Back in 2012, Wildfire took the decision to move away from corporate style email campaigns. Even though it was seven years ago, we knew that our tech marketing prospects were super savvy, so punting out ‘me too’ content just wasn’t going to cut the mustard.

As the person solely responsible for lead generation and my weapon of choice being email marketing, I’ve been lucky enough to have relatively free reign. This has led to email content that has ranged from fabulous (some of our loveliest prospects have been kind enough to tell me so!) to downright freaky (no, seriously… so bizarre I’ve had to have a little word with myself).

Photos don’t lie

Have you ever found an old photograph of yourself, considered the outfit you were wearing and concluded that, at some point, you evidently lost your mind? As a chunky teenager, I should have given the ‘80s shell suit an equally wide berth… and yet, I recently found several photos where I’m proudly sporting my shiny apparel together with a perm which wouldn’t have looked out of place on Shaun the Sheep. Sometimes when I find old email drafts and re-read them, I find them equally cringeworthy.

Bearing in mind that I actually represent a tech PR consultancy, I’ve written new business emails with the most random of themes… Batman, Cinderella, Transformers, you name it. Some were successful, some weren’t – but I had fun and as far as I’m aware, no-one was seriously damaged in the process. Unlike the shell suit incident. That image is now burned into my retinas forever.

You have to do what it takes

The point is – I consciously try not to take myself too seriously – at work or at home. I’m aware that it’s a conscious effort because it’s not always easy with a full-time job and two kids that believe their role in life is to be mummy’s personal patience testers. However, I’ve found that if you can find some humour in these experiences (practice makes perfect, trust me on this…) and use them to inform your communication, the results can be pretty great.

Yes – my job is to communicate how fantastic the team at Wildfire is, which is always front of mind. But I’m confident that my communication approach is representative of the team. They’re fun, bold, authentic, robust and willing to take a risk or two in order get the best result for clients.

Keep slogging away

Lead generation work is a hard slog… I should know after all; I’ve been doing it for over 15 years, which is why I also know you HAVE to enjoy it. And yes, there are plenty of prospective clients who don’t respond to our approach, but I’ve found that for those that do, Wildfire is a fantastic match, the chemistry is good from day one and even if there isn’t an immediate opportunity to work together, a long-term connection has begun.

My advice when seeking new clients – absolutely, represent your brand – but do it while being true to yourself.  You’ll not only attract new business, you’ll attract the right kind of new business for your brand which will translate into a more enjoyable and impactful work life for you, your team and your clients.