|
Greetings!
Is your sales team maximizing your repeat and referral business? In this issue of In Harmony, I provide you with tips for staying sharp as a sales person, getting more business from current customers and successfully generating more referrals. This is the perfect time for you to increase your revenue and bottom line profit!
Greg Stuart
President
|
Our Time Strategies Workshop begins Friday. It's not too late to register.
Call 805.413.4128 to reserve your spot today!
|
 Your Next Sale Is Just Under Your Nose
Would you believe that 80% of your sales most likely come from 20% of your customers? This is reality for the majority of businesses, small and large. This means that more than likely, your next sale will come from someone who has already done business with you.
 Back in 1906, Vilfredo Pareto learned that 80% of Italy's wealth was held by only 20% of the people. Then one day, after examining his garden, he also realized that 20% of his pea pods accounted for 80% of his pea crop yield that year. Was there a lesson here? This got him thinking, and not long after, the "Pareto Principle" was established. With the same preciseness, this same principle can be applied to business. You may know it as the 80/20 rule.
This principle sheds a lot of understanding on how businesses should be run. Rather than putting all your energy into new business, you would be wise to spend a reasonable amount of your time following up and servicing people who have already given you business. After all, you've already removed the first barrier. Up selling current customers should come naturally as long as you are proactive in following up and providing top-notch service.
What does this mean to you?
Imagine, about one-fifth of your customer base is just waiting for you to offer them something new. If you're not following up with your existing customers, you're actually passing up 80% of your potential business. Of course, if you originally provided a poor experience, this may not be the case, but for businesses that operate on a principle of integrity, this should be a natural course.
Think about it. You've probably already invested heavily in getting that first piece of business: planning, advertising, promotional activity, etc. Now it's time to develop their "lifetime value." There's lot of things you can do to show appreciation:
Christmas and birthdays: a great time to send a thoughtful gift or hand written note.
Attend events: if your customer holds annual charity events or some sort of meeting, make sure you take the time to attend and show your support.
Renewals: a great time to touch base with a notice of renewal that expresses your heartfelt appreciation for their business.
Incentives: put your money where your mouth is and show your customers' value. A gift incentive or discount can go a long way in terms of future revenues.
Touch base: call your customers every so often to see how they are doing, how the product/service you sold them is performing, and inquire or listen for any other needs. Use newsletter subscriptions to keep you top-of-mind.
Great service: the single-best way to ensure customers will remain loyal. Go above and beyond. You'll be surprised at how much of an advocate that customer can turn out to be in terms of referrals. Make sure you offer them more products/services that will meet real needs. If they liked you and the product/service they bought, they'll buy from you again. The important thing is to always endeavor to meet the needs of your existing and future customers.
The possibilities are endless!
|
|
 |
|
Referral Business: 3 Steps to Generating Unlimited Referrals
Of course, every sales person knows referral business is vitally important. But how do you generate enough referrals to triple your sales and commissions? That's easy, keep reading and I will share three sure fire steps to creating massive referrals for your business:
Wow your clients. In order to generate referral business you want to go out of your way to demonstrate a high level of service to EVERYONE who comes in contact with your business and not just clients.
Everyone who comes in contact with your business is a potential customer or referral source. I've had service people come into my office, see how we do business, and ask about our services.
But how do you "wow" your clients and others to generate referral business?
Basically, you will need to be honest, knowledgeable, friendly, professional, and deliver on your promises.
Exceed their expectations. Set yourself up to succeed. If you think a task will be completed on Wednesday, tell your client it will be completed on Friday. Then, when you call them on Wednesday to report that the task has been completed you'll look like a superstar because you exceeded their expectation. In short, deliver ahead of schedule and always look for a way to communicate proactively. Find out why your clients call and stop them from calling by answering all questions ahead of time.
Give unexpected bonuses. Give your clients some kind of surprise bonus. Give them more than what they expected. Your bonus could relate to your product or it could be in the form of a gift. Here are a few gift giving ideas to help generate referral business:
Step #1: Before the sale
Try to give your clients something right up front. Try giving clients a $5 gift card before they even agree to do business with you.
During the sales process send cookies to both spouses' work with a thank you note and plenty of your business cards so they can give them to co-workers. This is an excellent technique for creating referral business.
After the transaction is complete send a hand-written thank you note and flowers to your clients' home.
Step #2: Collect testimonials
Now that you have wowed your clients, get a testimonial from them.
In fact, it would be a great idea to survey your clients at the beginning, middle, and end of the sales process immediately after they have received one of your gifts.
Collect your surveys in writing by using short, quick answer questionnaires; 10 questions or less. Here are sample questions for your questionnaire:
- Why did you choose to do business with us?
- Was your transaction closed on time?
YES / NO - How would you rate our courtesy?
- EXCELLENT / GOOD / FAIR / POOR
- How would you rate our efficiency and speed?
- EXCELLENT / GOOD / FAIR / POOR
- How would you evaluate the competitiveness of the price you received on your product?
EXCELLENT / GOOD / FAIR / POOR - Overall, how would you rate the service you received during this transaction?
EXCELLENT / GOOD / FAIR / POOR - Have you ever purchased a similar product from a company other than (Your Company Name)?
YES / NO - Would you recommend us to a friend or relative?
YES / NO
Ask for permission to share these experiences with others in your marketing material. This information can serve as testimonials for the next step in the creation of your referral business.
Step #3: Generate more referral business
Now you need to take the data from the questionnaires and combine that with the specific measurable results that your client achieved by aligning with you to create a case study.
The most obvious use for your case study is to publish to a section of your website. But in order to get the most out of your case studies, you will need to go further.
The second use of the case study is as a way to educate your centers of influence and referral sources. Take them out to lunch and give them a couple copies of several case studies. This way they can see the financial incentives that their friends, business contacts, etc. could achieve by working with you.
Yet another use is to give a copy back to the client. This version should really highlight how they are a better company or person as a result of the work with you. They can hang it in their office or share with their network, so word gets out to their contacts about how you may be able to help them achieve similar results!
In summary, incorporate these ideas into the way you conduct business and you will automatically deliver such a high level of service that your clients will jump at the chance to tell their family, friends, and co-workers about your service.
|
|
|
|
7 Ways to Stay Sharp in Sales
 In Africa, the natives have a clever way to catch monkeys. They take a coconut shell, cut a small hole in one end, and hollow it out. The hole is just big enough to allow a monkey's hand to enter.
Then they attach a string to the other end of the coconut shell, place some peanuts inside, put the shell in the middle of a clearing, and hide themselves behind a tree until a monkey comes.
The monkey smells the peanuts inside the shell ... it reaches in to grab the peanuts ... but when it does, its fist, full with peanuts, is too large to pull back through the hole.
The natives start pulling on the string and reel the silly monkey in. Why? Because the monkey will not let go of those peanuts to save his life. All the monkey would have to do is let go of the peanuts, but he won't.
So let's assume this monkey catching technique works. Chances are if you're like me, you'll never get a chance to try it out. I don't recommend you doing this at your local zoo!
So why tell the story? Do you find yourself grasping a fist full of peanuts? Do you ever get hold of something and not let go? Do you want the peanuts so badly that you fail to consider other alternatives to achieve your goal? Are you flexible and effective in your thinking? Are you prepared to try other methodologies and techniques? Do you seek out others for advice? Do you use your power of observation on those who are successful?
Here is some simple advice on how to "get the peanuts."
- Always be prospecting. "Everyone is an opportunity for new business or a referral."
- Keep the calendar full of appointments. "A body in motion stays in motion, a body at rest stays at rest."
- Be proficient in your presentation skills. "Confidence sells."
- Your customers are a gold mine for future business. "Treat them right and they will take care of you."
- Set stretch goals. "Great things happen to those who make things happen."
- Hard work is just that. "Honest, intelligent effort is always rewarded."
- Have fun. "Enjoy what you do and you'll be good at it."
|
|
|
Contact Us 
Harmony Solutions International, LLC
2219 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. Suite 383 Westlake Village, CA 91362 Call: 805-413-4128 Email Us
|
|
How aligned is your organization?
 Our organizational assessment tool provides information as to how well critical elements are working together to achieve business and strategic goals. It also identifies which of these critical elements are working against you.
We measure the interrelationships of the essential elements which become predictors of future strength. Our approach is outcome-focused rather than simply measuring non-relevant activities.
Key Activities
- Personal Interviews
- Administration of D.I.AL.O.G. Instrument
- Scoring of Responses
- Presentation of Results
- Discussion of Positive and Negative Influences
- Provide "Gap" Analysis and Directional Recommendations
For more information visit our website, send us an email, or call Greg at 805.413.4128.
|
Is your organization maximizing your people and processes to protect and enhance the environment while being profitable? Complete this short assessment to ascertain where your organization is as it relates to the concepts of sustainability.
|
|
|
|
