Most business owners understand that the cost of acquisition of customers/clients is one of the major drains on the overall profitability of their particular business enterprise. Unfortunately, a far fewer number, approach the task of ensuring that a high proportion of their new business comes from prospects referred to them via their customers/clients and business associates.
The downside of not treating the obtaining of consistent referral business as a real business strategy, and thereby devoting time and necessary resources to affect the required outcomes, is firstly, a higher cost of acquisition of new business and secondly, detrimental fluctuations in the monthly revenue generated from new business.
Realistically, as a business owner you cannot afford not to be doing everything you can to ensure that your business receives a consistent flow of referrals from satisfied customers/clients, and that the other businesses that you do business with, reciprocate by referring business to you.
The only way I know to consistent get referrals of potential new business from your own customers/clients is to set up a formal referral system, as part of the overall customer acquisition strategy of your business.
The key component of any referral system should be as follows;
a) a process for asking for referrals from customers/clients,
b) a process for acknowledging all referrals received,
c) a process for recording and monitoring progress of all referrals,
d) a process for rewarding referrals which result in new business,
e) a program of targeted training to ensure all staff understand both the importance of all referrals and the workings of the system you put in place to obtain same, and
f) a mechanism for rewarding staff for supporting the referral system.
The other major source of referrals of new business is through your own business associates, and this avenue should also be carefully considered, when establishing your referral system.
The key elements here are similar to those outlined for obtaining referral from customers/clients, but with business associates, you need to add the additional task of informing them fully of the types of new business you are specifically seeking, what your ideal new customer/client looks like, and what you intend doing for them as a reciprocal approach.
Without an overall customer acquisition strategy, which includes a formal referral process that is supported throughout the business, referrals of new business to you as a business owner, will always be inconsistent, and the level thereof always well below what it should be for a well run business.
What percentage of your new business comes from direct referral from existing customers/clients?
Do you have a formal customer acquisition strategy and does this include a referral strategy?
Do you currently devote sufficient time and other resources to ensuring that your business maximises its opportunities to become more profitable through generating the bulk of its new business via direct referrals?
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About Me
- Daniel Watson
- Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Born in the mid 1950's and raised in a very small country town situated in Northern Victoria. Resident of Melbourne since 1980 and happy to stay living in one of the world's most liveable cities. You can view my professional profile at http://www.linkedin/in/danielwatson
Showing posts with label tips for business success. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tips for business success. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Learn to Sell with Your Ears
One of the key roles of a business owner is to be the chief salesperson for the business itself, and in many instances this role also includes being the chief salesperson to the largest and most important customers.
Some business owners are very competent in one or both of these sales roles, but for many who do not have sales or marketing backgrounds, and even some who do, the necessity for them to perform these roles can often be quite challenging, and they often find that the efforts that they do put in, deliver less than optimal results.
Regardless of their backgrounds, all business owners can improve their sales performance if they remember the old adage “God gave you two ears and only one mouth, use them in that proportion, if you wish to be successful”.
When you are in front of a prospective customer or client for the first time, how much air time do you give to them? If the ration is not at least 70% of the time you spend with them, you are more than likely talking yourself out of a lot of new business.
How often do you interrupt your prospective customer or client during an average first interaction? Any interruption is a bad mistake. Apart from being seen as rude behaviour, the chances are high that you will not discover a key piece of information, which could help you win the business.
If a prospective customer or client says something you disagree with strongly, are you able to hold off countering with an argument before they have fully expressed their views? If you can't, you will establish the climate for multiple objections to your offering, as well as perhaps missing a hot button or two that you could later push to win the business.
Do you constantly intersperse your presentations with personal stories? Whilst personalising your presentation and building rapport in the initial phase of the first meeting is good form, constant story telling throughout a presentation wastes time, and can easily divert the dialogue away from the business at hand.
Are you a great finisher of other people's sentences? If you are, you will frustrate your prospective customer or client who will see you as a rude, unlikeable person with whom they will not want to do business on a long term basis. You will also be more often wrong than right in your assumptions, as to what they were about to say.
Do you clearly convey to your prospective customer or client your impatience for them to finish speaking so that you can make your point? This is a deadly habit as your prospect knows you are not listening to anything they are saying to you while you are rehearsing in your mind your response to what they said at an earlier point in their dialogue.
Whilst not regularly acknowledged, your eyes are also a tool to enhance communication and you need to be careful that yours don’t bore into your prospective customer or clients eyes like laser beams on full and continuous power. It is easy to overdo eye contact, and this will create tension in the person being subjected to such scrutiny, and this tension will usually block effective communication.
If you improve your listening skills in each of the above areas you will remove a significant barrier between yourself and your potential customers or clients thereby allowing you to more easily establish constructive relationships, which in turn will lead to far more successful business outcomes.
How many of these common listening mistakes are you currently making by force of habit?
When did you last do any training to improve your listening skills?
If you were to remove these listening mistakes completely from your sales presentations, what effect would that have on your closing ratios for new business, and what would this mean in terms of additional revenue for your business?
If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment below or subscribing to the RSS feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Some business owners are very competent in one or both of these sales roles, but for many who do not have sales or marketing backgrounds, and even some who do, the necessity for them to perform these roles can often be quite challenging, and they often find that the efforts that they do put in, deliver less than optimal results.
Regardless of their backgrounds, all business owners can improve their sales performance if they remember the old adage “God gave you two ears and only one mouth, use them in that proportion, if you wish to be successful”.
When you are in front of a prospective customer or client for the first time, how much air time do you give to them? If the ration is not at least 70% of the time you spend with them, you are more than likely talking yourself out of a lot of new business.
How often do you interrupt your prospective customer or client during an average first interaction? Any interruption is a bad mistake. Apart from being seen as rude behaviour, the chances are high that you will not discover a key piece of information, which could help you win the business.
If a prospective customer or client says something you disagree with strongly, are you able to hold off countering with an argument before they have fully expressed their views? If you can't, you will establish the climate for multiple objections to your offering, as well as perhaps missing a hot button or two that you could later push to win the business.
Do you constantly intersperse your presentations with personal stories? Whilst personalising your presentation and building rapport in the initial phase of the first meeting is good form, constant story telling throughout a presentation wastes time, and can easily divert the dialogue away from the business at hand.
Are you a great finisher of other people's sentences? If you are, you will frustrate your prospective customer or client who will see you as a rude, unlikeable person with whom they will not want to do business on a long term basis. You will also be more often wrong than right in your assumptions, as to what they were about to say.
Do you clearly convey to your prospective customer or client your impatience for them to finish speaking so that you can make your point? This is a deadly habit as your prospect knows you are not listening to anything they are saying to you while you are rehearsing in your mind your response to what they said at an earlier point in their dialogue.
Whilst not regularly acknowledged, your eyes are also a tool to enhance communication and you need to be careful that yours don’t bore into your prospective customer or clients eyes like laser beams on full and continuous power. It is easy to overdo eye contact, and this will create tension in the person being subjected to such scrutiny, and this tension will usually block effective communication.
If you improve your listening skills in each of the above areas you will remove a significant barrier between yourself and your potential customers or clients thereby allowing you to more easily establish constructive relationships, which in turn will lead to far more successful business outcomes.
How many of these common listening mistakes are you currently making by force of habit?
When did you last do any training to improve your listening skills?
If you were to remove these listening mistakes completely from your sales presentations, what effect would that have on your closing ratios for new business, and what would this mean in terms of additional revenue for your business?
If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment below or subscribing to the RSS feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Don’t Blow it Next Time
As a business owner, you will most likely have walked away from at least one past business meeting or presentation with a sinking feeling in your stomach, usually providing you with very clear evidence that you had blown the opportunity, to get the business you were pursuing.
It is also likely, that whilst you suspected that you knew where you may have gone wrong, you were never quite sure whether it was a single factor, or a combination of many factors, that led to the less than desirable outcome.
The reality is that there are many key factors that a potential customer or client may take into consideration during their decision making process, and even if you present a compelling case, you do not have to go wrong on very many of these key factors, to effectively blow your hard won opportunity.
Your audience expect, and want a lot, from the person making the presentation to them, and the key factors they will take into account in exercising their judgement include;
• Are you a user of the specific the product or service you are pitching
• Are you displaying any signs of deception or game playing with them
• Are you wasting time their time by straying from the relevant factual information
• Do you share stories of other people using the product / service you offer
• Is your product/service a good deal with clear value at the lowest price possible
• Are you listening to them far more than you talk yourself
• Can you establish the market competitiveness of your pricing policy
• Do you remain positive and upbeat with no hint of negativity of any kind
• Do you convey and maintain sincerity along with showing a strong smiling face
• Do you refrain from inferring that bad decisions may have been made previously
• Are you demonstrating that you really like them as individuals and as a group
• Can you establish confidence that they will definitely get what they pay for
• Will you assist them to actually make and justify the purchase decision
• Are you able to show them exactly how you will support them after they buy
• Are you likely to pressure or harass them to make early decisions
• Did you treat them as adult decision makers
• Did you make them feel as they are special and important to your business
• Were you able to provide clear proof and valid evidence of all claims you made
The real secret to not blowing it in future, is to do whatever you have to do in terms of preparing for, delivering, and closing your pitch, with the utmost care, thereby ensuring that the potential customer or client ticks off on the vast majority, if not all, of these key factors, as your presentation progresses and concludes.
Think back to your last pitch for a piece of significant business where you feel that you really blew it, and you will most likely find that even from your own viewpoint you will be able to highlight one or two of the key factors, where you probably failed in the eyes of the prospect(s).
For your next important pitch for business, use this list of key factors as a checklist to help you prepare for both the presentation itself, and for carefully tailoring the content, to ensure you get as many ticks as possible from the potential customer / client.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment below or subscribing to the RSS feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.
It is also likely, that whilst you suspected that you knew where you may have gone wrong, you were never quite sure whether it was a single factor, or a combination of many factors, that led to the less than desirable outcome.
The reality is that there are many key factors that a potential customer or client may take into consideration during their decision making process, and even if you present a compelling case, you do not have to go wrong on very many of these key factors, to effectively blow your hard won opportunity.
Your audience expect, and want a lot, from the person making the presentation to them, and the key factors they will take into account in exercising their judgement include;
• Are you a user of the specific the product or service you are pitching
• Are you displaying any signs of deception or game playing with them
• Are you wasting time their time by straying from the relevant factual information
• Do you share stories of other people using the product / service you offer
• Is your product/service a good deal with clear value at the lowest price possible
• Are you listening to them far more than you talk yourself
• Can you establish the market competitiveness of your pricing policy
• Do you remain positive and upbeat with no hint of negativity of any kind
• Do you convey and maintain sincerity along with showing a strong smiling face
• Do you refrain from inferring that bad decisions may have been made previously
• Are you demonstrating that you really like them as individuals and as a group
• Can you establish confidence that they will definitely get what they pay for
• Will you assist them to actually make and justify the purchase decision
• Are you able to show them exactly how you will support them after they buy
• Are you likely to pressure or harass them to make early decisions
• Did you treat them as adult decision makers
• Did you make them feel as they are special and important to your business
• Were you able to provide clear proof and valid evidence of all claims you made
The real secret to not blowing it in future, is to do whatever you have to do in terms of preparing for, delivering, and closing your pitch, with the utmost care, thereby ensuring that the potential customer or client ticks off on the vast majority, if not all, of these key factors, as your presentation progresses and concludes.
Think back to your last pitch for a piece of significant business where you feel that you really blew it, and you will most likely find that even from your own viewpoint you will be able to highlight one or two of the key factors, where you probably failed in the eyes of the prospect(s).
For your next important pitch for business, use this list of key factors as a checklist to help you prepare for both the presentation itself, and for carefully tailoring the content, to ensure you get as many ticks as possible from the potential customer / client.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment below or subscribing to the RSS feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
8 Tips to Prevent Negative First Impressions
It is unfortunate, but nothing conveys nervousness or a lack of confidence more than negative body language, and given that we live in a very visual society, you will generally be judged on your body language alone, usually well before you have even had the chance to open your mouth.
As a business owner, you fortunately get to choose whether you are going to be your own best visual aid. The eight tips below can be used as a guide to assist you to demonstrate the body language required to create that critical positive first impression in all of your business interactions.
1) Be properly prepared for the particular activity in which you are to engage.
2) Ensure your posture is erect and conveys alertness.
3) Make a relaxed and confident approach towards those you will be engaging.
4) Make eye contact before you begin to speak.
5) Dress comfortably and appropriately to the environment you are entering.
6) Be conscious of what your hands are doing, or not doing.
7) Smile often.
8) If you wear glasses don't hide behind them, or use them as a crutch.
You also need to understand, that your gestures and mannerisms can help you achieve strong rapport and create a climate of trust, but if your gestures are not aligned to your message or your mannerisms annoy, they can also make people uncomfortable, or even antagonistic, towards you.
It is wise, if you do not already know, to learn quickly what mannerisms and gestures are used by people to convey defensiveness, reflection, suspicion, openness and co-operation, insecurity, and nervousness and ensure that you train yourself to recognise these, and use as appropriate to the situation you find yourself in.
If you can support a strong verbal message with positive and powerful body language, you will appear to your customers/clients as confident, creditable, and caring and in control; the end result of which will undoubtedly be, an increase in business for your enterprise.
Are you conscious of the message your body language conveys to others before you engage with them?
How well do you read the body language of others?
Have you ever filmed yourself doing presentations or conducting business meetings?
As a business owner, you fortunately get to choose whether you are going to be your own best visual aid. The eight tips below can be used as a guide to assist you to demonstrate the body language required to create that critical positive first impression in all of your business interactions.
1) Be properly prepared for the particular activity in which you are to engage.
2) Ensure your posture is erect and conveys alertness.
3) Make a relaxed and confident approach towards those you will be engaging.
4) Make eye contact before you begin to speak.
5) Dress comfortably and appropriately to the environment you are entering.
6) Be conscious of what your hands are doing, or not doing.
7) Smile often.
8) If you wear glasses don't hide behind them, or use them as a crutch.
You also need to understand, that your gestures and mannerisms can help you achieve strong rapport and create a climate of trust, but if your gestures are not aligned to your message or your mannerisms annoy, they can also make people uncomfortable, or even antagonistic, towards you.
It is wise, if you do not already know, to learn quickly what mannerisms and gestures are used by people to convey defensiveness, reflection, suspicion, openness and co-operation, insecurity, and nervousness and ensure that you train yourself to recognise these, and use as appropriate to the situation you find yourself in.
If you can support a strong verbal message with positive and powerful body language, you will appear to your customers/clients as confident, creditable, and caring and in control; the end result of which will undoubtedly be, an increase in business for your enterprise.
Are you conscious of the message your body language conveys to others before you engage with them?
How well do you read the body language of others?
Have you ever filmed yourself doing presentations or conducting business meetings?
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Momentum - The Best Business Fertiliser
Without momentum in your business, everything just grinds to a halt, and all effort is effectively wasted. With momentum, anything is achievable. If you want to be successful as a business owner nothing could have more relevance, or should assume greater importance, than the building and maintaining of momentum in your business.
In this context, and as a business owner, you need to clearly understand what momentum is, and how to make sure it is happening in your business. To begin, you must have a business plan, you must work that plan, and you must be willing and able to grow with your business and to overcome the challenges which will arise as your business grows.
Business momentum can be simply described as the outcome of your own level of productive effort multiplied by the degree of persistence you consistently provide to working your business plan. You know you have momentum when your business is continually busy and the evidence establishes that it in being busy it is accomplishing everything laid out in your business plan.
Building up momentum, in order to establish a manageable and productive funnel of opportunities which deliver regular and growing income, takes considerable time and effort. The following four suggestions, if implemented in your business, should assist you get to the point where you can effectively see and feel the required momentum.
The first suggestion is to know where you are going with your business, why you want to go in that direction, and then attaching basic numbers to what the business must achieve on a daily basis, in order to be successful. This clarity will assist you to work on your business, rather than just working in it without giving much thought for the future.
The second suggestion is to walk to the end of the cliff and jump off, fully knowing that unless you immediately attract customers or clients, it is all over for your business. There is nothing like having no fall-back position to focus your mind, all of your energy, and absolute commitment to the taking immediate actions required to get your desired outcomes. Remember that the desperate and hungry dog will always beat the pampered pooch to any available rewards, and that is the mindset you need to have when looking to develop momentum in your business.
The third suggestion is to step right out of all of your comfort zones and embark on the emotional roller coaster that is directly aligned to successful business ownership. Learn how not to be discouraged by the inevitable setbacks, how to avoid making excuses for not succeeding, and how to immediately kill any thoughts of giving up now or in the future.
The fourth suggestion is to develop a healthy support mechanism so that when times get tough along your journey to success you have somewhere to turn to provide you with the support you need to pick yourself up and continue to persevere with your plan of attack in accordance with your business plan. Don’t try to achieve it all alone, a journey shared with someone who can contribute support when you most need it is one that once you achieve success, you will look back upon with greater pleasure than any solo trip you might take.
Does your business currently have sufficient momentum so that work is self generating?
As the business owner are you helping or hindering the development of momentum in your business?
Are your employees aware of the concept of building momentum?
Is it time to fertilise your business?
In this context, and as a business owner, you need to clearly understand what momentum is, and how to make sure it is happening in your business. To begin, you must have a business plan, you must work that plan, and you must be willing and able to grow with your business and to overcome the challenges which will arise as your business grows.
Business momentum can be simply described as the outcome of your own level of productive effort multiplied by the degree of persistence you consistently provide to working your business plan. You know you have momentum when your business is continually busy and the evidence establishes that it in being busy it is accomplishing everything laid out in your business plan.
Building up momentum, in order to establish a manageable and productive funnel of opportunities which deliver regular and growing income, takes considerable time and effort. The following four suggestions, if implemented in your business, should assist you get to the point where you can effectively see and feel the required momentum.
The first suggestion is to know where you are going with your business, why you want to go in that direction, and then attaching basic numbers to what the business must achieve on a daily basis, in order to be successful. This clarity will assist you to work on your business, rather than just working in it without giving much thought for the future.
The second suggestion is to walk to the end of the cliff and jump off, fully knowing that unless you immediately attract customers or clients, it is all over for your business. There is nothing like having no fall-back position to focus your mind, all of your energy, and absolute commitment to the taking immediate actions required to get your desired outcomes. Remember that the desperate and hungry dog will always beat the pampered pooch to any available rewards, and that is the mindset you need to have when looking to develop momentum in your business.
The third suggestion is to step right out of all of your comfort zones and embark on the emotional roller coaster that is directly aligned to successful business ownership. Learn how not to be discouraged by the inevitable setbacks, how to avoid making excuses for not succeeding, and how to immediately kill any thoughts of giving up now or in the future.
The fourth suggestion is to develop a healthy support mechanism so that when times get tough along your journey to success you have somewhere to turn to provide you with the support you need to pick yourself up and continue to persevere with your plan of attack in accordance with your business plan. Don’t try to achieve it all alone, a journey shared with someone who can contribute support when you most need it is one that once you achieve success, you will look back upon with greater pleasure than any solo trip you might take.
Does your business currently have sufficient momentum so that work is self generating?
As the business owner are you helping or hindering the development of momentum in your business?
Are your employees aware of the concept of building momentum?
Is it time to fertilise your business?
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Will your Business Survive and Prosper?
As a business owner, you have chosen to invest both your capital and your valuable time into an enterprise that operates in an environment which is highly competitive, very personally demanding, and constantly changing.
Quite rightly, one of your highest priorities should be to protect your investment and nurture it for long enough to build, from the proceeds of your ongoing business endeavours, a strong asset base to support your future plans.
In order to protect your investment, you need to develop a fundamental understanding as to why SME businesses often fail to meet their owner's initial expectations, and why many businesses actually fail.
The list of reasons for failure is long, but the more significant factors include;
Quite rightly, one of your highest priorities should be to protect your investment and nurture it for long enough to build, from the proceeds of your ongoing business endeavours, a strong asset base to support your future plans.
In order to protect your investment, you need to develop a fundamental understanding as to why SME businesses often fail to meet their owner's initial expectations, and why many businesses actually fail.
The list of reasons for failure is long, but the more significant factors include;
- lack of a cohesive strategy for continuous improvement and innovation
- lack of systems for business accounting and control of business expenses
- lack of understanding of working capital needs and cash flow management
- lack of general business acumen and core business management skills
- lack of understanding of the market demand for the product or service offered
- lack of understanding of the value of family and other support mechanisms
- lack of well developed negotiation, influencing and sales skills
- lack of understanding of the importance of choice of location to the business
- lack of ability to handle the challenges of growing the business
- lack of focus, energy and persistence in the face of all types of challenges and
- lack of acceptance of personal responsibility for the success of the business.
Looking at this somewhat truncated list, it is easy to see that running and operating a successful business requires a lot of skill and effort, and it is not for the faint of heart.
Another key stepping stone on the road to protecting your investment of capital and time into your business is to learn to work on your business, as much, if not more than working in the business.
To this end, the ability to focus your mind and your best energy, on the areas where they will have the greatest effect, is extremely important.
Many business owners try to do everything themselves and are reluctant to rely on others, be they employees, contractors, outsourced service providers, or other business professionals such as accountants, lawyers, and business consultants, to perform roles for which these people are far better qualified.
Do you have a clear picture of where your strengths lie? If not, perhaps it is time for the good of your business, to explore who you are, and in doing so, develop a clear understanding of your major strengths and identify the areas in which you face strong challenges.
People often say that business is not rocket science, however what they generally neglect to say, is that all businesses require someone powered by rocket fuel, in order to get lift off, move into orbit, and stay afloat for long enough to enjoy the ride and the view, from on high.
As a business owner, that person needs to be you. Are you up to the challenge?
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Get Personally Organised for Business Success
Successful business owners have the ability to efficiently multi-task, an ability which they most likely developed through focused action on improving their level of of personal organisation.
This week's article offers advice on how to develop a higher level of personal organisation so that you can better handle the variety of tasks, problems, issues, professional and personal responsibilities, and the day to day challenges, you face in growing your business.
The keys to developing a high level of personal organisation include the following elements;
This week's article offers advice on how to develop a higher level of personal organisation so that you can better handle the variety of tasks, problems, issues, professional and personal responsibilities, and the day to day challenges, you face in growing your business.
The keys to developing a high level of personal organisation include the following elements;
- Have a plan which outlines what you want to achieve and more importantly - why you want to achieve it.
- Set your priorities on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis.
- Be totally focused - concentrate on only one thing at a time.
- De-clutter, get organised, know where everything you need is, and make sure it is readily accessible.
- Don't allow any distractions into your work time.
- If you are no longer passionate about a particular role find someone else to do it.
- Have set routines for your regular activities.
- Organise your own work space to be as efficient as it possibly can be given your particular environment.
- Learn and practice how to say NO and then do it more frequently.
- Don't say YES to anything unless you mean it.
- Don't make commitments you can't guarantee you will be able to keep.
- Learn to respect and value your own time.
- There is a time to work and a time to play. Don't mix these two up.
- Use technology simply as a business tool not as a crutch to hide from the world.
- Create an environment in which you can work surrounded by the things which make you the most productive person you can be.
- Pack more into your day - Get up earlier and go to bed later.
- When you find yourself procrastinating ask yourself WHY?
- Before you venture out into the world have a list of everything you can possibly do whilst you are out, and which can be done along either the route to or from your destination.
- Have access to one or two trusted mentors to give you an injection of support when times are tough or the challenges appear too great.
The above is not an exhaustive list, but if you quickly and critically assess your own level of personal organisation against each element, you may discover one or two areas where, with a little effort, you can improve your own skills and help your business on its path to greater success.
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