How a signed Stephen Harper Headshot made Millions

I was browsing the Reddit boards about business when I found what I can only describe as the perfect example of relationship building.

It’s a bit long but it might be some of the best advice I’ve ever seen on the interwebs.

Here’s what I found:

I couldn’t have said it better myself. This is so true. Sometimes just going out to a nice place, getting some appetizers, having some drinks and having a great meal with dessert, and a bunch of laughs can change how people feel about you.

And these same people have the keys to the kingdom for you. They know the people you want to know. They just have to open the door.

They want to open these doors for the right people.

Now, you might already know all of this. And, I can already hear you saying:

Andrew, we know all of this stuff already.

These newsletters aren’t about creating new stuff. They have always been about talking about old stuff over and over because the old stuff works. As much as I’d love to come up with a brand-new revolutionary idea. It’s not needed.

Just do what that guy said above for 3-5 of your top clients each quarter and you’ll be surprised by the results.

I had coffee with one of my good friends this week. He runs a pretty successful, yet small business. And, I was just catching up with him to see how things were going.

And, he told me he won this big deal back in June.

So I asked him, “Who specifically sent you the deal?”

I was trying to figure out who sent the referral.

And, then he told me. It was this Senior VP at a major company here in Ottawa.

Then, I told him, “You should take him out to supper.” Much like the story I just shared above.

My friend laughed.

“I’d love to. But, he’s worth about $100M and lives in the Caribbean”.

This rattled my brain a bit. I understand, they didn’t have that kind of relationship. But still, my whole idea around referrals these days is about being “memorable and meaningful.”

So, I asked my friend about this executive, what he knew about him. Maybe, he could deliver a unique gift or something.

It turns out this executive is a huge conservative - the political party I mean. And, I mean UUUUUGGGGEEEEEE.

And, so we talked about the Conservative party for a second. And, then my friend said:

“I actually have a microphone used by Stephen Harper. I’m not sure why I kept it.”

I said: “Why don’t you give it to this executive as a gift.”

In the span of about 5 minutes, we devised a plan.

He would package the microphone in this frame box which we found on Best Buy:

And, we would attach a handwritten letter thanking this Executive for the referral. And, we’d even include a signed Stephen Harper Photo, which you can hilariously buy online here:

This entire gift would cost about $150 all-in. The revenue from the referral was more than $100,000 (by the way).

As ridiculous as all of this sounds:

Giving this Executive a microphone Stephen Harper once used, packaged in a box he could put on the wall with a handwritten thank you note with a signed Stephen Harper picture is way over the top.

But, what do you get a person worth more than $100M.

My thinking is that in the worst-case scenario, they might think my friend is a bit eccentric with this whole gifting strategy. Yet, they’ll probably still call him next year to do his job because he’s good at what he does.

In the best-case scenario, this gift changes their entire relationship and opens even more doors for my friend. There is really not much downside here.

And, there is no doubt in my mind that this gift is both meaningful and memorable to this person. Because, they are huge Conservatives and Stephen Harper is still a hero in those circles.

I’m not saying go out there and start sending extravagant gifts. I like experiences much better, as they do more to build a relationship. But, in this case. That wasn’t even an option here. He lived in another country. They didn’t have that kind of relationship.

But, this gift might do the same thing here.

Keep that in mind. Be memorable and meaningful to the relationships you’re looking to cultivate.

Whatever that means for you, keep that in mind.

A couple of notes here:

1. I will be in Toronto hosting my first-ever In-Person Meeting on September 3rd. I’ve already received several RSVPs, but if you want to attend, email me now, and I’ll send you the details.

2. I wanted to tell you about a success story I had here at PPI. We brought on a new Advisor and in the first week, I went to a meeting with him and we closed a $100K Par Premium. And when I say we closed it, I mean I did the talking. If you need help on that end, please reach out.

As always, have a great weekend, and I’ll see you next week.

Andrew