I’m trying to build my base of restaurant marketing directors for my small design business. my strengths are event invite design, signage, check presenters, web sites. Thus far I’ve found some success doing it via networking, but would like to expand further without cold calling. Which is most/least effective, if you are or have been in this position, or are familiar with the industry?

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I would strongly suggest that you do a little research on each restaurant before contacting them: Who is in charge of marketing? What is their contact information? Do they work with any marketing firms outsider their organization? What are their needs in the next year? What is their presentation style (humorous isn’t always the best approach)?

You mentioned you don’t want to cold-call. However, your emails, direct mails, etc. are all basically “shot-in-the-dark” approaches. You can’t sell your services to someone if you don’t know what (or if) they need. You need to develop a relationship with restaurants to find out more. Ask for referrals from one marketing director to another (for those that you’ve already worked with).

You’ll also clearly need to identify what makes you unique/special compared to other designers. I would further suggest that you (as a minimum) update your website to provide a page just for the restaurant marketing directors.