Archive for November, 2006
THE VALUE OF BRAND
Ever wonder how to differentiate yourself or your company in a world where the starting point is excellence? A world where being great at your job, having all the right tools and products – is the commodity-level minimum?
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LOOKING AFTER THE BUSINESS RIGHT UNDER YOUR NOSE
Most of the clients I see in my coaching practice want to build their business and their focus is on finding new prospects. Finding new customers is great, but landing a new one takes a lot more time and energy than expanding your business with existing customers.
As business people we are all guilty of overlooking the gold in our existing networks. One of the first things I get clients to do is to look at their existing database to see what opportunities they might have missed out on. It is a simple process. Go through your Outlook, your day timer, your notebooks for the past year or two. Make a list of those people you have not spoken to in a year; see who you want to connect with. Get in touch and remind them of what you are up to – see if there are any opportunities to do business together. Almost every client ends up uncovering some new business.
ARE YOU A BUTTERFLY CHASER?
A butterfly chaser is a salesperson who will spend time generating leads and then abandon them if they do not make the sale immediately.
This behaviour is costly to your business. Generating a lead and building a relationship with a customer takes time but it does pay off in loyalty and sales.
It can take an average of 4 or more contacts before a sale is made. 46% of people call once and quit. Only 25% contact a prospect twice. Are you quitting on a prospect too soon? Are you letting business go to your competition?
Be quietly persistent and show a clear interest in understanding the customer’s needs and how your product provides a solution to them – you will close the deal more often and your business will grow.
