.png)
Introduction:
This week, Shawn Busse and Loren Feldman are doing something a little different. This is the first in a series of episodes we’re calling Marketing Workshops. In an attempt to confront one of the biggest pain points business owners face, we’re offering a series of conversations with owner-operators about their marketing experiences: what’s worked and what hasn’t. We’re starting with Grayson Hogard, co-founder of Grove Cookie Company. For Grayson and his wife, Marie, the company is a bootstrapped side hustle, but in a very short time they’ve come to some very smart conclusions about their marketing that might seem counterintuitive at first. Most importantly, they’ve figured out that the most effective sales channel for their cookies is, of all places, LinkedIn.
— Loren Feldman
This content was produced by 21 Hats.
See Full Show Notes By 21 Hats
Key Takeaways:
How to start selling to people outside of your network.
Shawn Busse:
So, real typical. A lot of businesses get started on the friends and family model. You reach out to friends, see if they’ll buy something from you. You get a positive response. And then, a lot of businesses struggle at that point, because they don’t know how to get past how to sell to people in their network. But you’ve clearly done that. So take us through that journey. How did you start to get customers that you’d never met before?
Grayson Hogard:
Well, after three months of working with my buddy’s firm, I was at a bachelor party. And all my friends are making fun of me as the cookie dealer. Funniest thing ever. And my buddy, Matt—the same guy—he goes, “Why don’t you call other wealth advisors? We all do the same things. We send client-relationship gifts, client touch points.” And I was just thinking to myself, I’m like, “Huh? That’s a really genius idea.” And I’ve kind of just been outgoing. I really don’t mind calling someone out of the blue.
In doing that, it just so happened that across the hallway from my buddy’s dad’s wealth advisory firm, is another wealth advisor firm. Well, this other wealth advisory firm—after stopping in there three times—agreed to start utilizing us as their client-engagement company. And so then we started shipping them, so we had our second client within a week and a half.
Loren Feldman:
Are you still cooking out of your kitchen, at this point?
Grayson Hogard:
Yeah, we’re still in our house at this point, probably made like 3,000 cookies to that point. So then we acquired our second client. I had listened to a podcast, actually, because I had never been on LinkedIn prior to the cookie adventure. I listened to a podcast in July that had a business-to-business LinkedIn video expert on, and her summary and how I took it was: If you’re a B2B company, and you’re not utilizing LinkedIn, you are missing out on the biggest opportunity ever. And so I got home that day, and I made sure my password and everything worked for my LinkedIn, updated my photo, and I put a new bio in there—you know, cookies, blah, blah, blah. And from there, I just kind of hit the ground running with LinkedIn.
Using personalized LinkedIn messages to get clients.
Shawn Busse:
Aside from tuning up your profile—and it seems like you went after the personal brand, as opposed to making it about the Grove Cookie Company in the beginning—what are the other things you did in those early days, since you just got on the platform, and you didn’t have thousands of connections?
Grayson Hogard:
Well, Shawn, you happened to fall right in my little web of connection requests. My real strategy was a connection request, but with a message—not just rapid-fire connection requests. I just think the slightest personalization, and presenting what you’re offering, and why you’re connecting… It’s like meeting a stranger. It’s like, “Hey, why am I meeting you right now?”
That’s how I took it from that strategy of trying to build my following. And I got really lucky that there’s not a lot of cookie companies on LinkedIn. So you start posting photos of cookies, and you talk about cookies, you angle it from the client-appreciation standpoint. B2B gifting was the unlock.
Shawn Busse:
I remember you reaching out to me. I don’t remember exactly how you positioned it, but I do remember it was customized. And I get so many requests, and all of them go in the trash. Because I know that as soon as I accept the request, they’re going to start selling me something. But somehow you broke through that.
Loren Feldman:
He was selling cookies, Shawn. [Laughter]
Shawn Busse:
That helps. That helps. But it was more about what he said. And maybe if you can remember, I don’t know if your script is the same, or if you even have a script. Do you customize every one that you send out?
Grayson Hogard:
I do customize it, very minor in the customization. Really, if you have founder, CEO, VP, or any title in there, I’m gonna offer you a free sample box of cookies in that connection request.
Shawn Busse:
Got it, okay.
Grayson Hogard:
So, I’m coming in there, and my thought is—and I’ve learned this just over the two years—is like I’m basically getting you reciprocating. I’m sending you a connection request, but I’m also sending you a free box of cookies, if you want it.
Loren Feldman:
That’s a good deal.
Grayson Hogard:
I think it’s a very fair deal. You just had to click a button. So, yeah, I actually have the message pulled up. I went into LinkedIn and pulled it up. Do you want me to read it?
Shawn Busse:
Yeah.
Grayson Hogard:
“Hi, Shawn. My name is Grayson. My wife and I founded Grove Cookie Company in Beaverton, Oregon. If you enjoy out-of-this-world, soft, and delicious cookies, we’d love to connect. Let me know if you’d like to try a sample box.” Then I always kind of forward people to our about page, because most people want to see that. And you responded with the funniest thing.
Shawn Busse:
I don’t remember.
Grayson Hogard:
Do you want me to read it?
Shawn Busse:
I don’t remember. [Laughter]
Loren Feldman:
Yes, please.
Grayson Hogard:
Shawn goes, “Hey, Grayson, great intro. I get a ton of connection requests and ignore 90 percent of them because they aren’t relevant. Or it’s someone looking to sell me something. But free cookies? Genius. Your timing is funny, too. I was just telling someone that the untapped opportunity is for consumer brands to use LinkedIn for marketing. Anyway, nice to meet you, Shawn.” And from there, you gave me that positive reinforcement. Like, “Oh, this is, like, smart.”
Shawn Busse:
It worked.
Thinking outside of the box to turn challenges into marketing opportunities.
Loren Feldman:
Grayson, did you hit on the idea of giving out free samples this way right from the beginning? I mean, that’s kind of a time-tested strategy, but it usually happens in a supermarket or a Costco or something. You have an interesting twist on it. Was that always the idea? Or how did you come up with it?
Grayson Hogard:
Well, it really came from my insecurity of cold calling, because I had never done it before. And my thought was, “Okay, if I can get out in the first two minutes or so that, ‘We love sending free samples, and this is an interesting opportunity for you’”—that’s how it was all born. And plus, because we’re so heavily involved with the wealth advisory community, I think they’re going to be more hesitant to send their clients gifts without trying them anyways.
Loren Feldman:
I find it really interesting, because especially during the early days of the pandemic, there were a lot of brands that talked about how they were stymied, because their marketing strategy was to give away free samples in a store setting, and that venue was just shut down. That wasn’t an option anymore. And it never would have occurred to me to just reach out to people on LinkedIn and do it that way instead.
Grayson Hogard:
Yeah, it just happened that way, and we haven’t stopped doing it. Just like Shawn kind of alluded to, it provides us instantaneous feedback of how we’re doing. So I did a follow-up call from samples we sent out last week, and two wealth advisor firms were like, “We were blown away. The packaging was great. I would absolutely love the note with our logo on it.” Because I don’t tell people the sample I’m sending will have their logo on it. I just tell them, “We’re gonna send a sample box.” And so yeah, it’s just instantaneous feedback that we really enjoy.
Shawn Busse:
And you’re delighting the customer with something they don’t expect, which is always a winner, in terms of delight and sticking with you and wanting to learn more. That’s a great strategy.
Developing good habits in marketing.
Shawn Bussie
Really great marketing is often about the idea of beating the drum, being consistent, doing something, figuring it out. I think of it as a good habit, so I’d be curious if you could share with our listeners what you think is your good habit. What’s your winning habit that’s allowed you to be successful, and to scale, and maybe even leave your corporate gig and get into this thing full-time?
Grayson Hogard:
It would be really difficult for me to say LinkedIn has not been a blessing. So that’s allowed that whole putting yourself out there networking, marketing in itself, as really easy, from my point of view. And with that, if you’ve ever heard the term of “the lurkers,” 95 percent of LinkedIn is lurkers. The other 5 percent creates content. So I just have found this sweet spot where I really enjoy the content making of LinkedIn.
So I am committed to doing that twice a week at minimum. And that’s where that habit, like you just alluded to, has helped me stay top of mind, which is what marketing really is all about, in my opinion—especially when you’re a consumable, like we are. And that’s been really my driving point with this whole entire endeavor: Stay consistent. Enjoy it, don’t make it a job, and be open to meeting people.
Read Full Podcast Transcript Here
