview out on social media.
The individual interviewing you is a thought leader in your industry.
Everything in this email is all about you.
The podcast will feature you.
You will be exposed to a new audience.
You will receive free content to put out on social media.
You will have your episode published alongside other credible leaders in your industry.
This email isn’t a sales pitch, but instead a genuine and thoughtful request to feature you.
As a result, you hit reply and say “I’m interested, let’s schedule a time.”
Podcasting positions you as an authority
With a cold sales pitch, you are viewed as an interruption… as another email in their inbox that they have to delete.
With podcast outreach, you are viewed as providing value. You are interviewing and featuring the guest. You are providing them with a valuable opportunity.
As a result, your target prospect views you differently.
With a podcast, you are viewed as a thought leader and an authority in the industry. You are viewed as someone with a platform who could be a potential partner.
When you reach out with a podcast, you are immediately perceived as an industry authority.
How podcast interviews turn into business relationships
“But how do these interviews actually turn into business deals? I don’t want to bait and switch people, so how do you actually have these generate revenue?”
One of the other fears that people have around using podcasting for business development is that the interviews aren’t technically sales conversations.
Since you are framing this as an interview, you can’t just show up and pitch someone on your service… that would not go over well.
Instead, you want to have some casual conversation with your guest before and after the actual interview.
Typically you will schedule a 60 minute interview slot with a guest. Your interview will actually last for 25-35 minutes. This will leave you with 10-20 minutes of time to have a conversation with the guest before or after the recording.
This is a great time to build rapport, ask questions, and build a relationship with the guest.
Often, these casual conversations naturally turn into business opportunities. Someone may say “So what is it you guys do?” and give you a chance to provide a pitch.
Other times, the guest may have checked out your website online and may show interest in your services.
But even if a sales conversation doesn’t naturally happen, there are some ways you can encourage this.
One great way to casually evolve these interviews into a sales conversation is to say something along the lines of.
“Based on what I heard in your interview, there may be some ways we can help you out. Would you be open if I shared some ideas with you?”
Another great way to do this is to ask the question “What does success look like for you in the next 12-24 months?” When someone lays this out, you can then make a light ask or offer of “Well if {{our offer}} ever fits into that roadmap, we would be happy to chat. You seem like someone great to work with.”
The key is to not make it a hard pitch, but instead lead the prospect to asking more about your company.
You don’t want to make it a hard sales pitch… but you also can’t be too timid to put yourself out there.
Podcasts can replace trade show networking
At the end of the day, the big message we hammer home at Content Allies is this…
Podcasts = Networking
With trade shows and live events no longer being as strong of an option for networking, podcasts become a great replacement.
We would even argue that they are a better replacement because you can be extremely targeted in having conversations with the exact people you want to speak to. With a trade show, you randomly meet whoever you happen to meet.
With podcasting, you build a list of potential guests and then reach out to them asking them to be on your podcast. It’s the ultimate form of networking.
Ready to get started with your podcast?
Podcasting may sound like a lot of work, but it’s not if you work with a company like Content Allies. You show up and have engaging conversations with your ideal prospects & strategic partners. We handle everything else. Contact us today to discuss if podcasting could be a fit for you.