Grow Your Business By Turning Away Customers
In the Indianapolis metropolitan area, there are 65,000 companies with sales under $1 million. 65,000! The reality is I can’t serve all these small businesses.
To use my time well, and do the right thing for my clients, sometimes the best thing to do is to turn the project over to a competitor. I know that sounds crazy, giving up a project especially, in a tough economy, but when it isn’t a fit, I have learned it is better to walk away.
Seth Godin had a great post recently on this topic. He argued passing a project to someone else better prepared to handle it will actually raise your image with that client. He said:
This is when you earn the right to be seen as a trusted adviser, not a self-interested shill. Two months or two years from now, when you interact with that person or organization again, he’ll remember that you were the one who spoke up on behalf of the competition, the one who helped us find a better fit, the clearly disinterested adviser who helped us choose between the two remaining good choices.
To make good suggestions, I work hard to get to know my competitors. I understand their weakness and their strengths so I can pick the best candidate for my client. I have good working relationships with companies like SpinWeb, Miles Design, and Deep Ripples. Each of these companies are best in class, and beyond their skills, I know they will treat my prospect the way I would have .
I am in this business for the long haul. So if I miss one sale, but in doing so, I establish my self as a trusted adviser I know it will be worth it in the long run.
Want to Boost Sales? Give Stuff Away!
Whenever I go to the mall, and walk by the food court, there is always that guy, handing out samples of the Chinese chicken. Why? Because if you don’t know what you are hungry for, very often a little taste is enough to convince you to buy an entire plate.
That same try before you buy strategy works in many industries, particularly when the product or service is really unique or radically different from competing products.
For example networking: Today, after more than eight years in the market place, most people are familiar with Rainmakers. That was not the case, eight years ago. Our model was so different, it was almost impossible to explain on paper or on-line. It is one of those things you had to experience to understand. To overcome the low understanding of our model, we started offering “free passes” to our events.
The result of our free trial program – We lost some revenue at the door, since guests no longer had to pay the first time they attended, but we had significantly more guests. the average event had an increase in guest count from 5 to 15. Since our closing percentage (guests who became members) remained the same, we tripled the number of new members each month.
That’s the key.. use free trials to introduce the product, build a loyal fan base, and offer an option for more services of a reasonable fee. It the value is there, you wil have no trouble earning the fee.
FREE TRIALS! Have you figured out how to use them in your business?
Warm Up Cold Calls with Power Teams
I have been a student of Matt Nettleton’s at TrustPointe for almost a year now. Almost every week he mentions, suggests, or commands that we make phone calls. While I have never learned to love them, I have learned to make to them.
But whenever possible, I try to make warm calls instead. I try to rely on my referral network, and power team to make connections to the people I need to meet.
Who are my Power Team? This is a loose group of business professionals who offer complementary services to my target customers. I schedule one-on-one conversations over coffee and lunch. As we talk about projects and customers, opportunities arise: without directly soliciting a referral directly, things happen!
Do you have a your own Power Team? Here are a few tips on how to build one.
Start with your customer.
Regardless of whether your product or service is for an individual or a business, your target customer has needs beyond what you can provide. Think about other products and services your customers could or would purchase on a regular basis. For example if you are an electrician, then a plumber, roofer, or landscape company would be a potential Power Team members.
As you attend networking events, be on the look out for great Power Team members. While customers are always nice, a great Power Team member will create more opportunities for you in the long run!
Be Selective
It takes time to build an effective partnership, one which brings value to both companies. Don’t rush the process. The closer you work with this strategic partner, the more your image and theirs become entwined together in the mind of potential clients. Carefully evaluate potential partners; selecting companies which will they treat your clients the way you do. Build relationships with companies you will be proud to send your best customer to.
Sometimes it Pays to be Awkward
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend a really cool, unique Rainmaker event focused on social media marketing. The name of the event is Socially Awkward, and it’s chaired by Will Hardison. Will is heavily involved in social media and wanted to create an event that celebrated the medium.
It was fun discussing Twitter, Foursquare, and Facebook with other professionals and learning how they use it to grow their business. In addition, we had a group activity designed to demonstrate how powerful ”ReTweets” can be as part of a business development strategy.
One really neat aspect of the event was a live streaming Twitter feed set up on stage, showing what attendants were saying about the event. Here are some examples:
- RT @willhardison: Great group at #rmsociallyawkward !!!
- @roundpeg Rt festival #rmsociallyawkward @epicallysteve looking for skateboard students
- @ShawnieQR: I helped make 8 connections today at #RMSociallyAwkward which is awesome!!!
- @ShowMeReg: @Rainmakers #rmsociallyawkward last fri of every month!
This provided a running commentary for the event and was fun to follow. Even people who weren’t in the room could participate in the conversation.
- @AllisonLCarter Help him out? RT @roundpeg Rt festival #rmsociallyawkward Davd. Strickland looking for bast due accounts
I had a great time at this morning’s Rainmaker event. It gave me some terrific insight into how powerful social media can be and how I can use it to help Roundpeg grow. For once, I didn’t mind being a little “Awkward.”
Advice to Young Professionals
I have had a number of invitations recently, to speak to groups of students and young professionals, at IUPUI, Arsenal Tech High School, the Orr Fellows and the Young Professionals of Central Indiana.
After getting over the fact I am talking to a room of professionals, or near professionals who are younger then my children, I really enjoy the conversations.
This generation seems more focused on where they want to go with their lives then some of their predecessors. They ask tough questions about what it will take to get where they want to be.
So what do I tell them?
Life is full of surprises. It is what happens when you are making plans to do something completely different. Be open to the opportunities that come along. Be willing to change directions and careers often. I am elementary education major, who thought it would be cool to work on Madison Avenue some day. I never imagined a life anywhere buy Manhattan. And now, I can’t imagine doing anything besides what I am doing now.
Love what you do or do something else. Sure, there are times you will have to “pay your dues” and work your way up. But only do it if it will put you on the path to somewhere you want to be.
Ultimately, it is about the people you meet along the way. When I think about the jobs and projects I have enjoyed the most, feel the greatest sense of accomplishment when I think of them, it is always connected to the people with whom I surrounded myself.
Never stop learning – The rules are always changing, and when it comes to your career, take a lesson from the dinosaurs: Evolve or Die.
So those are my words of wisdom… what are yours?
Episode # 23 Permission Based Marketing with Ingrid Cummings
About a year ago, Ingrid Cummings invited me to be a guest on her radio program Rubicon Salon. In the course of the hour, we talked about marketing, social media and staying ahead of your competition in an economic downturn.
While the entire program is too long for More Than a Few Words, I thought it would be fun to share a few excerpts over the next few weeks.
In this segment, we talk about the shift in marketing strategies, from push to permission based and the challenges and the rewards for business owners who adopt this approach.
From the interview: “While the medium has changed, the fundamental methods have not. It is still about identifying your customer and talking to your customers in the places they are most likely to find you!
Click here to listen to the interview.
Episode 18 – Robby Slaughter and Productive Networking
Robby Slaughter of Slaughter Development, an Indianapolis based productivity firm stopped by and shared some networking productivity strategies for small business owners. We talked about how to decide if you are in the right room, open a conversation, and make networking a part of your ongoing marketing activities.
To hear our short conversation check out the podcast now.
Click here to listen to the interview.
What Makes Someone Attractive?
No today’s post is not about makeovers or dating advice. It is about being attractive on line!
About a year ago, I read a post by Jim Connolly. In it he talked about Equality and Attraction. Essentially he was talking about what makes people attractive. While he was focused on internet marketing, I think his comments are relevant in many areas of marketing. He said:
You attract sales, leads and referrals by being attractive. In the online world, this means making your site or blog as valuable to your ideal profile of client / customer as possible. You do this by focusing on delivering quality and quantity.
What do you think? I think many of the same qualities which make people attractive off line make them attractive on line as well. For example -When you go to a cocktail party or networking event, take a minute and look around the room. The interesting, confident people are usually the center of attention. How does this translate to your on-line? Write interesting content and share it with confidence. – A simple post on Twitter or FriendFeed to let your followers know you have something new, then let your readers find you.
In addition to really dynamic and interesting people, the other very popular folks at any party are the good listeners. So spend some time listening as well by asking good questions if you want to be more attractive on line!
Everyone is Not My Customer!
Everyone is not my customer. While I know that intellectually, sometimes it is hard to embrace that fact emotionally, especially in a tough economy. But the truth is, if I want to use my time well and do the right thing for my clients, sometimes the best thing to do is to turn the project over to a competitor.
This quote is from a post by Seth Godin on this topic. He argued that passing a project to someone else better prepared to handle it will actually raise your image with that client. He said:
This is when you earn the right to be seen as a trusted advisor, not a self-interested shill. Two months or two years from now, when you interact with that person or organization again, he’ll remember that you were the one who spoke up on behalf of the competition, the one who helped us find a better fit, the clearly disinterested advisor who helped us choose between the two remaining good choices.
I know he is right. So to help me make good recommendations I spend time getting to know my competitors. I know areas in which each one excels, so I can pick the best candidate for my client.
Roundpeg is going to be around for a long time. If we miss one sale, but in doing so, establish our position as trusted advisors it will be worth it in the long run.
At the Water Cooler
I spent the early part of my career working in larger companies. Along the way I discovered I was much more productive, wandering the halls, talking to people, then I was sitting in meeting. I learned very quickly, that real decisions were made, around the water cooler.
When I started my own business, I missed those productive, daily conversations. I knew those informal ”water cooler” conversations were important. It just took me awhile to figure out that my water cooler is the local coffee shop.
The Subject of This Week’s Podcast is The Water Cooler – It’s where I get business done. What about you?
