Getting meetings with C suite executives—or anyone else who can change the scale of your career or business—is never easy, but it doesn’t have to be terribly difficult, either.

We’re always told high-level introductions are the quickest way to connect and do it with substance. And it is effective. The problem is, these golden introductions aren’t always available. In fact, they’re rarely available, and certainly not enough to fill your pipeline.

Adding to the challenge, we’ve just been freed from restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Some workers have or will be returning to their offices, but a large portion of the executive work class will continue to work from home. Getting meetings during this period will be even more difficult and perplexing.

The Contact Marketing approach I write about in my books, How to Get a Meeting with Anyone and Get the Meeting, has always brushed aside the need for golden introductions. Instead of relying on connections, our goal is to make our own introductions, in a way that has target executives saying, “I love the way you think.”

That’s all fine, but with some returning to the office and others remaining in their work from home jobs, how do we actually produce a meeting? Should we plan to travel to their offices, or should we shoot for a Zoom meeting?

From my recent round table discussions, video conferencing is still a valid, preferred way to meet. No one has to jump in a car or take a plane across the country. They don’t even have to be fully dressed. Taking a meeting on Zoom is also seen as a lower level of commitment than in the office. It’s like coffee versus a dinner date. They’re more likely to accept.

Here are five ideas for getting power Zoom meetings with your top prospects and accounts.

1. Send a Visual Metaphor.

If you’ve read my books, you know the story about Dan Waldschmidt’s sword campaign. It’s a brilliant use of a visual metaphor to convey value and brand, in a way that has recipients saying, “I love the way you think.” But Dan’s campaign costs $1,000 with each send.

I prefer an object of fascination, perhaps something from the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) gift store, and certainly something less than a grand a pop. Hoberman sphere can be interesting because it illustrates rapid scaling. But my favorite visual metaphor, especially to invite someone to have a cup of coffee on Zoom, is to send a fake food spill. An ultra-realistic spilled cup of coffee defines the theme—coffee—but also sets up the conversation. Spills express something about loss or risk mitigation. After all, when a coffee spills, it’s gone. Sending something like this is bound to excite the prospect of having a cup of coffee with you on Zoom.

2. Host a Zoom Round Table.

After spending a year on Zoom, there certainly is fatigue. But if you’re there to learn something, Zoom is a fantastic platform for quickly gathering prospects to explore topics of timely relevance. I’m doing it every week, alternating between getting meetings and growth strategy as inspired by weeds (my new book releases May 2022).

The idea isn’t to make a presentation but to listen to the attendees. The host will give an opening set of remarks to set the stage, then pose a series of questions to the audience. The questions should focus on their experiences or opinions. Everyone has opinions and experiences, and they’re relatively low-risk to share in a public forum.

Be sure to record the session, and end with an offer, perhaps for a summary of what was learned or some other lead magnet. Use it to build your email list or pull them in as clients.

3. Send Personalized Lobby Art. 

 

People are returning to their offices. Whether they want to be there or not, it’ll be a reunion that will leave many excited to make actual, personal contact again. So try sending something that celebrates their return, with a piece of art for their office or even their lobby.

You probably know I often use cartoons as contact devices. My clients are starting to test six-foot-long versions of the cartoon strip in this video . Of course, it’s personalized, so the cartoon is about the recipient. And if he or she has a big enough ego, it will find its way on to a wall somewhere.

You don’t have to send a cartoon, but send something of personal interest. And who knows—the meeting you score could virtual or it could be in person.

4.  Welcome Back in the World Gift.

The object may be to score a meeting on Zoom, but we know most people will be returning to the office, and really, returning to the reality of business life. They’ll be traveling again, they’ll be meeting again, they’ll be commuting again.

So why not fashion a gift that celebrates their return? There are plenty of gadgets to help make travel more convenient or enjoyable. And remember when people used to commute an hour or more to the office? A gift subscription to Audible would make the time go by faster, while they learn and are entertained. Here are 115 more ideas for office gifts, all of which say, “Welcome back.”

5.  Video.

There are several platforms that enable embedding video within email. Some even offer free memberships. Take them up on it. Vidyard is my favorite for producing personalized videos on the spot, then tracking views and pass-alongs in real-time. Whether you’re asking for an in-person or virtual meeting, the ability to monitor those metrics allows you to see who’s most interested in connecting.

One of my students used video in a fascinating and effective way. In my online course, everyone is required to create and test their own contact campaigns. Paul used cameo.com to produce a celebrity video that scored a meeting with the CEO of one of the biggest banks in the world. Video should be a primary part of your contact strategy, on or offline.

The title of this article is about getting meetings on Zoom, but really, it’s about getting meetings that change your life. It doesn’t matter if it results in a virtual meeting or a face-to-face tête-à-tête. What matters is that it changes their world as it changes yours.

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I teach an online class on getting meetings that change your life, called How to Get a Meeting with Anyone. It’s six weeks of intensive work to create, produce and test your own contact campaign. The course is available at HowtoGetaMeeting.com.