Import ideas that work in other industries or market segments and adapt them to your business.
Keep your eyes open for potential ideas that can be altered to suit your business and customers. To do this requires an open mind and a willingness to consider all possibilities.
There are successful enterprises in virtually every market. Look at market leaders and see what kind of techniques they use. How do they communicate with customers and prospects? What kind of incentives do they offer? What is their greatest advantage? Why do more people buy from them than anyone else? What is standard practice in that particular industry? Could that idea, concept, practice, action work in my business?
You don't have to go far to find examples from other industries. Take a look through your local Yellow Pages. While shopping around town, observe how other businesses attract and serve their customers. Visit your library and consult out of town editions of the Yellow Pages. Look at what others are doing elsewhere—both within your industry and in others.
Key
Be willing to play around with this a little, until you find and approach that really works for you. Never discount an idea until you've looked at it carefully. You could re-invent your business this way and reap additional profits while astounding your competition in the process.
Examples
When you go out to indulge in a meal of Chinese food, you always get a little something at the end... a fortune cookie. It's always fun to crack them open and read the message inside. Why is it that only Chinese restaurants hand out fortune cookies? Couldn't anyone do that? For example, an auto repair shop could offer these little goodies to waiting customers.
The messages could be light jokes, car-related trivia, discount vouchers for nearby stores or future visits, etc. A barber shop could do the same thing. Create a little fun and give a little bit more. Good strategies for growing a business.
Every year, I get a birthday phone call from my insurance agent – to wish me a happy day and to see if I might need some other service that he could provide. It's an easy way to keep in touch once a year. It's a natural strategy for the insurance industry.
But couldn't others use this too? A couple of years ago, my wife and I purchased a new pick-up truck. Now that's it's become a little worn, we're thinking about finding a replacement. Not sure what we'd buy, but we did find our last salesman quite satisfactory and would buy from him again, without hesitation. But, he's never bothered to keep in touch. No calls, no cards, nothing! Is he missing out? Probably. We're not desperate to buy, but, we could probably be persuaded with the right new vehicle. If this guy called on my birthday (information he could have obtained, easily) I would remember it and I'm sure I would feel a strange sense of loyalty when car shopping.
How many businesses bother to make follow-up calls after a job has been completed? Many restaurants do this. Usually a manager of host/hostess visits each table to ask how everything is. What if a home renovator called a couple of weeks after installing a new roof, siding or windows, just to make sure everything was OK? I think that would show a certain commitment to satisfying customers and would place that business above most competitors.
Almost every business experiences peaks and valleys in terms of business activity. Recently while shopping at a large mall, I noticed a salesperson taking advantage of a slow period by contacting customers by phone to announce a new line and to offer a personal invitation to a private showing and party. There's no better use of down time than to use it to market. Marketing is fundamental to growth, yet how many companies use downtime to market?
In the book, "How To Sell Anything To Anybody" the author talks about the techniques he used to become one of the best car salespeople of all time. One strategy Joe uses is to capture a snapshot of each customer and their new car. He then literally wallpapers his office with these happy mementos. Customers love it. When they visit again, they seek out their picture, proudly displayed for all to see. Who else could use this? How about a deck-builder, showing his happy customers enjoying the great outdoors on their beautiful new deck.
More resources at www.makeyoursalessoar.com
Robert Boduch is an author of dozens of best-selling books, reports and articles on the art and science of selling. A free newsletter targeted at anyone interested in selling more of anything is available at www.makeyoursalessoar.com
