Leawood Chamber Membership Pays Off for JumpStart Marketing
– Building Relationships Builds Business As seen in Leawood Chamber of Commerce Member Memo August 21, 2009
By Angela Davidson, Leawood Chamber
Communications and Retention Manager
Recently Laura Wynn, owner of JumpStart Marketing, happily reported she was beginning some marketing projects for Larry Kime, partner at Bonefish Grill and fellow Leawood Chamber member. It’s a success story that was four years in the making!
Laura told us that she first met Larry at a Morning Mingling back in 2005. At that first meeting Larry gave Laura the corporate contact for OSI Restaurant Partners, LLC. Naturally, Laura was thrilled and grateful for the contact information. She immediately phoned Bonefish Grill corporate only to learn that they were not in need of her services. She put the card on her bulletin board with a note to follow up in one year. What happens next illustrates why building long term contacts is the key to success. Laura continues,
“Okay, so Bonefish Grill was not interested in my services. Larry Kime, however, was. Unbeknownst to me, he had also put my card on his bulletin board. In 2009 I approached Larry at a Leawood Chamber Member benefit and was surprised that he remembered me. He shared that he had referred my services and had often talked with corporate about utilizing my skills to assist in marketing on a local level for Bonefish Grill in Leawood.
During a casual conversation in May of this year, Larry invited me to a benefit luncheon where I met many business owners who were in need of my services. I have met with many of the guests at that luncheon and have reciprocated business with several. I have developed solid relationships that have led to long term projects with companies I would have otherwise been unable to reach. Additionally, I am in contact with a corporate representative at OSI to proceed with local marketing on behalf of Bonefish Grill Leawood.”
Laura feels the Leawood Chamber fosters personal contacts, not generic leads. Laura explains,
“Does 4 years seem like a long time to follow a lead? It should. But I did not leave our initial meeting in 2005 with a lead. I left that networking breakfast with a contact. The relationship I established with Larry has provided me much more than one sale. It has provided me ongoing, unlimited access to resources; and ultimately a personal friendship that I respect very much.”
Here’s to Laura and Larry and all our Chamber members who work together to build their businesses and this great community!
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