(This post is another in our series of Rainmaking Problems. We invite your comments on this problem and would also welcome any problems you would like to submit to get comments from other readers.)

Katy Christ of Design & Build PR posed this problem:

I am a public relations professional specializing in the design and construction industries in the state of Florida. I subscribe to the theory that the phone call to the prospect should be to get the first meeting and the first meeting should be to get a second meeting. Based in Jacksonville, I have a six-hour drive to get to Miami/South Florida, etc.

Are you able to suggest a more efficient way to reach prospects in South Florida or other distant locales? I'm interested in the steps you take to market out-of-town companies and how you determine when to invest in travel.

My initial response was as follows: One of the advantages of consulting is the opportunity to see people in different organizations face similar problems. What one does may be helpful to others. We have worked for several consulting firms which work exclusively for the utility industry. Historically being monopolies with discrete territories, utilities form a geographically dispersed market. There is usually but one, and rarely more than two based in any city.

Here are a few things these consulting firms do:

• Work the associations. They go to places where their clients gather, specifically associations and especially the Edison Electric Institute. They arrange for short meetings with clients at the events in advance and work the crowd.
• Work on site, when possible. They take advantage of work for a client to get and stay on site for blocks of time. While there, they meet and stay in front of as many people in the client organization that they can.
• Schlep. They do the long commute to the client offices when they need to.
• Rely heavily on the phone and email to maintain relationships with a bias towards the phone, because the real-time exchange approximates the kind of interaction they would have with the client were they to meet in person.

Not too profound, is it? But it's what they do and they are pros at it.

What would you recommend to Kathy, based on your personal experience or on what you have seen others do, to win and keep distant clients?