Business-to-business is a sure-fire business model that many clever entrepreneurs have used to gain a foothold in their specific corporate and retail niches. If you're focused primarily on serving the clients that come into your retail outlet, you may find that you can move more merchandise if you also spend some time fostering positive B2B networking.

B2B is all about selling your products (usually in bulk, or at least in larger quantities) to other businesses, and it's a really smart idea that can add significant value to your consumer durables company. Let's look at some exciting ways to use B2B in your community:

Hotels

Canvass local hotels, or send direct mail sales letter to hotels; advertise competitive rates on large orders of alarm clocks, televisions, radios, and other consumer durables, such as portable fans or air conditioning units. Remember that hotels need furniture and large appliances, too! Try to keep pricing really competitive, so hotel managers have a good reason to consider switching to your company and abandoning their regular suppliers. You may need to back up your promises with legally-binding contracts, but you'll soon get the hang of things, and the large orders (even at a lower price per unit) will have an excellent effect on your bottom line. If you have a corporate attorney that you consult with sometimes, have them prepare a basic contract that you can adapt for your specific purposes.

Community Centers

Local community centers that feature gyms, daycare centers, and other common areas will also need TVs, radios, and the like, and you can be the one that sells them to the city; contact City or town departments that run community centers, and find out if they're interested in meeting to discuss B2B business. In most cases, official City departments will be honor-bound to support the community, and your business is part of that community. If you get a meeting, stress the benefits of choosing a local supplier, and offer great deals if a city buyer will consider choosing your for their consumer durables needs.

Restaurants

Restaurants, bars and bistros offer excellent ways to unload a few of your flat-screen TVs and other electronics - if you know some sports bars in your area, drop by and check them out. Chances are, you'll see at least four or five big TVs mounted on the walls, and these TVs will need to be replaced in time. To attract the interest of these types of businesses, spruce yourself up, and go in and introduce yourself to the owners. Let them know you're a part of the community, and you're willing to cut them an awesome deal on supplying their location with fresh electronics. Making these connections may not pay off right away, but you can be sure that you'll get a "hit" in time, and the B2B relationship could last for a very long time.

These are just a few suggestions to inspire you; you can surely think of many other ways to interest local businesses in your inventory of products and services. Growing B2B relationships is a great way to boost your business and network - after all, even a business owner who turns down your offer may turn into a private client who remembers your business the next time he or she needs a new durable for personal use.

A loyalty program is targeted marketing that is designed to make returning customers feel special and valued. If you're not currently running a loyalty program, you are missing out on an excellent way to strengthen the relationships that really matter. After all, it costs a lot more to attract new clients than it does to retain the customers you already have - and these returning clients may be the lifeblood of your business. Here are some tips on creating an ideal customer loyalty program:

Reward Card - A reward card is used to give clients even more reasons to return to your business. A typical reward card will offer a discount of say, ten percent when a client buys five items, or ten items, or what have you. How a reward programs is created and administered is important - managers and owners should be directly involved in the process, so that there aren't any abuses. For example, a hole-punch system of tracking purchases can easily be abused. It's better to modernize and come up with a bar code employees can swipe on a Reward Card each time a returning customer buys something. Once you have a Reward Card system in place, promote it heavily - it can be the decisive factor that changes a new, one-time customer to a regular, loyal client.

Referral Programs -

A referral program will generally offer a referrer a cash bonus or discount for sending some business your way - these programs can be used for B2B business or typical retail business at your store.

If you have good word-of-mouth advertising, but would really like even more of it, you'll enjoy the benefits that a referral program can bring to your business. For example, for a low cost of ten dollars per successful referral (referrals should result in a closed deal), you can generate a lot more business, without spending a lot of money on marketing, advertising, and promotions.

Birthday Deals - There aren't too many people who don't enjoy feeling special on their birthdays, so reward your long-time employees for their loyalty by offering them presents and special offers on their big day. Since they may be too busy celebrating to shop on the actual birthdate, let them know that their special birthday deal is good for a couple of weeks after the actual birthdate.

With this sort of three-prong loyalty program in place, it will be easy to keep the regular clients you already have. When clients feel cared for and valued, they will also give your business the important word-of-mouth advertising that it needs.

Most retail operators do understand the basic psychology of how to sell to clients, based on their customer's feelings, motivations, and subconscious cues (such as body language and eye contact);.however, there is always more to learn about the psychology of selling. If you're interested in creative selling techniques that are based on tested and logical psychological principles, you'll love these quick and simple tips on swaying the public and moving more of your merchandise through psychological selling:

People Enjoy Your Pitches - Yes, it is true that the hard sell can turn off more people than it resonates with; however, a clever soft-sell technique can work wonders, if it's structured to "help" a client solve an issue or problem. Don't shy away from sales pitches on the retail floor - simply begin the whole process by asking a few questions that establish exactly what the client wants help with.

For example, a client may want energy-saving appliances, but be wary of big price tags for great products that feature these "green" elements - in order to sell to a person like this, show them your line of energy-saving products, and then tell them that they can finance their purchases through your in-house financing program. This way, your partnership with Crelogix will give your client access to amazing low, monthly payment plans with reasonable interest rates.

Break down resistance by solving an issue - and don't be shy about doing a traditional sales pitch. If your pitch is aimed at the client's emotions and underlying motivations, a polished pitch will move you closer to a closed deal.

Personalize - Facts and figures about products are all well and good - in fact, these facts and figures can back up a customer's emotional reaction to a product and push a sales pitch over the finish line. However, people relate best to stories about other men and women; they really want to know how products have been experienced or enjoyed by other people who are a lot like them.

With this in mind, try to memorize a few authentic customer reviews and testimonials you've hear recently, and pull these out during your conversations with a new or returning client. By relating a product in a personal way, you can build more trust and rapport with a client, because the client will respond more naturally to human experiences, rather than spreadsheets of technical data.

Followers, Not Leaders - Most people prefer to take a back seat - they want to follow someone else's lead, rather than being trailblazers or pioneers. With that in mind, consider the way you sell, and feature information on the popularity of a certain product. If you're selling an MP3 player, and a customer has never owned one before, mention how many you've sold, and how happy customers have been with the sound and technical features of the piece. Concentrate your pitch on the popularity of the item to reinforce its value. This psychological trick will work well on the "follower" mentality.

Since 1974, we've been there, helping Canadian entrepreneurs to make their career ambitions a reality. We have the toolkit that savvy businesspeople need to attract and retain more retail trade. With our term financing solutions, we have what it takes to help our partners open up affordability at their businesses. By giving customers access to low, monthly payment plans and attractive interest rates, we make it possible for them to buy the items they really want, instead of settling for lower-priced items.

When customers know they don't have to buy products in one lump sum, they can explore more possibilities and get the "dream items" they've always wanted. Fulfilling expectations and improving the entire customer service experience is really what partnering with Crelogix is all about...and the best part of it all is that we handle every bit of loan administration!

When you partner with us, we give you access to the online MyCrelogix.com system; this convenient Internet portal allows you to punch in basic data about a client, and then give that client an instant answer about whether or not they qualify for a consumer loan.

Within minutes, you'll have the information you need to cut through buyer hesitation during a sales pitch, and the system is so easy to learn and use! No one needs endless training to master our intuitive interface - it's programmed to be simple and straightforward. Using this online portal is all you need to do, because we take care of the rest. The endless phone calls, faxes, and unnecessary paperwork of the past will be just a memory when you embrace the future... with the power of Crelogix.

Sometimes, sales pitches fall flat or spiral downward when customers start to get cold feet regarding the cost of paying for the items they want to buy; this "buyer hesitation" kills a lot of deals, when they were so close to crossing the finish line. With in-house financing in place, you can offer alternatives that soothe and reassure potential buyers, and it's all so fast and easy. Our cost-effective services pay for themselves over time, and they really do drive more business to your door.

To find out exactly how easy it is to get started with our system, call us and speak to a member of our team. For over thirty years, we've been there, helping out entrepreneurs; now, we're ready to give you the benefit of decades of financial expertise and acumen. Call us today or email our offices to get started with a new partnership that propels your business into the future.

Crelogix is Expanding