SELF IMPROVEMENT

boston business journal book of lists
Do you subscribe to your local business newspaper? If so, you probably have noticed that they publish a "Book of Lists" at the end of each year. For example, the local business paper in my region publishes a list of the top companies in our region in over 100 categories every year. In addition, they publish at least one of these lists in the paper each week. Recently they published a list of the top 50 women-owned businesses ranked by revenue for 2010. Another week they published a list of attorneys. Other lists include family owned businesses, minority-owned businesses, accounting firms, construction companies, exporters and so forth.

If you regularly receive this information, you may wonder what to do with it. Here are three ways to use your local Book of Lists to build buzz about your business.

Contact the newspaper and ask how they determine which companies are on their lists because you want to be considered for inclusion. Usually it's a matter of asking to be informed of when they will create a specific list. You would then fill out a form and be considered. Look at all of the lists that they publish, because you may be a candidate for more than one. For example, perhaps you fit into all of these categories: "woman owned business, family run business and minority business." It's a nice addition to your credibility to be able to say "We're on the Top List YOUR CATEGORY in YOUR CITY."

You can use these lists to reach out to various segments of your region. For example if you are a recruitment firm, send out a letter that says, "Congratulations on being listed as one of the top places to work in YOUR CITY. We align our company with top-notch companies like yours and would love the opportunity to help you to attract the best candidates for your company... " Be sure to provide them with a special offer. Give them a reason to call you today.

You can also have somewhat of a boilerplate letter you send to appropriate lists congratulating them on being included in the list. Just a simple, "Congratulations on being listed in the Top 25 NAME OF LIST..." is a nice letter to send out along with a brochure and a special offer just for companies on this list.

Here's an advanced tip: Write a short personal message on each letter. It has been proven that a hand-written note on the letter or a post-it note with a message increases a response rate! Even just writing the word "Congratulations!" and your name will make them take a second look.

Mailing 25-50 letters each month and placing a follow up call is a very cost effective way to reach out and touch potential clients. It is a small effort to increase the "know" part of the Know, Like and Trust factor!