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Friday
June 25, 2010 Tip of the Day - Gain More New BusinessFiled under: Tip of the Day
But how to do it? How can you find new business when clients are still hesitant to break open their marketing banks? The simple answer could be to call new prospects, to expand your marketing efforts to include new target markets. But it takes a deeper and more strategic effort than that. It means focusing on referral programs, making new partnerships and becoming an expert in areas that may have previously been foreign to you. Here are three ways distributors can ramp up their new-business-generation efforts right now. Get Referrals “Last year was the time for distributors to get proactive, maybe even the year before,” she says. “When business is really good” it’s easy to get complacent and ease up on new business development. Distributors who do that risk losing sales skills and ultimately becoming “order takers” – never a stable market position. Instead, the time to ask for referrals is when you’re at your highest point with a client and that’s when they’re first doing business with you. “There’s a euphoria when a deal closes that distributors can use to their advantage to ask for business referrals,” says Drew Stevens, president of Stevens Consulting Group, and author of Split Second Selling. After landing a referral, it’s vital to thank clients for that new business, says Daniel Murphy, president and founder of The Growth Coach, a coaching franchise system. “Most small businesses don’t send a periodic gift of value,” he says. A $25 gift card to Starbucks sent periodically, or after a referral results in an order, builds rapport for future referrals, Murphy says. Cast The Net – Locally How to determine the best places to network? One point to remember is that bigger isn’t always better. Too often distributors attend large-scale trade shows or networking events, thinking volume is the key to more sales, only to find disappointment when leads don’t develop or pan out. Volume is indeed important, Miller says, but in local, more intimate settings that offer better one-on-one pitch potential. Just make sure that one-on-one face time doesn’t keep you focused on one person for the entire meeting. “You don’t want to be stuck in a corner with someone,” Miller says. “If you find yourself talking with someone for too long, you have to disengage and move on.” Cold-Call In Cyberspace “Someone posted a note saying they were looking for speakers,” Horowitz says. “I had been wanting to go from being a national speaker to being an international speaker for years.” He sent a proposal and was invited to Davos not too long after. On another occasion he landed a speaking engagement through Twitter. Indeed, business opportunities abound almost anywhere, particularly online. Begin to create a presence online by signing up on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Then enhance your online following by sending regular e-newsletters to both clients and prospects. The key, though, to a successful newsletter is to not make it a hard-sell marketing piece – it should offer some value to recipients so that they remember you and your company as a trusted resource and marketing expert. From Education Adviser, vol. 26
Friday
October 10, 2008 ASI Catalog Request ServiceFiled under: site updates
It’s cheap and easy (bad traits in a person, but exactly what one wants in a business service) – if you’re logged into ASICentral.com, you don’t even have to type any personal info. Our team’s senior developer, Samantha, recently upgraded the site’s registration database to allow forms to be pre-populated with members’ information…I swear, it’s like magic! So visit the page now, then just sit back and wait for over 3,500 catalogs to arrive at your doorstep. (Well, actually, you should probably start making room for all your catalogs instead of sitting back and doing nothing all day long. But once you’ve done that, you’re good.) -KB
Wednesday
October 8, 2008 Attention New Distributors!Filed under: site updates
Check it out for tips and advice, and maybe some warnings, that will help you succeed in YOUR business. -KB |
Right now, savvy distributors are focusing their efforts on expanding revenues. They’re doing everything they can to find new business, and ultimately, grow their customers bases. If there’s anything distributors are craving these days it’s a greater volume of orders to help negate a lack of productivity last year.
