Small Business Information |
|
Dont Wait - Sell The Future Now!
Just as you are about to say "good-bye" to your hair stylist, you get the question, "shall we make our next appointment?" Most businesses sell products or services that are cyclical in their "need" curve. In other words, the client has need of your product at regular intervals of time. Examples are a veterinarian (varying amounts of time between "needs"), a tax accountant (at least annually, often monthly or quarterly), or a house painter (five to ten years). The customer, once finished with the transaction knows they will be in need of this service in the future. Most vendors, once finished with the transaction, hopes the customer will remember to come back at that time. But that is exactly the best possible time to pre-sell the next purchase? right then, when the customer is the very happiest they made the purchase from you. Yet, clients, even if they are happy with the product they purchased, are lost every day because: � They don't remember who provided that service last time � A competitor is able to capture your customer by promoting aggressively � It was more convenient for them to go elsewhere � The vendor did not pre-sell the next sale Companies that have a pre-selling program and a way of offering it to customers at the best possible moment are able to retain their customers longer and grow their businesses faster. It might be as simple as, like the hair stylist, just asking for the next appointment. Larry Galler coaches high-performing executives, professionals, and owners of small businesses to extraordinary acheivement. To learn about ways Larry helps businesses acheive their goals visit http://www.larrygaller.com or email [email protected].
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Alliances: Drawing The Line How far can you go based on your relationship with an alliance partner? 5 Small Business Management Questions to Help Choose Marketing Programs As small business managers, we juggle limited resources in a quest for success. To an extent, when we focus on success in one area we forego attention elsewhere. Limited money and time mean we must choose from seemingly endless -- and often conflicting -- advice and recommendations from marketing service providers; management and marketing consultants; and internal experts. This creates a dilemma. How do you choose which recommendations to embrace and which to pass by? Operating Your Small Business ? Everything Really Is a Project Do you operate your business as a series of projects, using project management tools and skills to advance your projects from conception to completion? Or perhaps you're new to project management tools and skills and haven't considered applying them to your own business? Most of us fall somewhere in between. Carwash Manual Sample Outline Car wash businesses are unique to other businesses. In fact they are about as unique as the many different type of vehicles one is asked to wash. Many vehicles are best cleaned using slightly different techniques. If you own a carwash or a mobile car wash you will need an operations manual to assist your managers in staying efficient. Presentations and Sales Automotive Detailers Many auto detailers fall short in their sales presentations. I have often shopped the competition to see what their knowledge base was to gage their worthiness as a formidable competitor in the market place. What I have found is that many auto detailers lack the specific knowledge needed to help their business grow and to present themselves as experienced in their work to the customers. When to Say NO! When is it a good thing to say no to a request? Top Ten Resolves for Building Your Business in 2005 1. Resolve to build a consistent network system. Franchising Companies Relationship Strategies Franchising Corporations need to maintain an iron fist when it comes to certain things in order to maintain absolute integrity of the system; Consistency, Quality, Cleanliness and Customer Courtesy or Service. Ray Kroc in his book; "Grinding it Out" made that point perfectly clear, some called him a hard ass on the details and indeed it served him well and turned 11,000 franchisees into millionaires along with some 1500 executives early on. That of course is one side of the game and it is difficult to maintain control of such important quintessential items in an age of over regulations and constant lawsuits. The best strategy we have found after surveying many franchising companies at; Franchising.org is to have a strong franchise relationship policy, which enhances communications and prevents lawsuits, as litigation is the lowest form of communication. Computer Related Habits From Small Business Owner - Be Prepared, Avoid Despair Aside from the fear of losing a spreadsheet or research project prepared for a client, what prompted me to write this article was the realization that it takes nothing short of persistent follow up to stay ahead of computer threats which could ruin my business. I also accepted the fact that keeping my computer free of viruses and spam is paramount to ensuring my computer is not going to harm others. A Small Business Consultant Can Help in Many Ways... But One Thing He Can?t Provide A consultant must remember that the business belongs to the client. There is always a danger that the consultant will take a dominant position to the detriment of both of them. 11 Things Small Business Owners Can Learn From Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer 1. Everyone Makes A Difference ? Despite not letting him play in their games, the other reindeer came to understand Rudolph's importance. Look for the talents in each of your employees. Environmental Pressure Washing in Pennsylvania If you run a mobile car wash, mobile fleet washing company, mobile auto detailing business or a Pressure Washing firm in Pennsylvania there are things you should know. Pennsylvania is serious about cleaning the environment. Be Prepared When Business Investors Look Beyond Your Business Plan You have spent considerable time pulling your business plan together, contacting potential business investors, making management presentations and pitching your business plan to prospective business investors. Now you finally have a serious investor who wants to conduct "due diligence" before investing real cash into your business. One Of The Best New Business Opportunities May Be Right In Your Home - A New Daycare Business The day care industry is expanding. There are now more than 100,000 licensed child-care centers and 250,000 licensed family day care homes across the United States. Fleet Washing Operations Manual Sample Outline In the Truck Washing Business every single type of vehicle is washed differently. If you are going to run a mobile onsite fleet washing business with multiple trucks in multiple cities you will in fact need a comprehensive manual to keep your crews and equipment running at an optimum. Below you will see a sample outline to assist you in constructing a washing procedure manual, which will include many different types of fleet vehicles. Old Data in Database Marketing Software Database Problems in Marketing Preparing to Launch Your Small Business Small business owners often enter their field with great expectations. Unfortunately, reality strikes shortly afterwards. Here's how you can enter the entrepreneurial battle ground with confidence... Are You Running Your Business or Is Your Business Running You? Being a small or home-based business owner can be loads of fun and very rewarding. Equipment Maintenance Manual for Mobile Cleaning Business Outline Service Cleaning Businesses must maintain their equipment in order to insure it is ready to go when the company vehicles reach their customer. It does not matter how many service vehicles or employees you have, a manual can save you both time and money. If your equipment is not running correctly you will find yourself in a position of having to make an excuse to a customer. Although if this happens only once you probably will not jeopardize the account, but if it becomes a common occurrence you will be sure that you will lose some accounts and be thought of as inefficient and unreliable. If this happens you can bet that if your competition shows up with a lower price and a few extra promises you will receive your walking papers and become a political casualty of the world of the cleaning business. Pressure Washing and Hospital Accounts Most pressure washing companies never look into some of the best niche markets. One, which you may not have thought about is Hospitals and if you run a pressure washing company it can mean good steady income. When contract cleaning you must figure out the needs of your clientele; Hospitals have special needs, which are not common to other businesses and if you are careful to address these needs you will be well served. One recommendation I give pressure washing companies is to bundle services. This does two things; 1.) It prevents price wars with low bidders or first time entrants into the industry and 2.) It enhances the monthly invoices for services rendered. |
home | site map |
© 2005 |