GUEST BLOGGER: Jonathan R. Fitzgarrald, Director of Marketing - Greenberg Glusker

Five tips for turning introductions into opportunities

It is 7:45 a.m. Cup of coffee in hand, you find a seat and wait for the networking meeting to begin—you are visiting for the first time. The group leader welcomes everyone and says, “With so many new faces today, I thought it would be a good idea to go around the table and have everyone take a few moments to introduce themselves and what they do.”

In doing research on a couple of presentations for LMA and AAM, I had the opportunity to speak to a number of in-house marketing professionals at law and accounting firms regarding the client experience they were receiving from their service providers (vendors). Many with “long-term” existing relationships were generally happy; while others felt that their providers had strict policies regarding how clients had to adhere to “their” policies and processes. As a result, the firm didn’t have much of a chance to express their firm’s needs, culture and their goals. While this may work with some service providers it could never work in a marketing communication firm.