| |
| |
|
Small Business Information |
|
|
|
Consistency Builds Trust
You know your prospects need what you sell. You know they want what you sell. Heck, you know that they even sent away for information on your service and requested a quote. But the fact is you are missing one major piece of the puzzle. Want to know what it is? No matter what else you know, often, the missing piece is knowing when your hot little prospect will actually make a purchase. People search for information and solutions in many different ways and on many different time tables. Some will buy immediately; some may take a year or more depending on the complexity of the purchase. The key to solving this dilemma is consistent and repeated contact. If you build a marketing system that guarantees your prospects (particularly your "A" prospects) are contacted at least 8-10 times a year you can significantly increase the odds that your name will jump to the top of the list when they do actually decide to purchase. Another benefit of constant contact is that by sending your prospects useful information, that doesn't always ask for a sale, you can establish a bond of trust, and trust wins business. It is almost as though some of your prospects will feel that they owe it to you because you took so much time and effort to educate them for such a long period of time without asking for anything in return So what will you send to your prospects on a monthly basis? Here is an example a calendar of contact points
Notice that this schedule includes a couple of phone contacts. This to can be a very powerful research tool as well as a business building tool. Sometimes you will learn what your prospect really wants and how valuable the materials you are sending them really are to them. You man want to consider breaking your prospect list into groups based on potential opportunity. Your 20 or so "A" prospects might get a copy of your favorite book or some homemade cookies in a tin with your company logo one month or some proprietary content or information along with some tickets to the ballgame a couple of months later. And if you really want to make a hit with your "A" prospects, take the time to find out some background on them and personalize your marketing materials. If Ed Jones over there at Acme Industries went to Notre Dame (not such a hard thing to find out) you will score major points by simply sending a clipping from some magazine about his favorite subject - The Fighting Irish. You can even set-up a service that will find you everything that is being said about a school, industry, company, sports team, you name it. So an industry guru makes a prediction for the future of your prospect's industry and you drop the article in the mail to them. Now who do you think they are they going to remember come order time? Create a database of your ideal prospects, set-up a schedule of different types of contact points like the one above, and then stick to it. And don't forget to include your current clients in that list. Reselling them can lead to more and more business and referrals. Copyright 2004 John Jantsch About The Author John Jantsch is a marketing consultant based in Kansas City, Mo. He writes frequently on real world small business marketing tactics and is the creator of http://www.DuctTapeMarketing.com a turn-key small business marketing system. Check out his blog at http://www.DuctTapeMarketing.com/weblog.php
MORE RESOURCES:
Small-Business - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Small Businesses With Work Trucks; A Warning If you are a non-operator owner of many work trucks, you should keep your business credit card with you not leave it in one of the trucks. You should not issue them to employees without strict guidlines. Creating Lists to Learn About Yourself, Your Business and Your Customers I love lists. I make them for everything. Do You Own Your Business Or Does It Own You? What was your aim when you went into business for yourself? Chances are you wanted to be your own boss, be in control of your future, improve your chances of earning a high income, among other things.How are things for you right now? Do you feel in control of your business? How many hours do you put into your business each day? Each week? Will your current business enable you to retire in the next 10, 20 years?Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed by all the administrative tasks involved in running a business? Do you wish life could be simpler?More importantly, if you don't work, does your cash continue to flow (inwards, that is)?You see, if you can't take a vacation for fear that you won't make any money while you're away, or if your business is such that you're paid per hour (meaning that if you're not working you're not getting paid), then what you are is a glorified employee, and your business owns you. Write An Effective Job Proposal I am simply amazed at the problems some of my colleagues are experiencing regarding writing job proposals for customers. So often I hear that there has been some sort of disagreement between client and service provider, something that can and should be avoided before a project is started. Finding the Right People for your Business Where do you find the right people for a business relationship?Finding the right people may not be as difficult as you may think. Quite often they are in your neighborhood and within your inner circle. The Virtual Assistant As a small business owner, outsourcing work to Virtual Assistants is fast becoming a popular and intelligent decision. The business owner saves enormous amounts of money by cutting the costs of offices and equipment overhead as well as expensive benefits packages. Naming Your Business: 3 Tips To Ensure Success If you are just starting your business, or if you have just developed a new product or service for an existing business, one of the first questions you need to answer is, "What should I name it?" And while you may feel pressure to make this decision quickly, I caution you to not make it lightly. What kind of things should you take into consideration when choosing a name?(1) Don't Use Your Own NameWell, first of all, use a name other than your own name. From Birth to Death Your product is dying. With the same inevitability that we humans move ever closer to death, so does every software application move towards its eventual demise. Dispute Resolution; Competing With Other Franchisees If you are in a franchise and have a territory dispute with another franchisee you need to prevent a lawsuit use dispute resolution techniques to resolve the dispute. Competing with other franchisees is a subject that franchisors would prefer not to need to talk about. Franchises Offer Shortcuts, But Not Control Q: I will be retiring this year at age 60 and intend to fulfill my lifelong dream of owning my own business. I'm too old to start from scratch, so I'm looking at several franchise opportunities, including fast food, auto parts, and an accounting service. Small Business Operators - 7 Reasons You Should Change Your Accountant A recent survey showed that only 28.7% of small business owners were happy with their accountant, and only half of those would recommend him to their friends because he was too busy already. Eight Key Steps to Selling Your Business and Cashing In This year, some 700,000 American businesses will be sold. Most will be small and mid-sized businesses like yours. How Do I Choose The Right Business Opportunity For Me? First you have to start with knowing your budget and how much you can afford to spend on a business opportunity. There are ways of starting a business opportunity online for as little as $50 as an affiliate; this figure goes all the way up to $1 Million dollars with a McDonalds restaurant. Cleaning Grain Silos, Towers, Containers, and Combines If you run a pressure washing company in a rural market you will need to learn how to wash agricultural industry equipment and infrastructure. In our company The Tractor Wash Guys, we We have several years of experience washing combines. Restaurant Operators - What Skills do you Need A tongue-in-cheek look at the skills required to operate a restaurant but?on he whole they come pretty close to the truth.People Skills, You need to be good with people, because you will have different customers almost every day, you will have repeat customers who have higher expectations, a high-maintenance shift-based staff to manage, suppliers who won't always meet your expectations or time frames and creditors who want their money now. Small Business Failures in America - Cash Flow Issues We are noticing an increase in the length of time it takes Large corporations to pay on their invoices to our team. Fortune 500s are tending to pay their vendors more slowly, which will hurt the already strapped small businesses in America. Consistency Builds Trust You know your prospects need what you sell. You know they want what you sell. Operational Aspects on P and L Statements of Mobile Services Businesses What kinds of things effect mobile service businesses P and L's? Well this is an excellent question and as I see the Annual reports of companies who do mobile services, such as Ecolab, Service Master, Halliburton, Luftstanza Food Services, etc. I see many similarities. 5 GREAT WAYS to Gain New Contacts What are the 5 best ways to gain new contacts?There are many ways to use the media to promote your business. You must ultimately decide what is best for your business. Small Business Owners - They Owe You The Money Why Dont They Pay? Doesn't it frustrate you when you've given good service, sometimes super service, and the customer doesn't pay you?Some of them aren't doing too well and are struggling for cash, but, gee, so are you. In the time they take to pay they could have paid off a little each week and the debt would be gone.
|
|
|
|
|