Business owners and managers, regardless of their industry, have one thing in common – they all want to win more clients. In today’s challenging business environment, small and medium sized businesses need to work harder to develop strategies that win new business. Here are some tips to help you develop a winning strategy for your business.
Sell The Benefits, Not The Product – Customers buy from you because you give them a solution to a problem. For example, businesses buy new computers because they need to update and replace old, slow machines. The attractive solution to this problem – new computers at a fair price with some added benefit such as good backup and support services from the supplier. Regardless of the product or service that you offer, sell the benefits to your customers. Differentiate your firm and increase your chances of closing the sale by offering added benefits such as great service, a free add-on, etc.
Focus on the Numbers – There is no point in selling huge quantities of a product or service to your “biggest customer” if you are selling at a loss. You should focus your business development efforts on targeting new “high margin” customers and build your business into a more profitable entity. Equally, you should try to reduce the number of or even eradicate non-profitable customers from your business. You can do this by increasing the price of your products or services to a level where you make a healthy margin. If the customer stays with you then you have a positive result – they are now profitable. If they leave you for another supplier – no harm, since they were loss making for your business.
Build Relationships with your target market should be viewed as an investment. It requires time, effort and budget. In order to become a market leader your business needs to demonstrate its expertise. You can do this by writing articles for business magazines and newspapers, producing newsletters, public speaking at seminars and events or just by meeting potential clients face to face. Essentially, you are giving a little something away to potential customers for free. Over time, by continuously demonstrating expertise and giving away some free advice, potential clients are more likely to buy from you.
Tips to help you get more clients
News: November 2011
Tips to help you get more clients
Business owners and managers, regardless of their industry, have one thing in common – they all want to win more clients. In today’s challenging business environment, small and medium sized businesses need to work harder to develop strategies that win new business. Here are some tips to help you develop a winning strategy for your business.
Sell The Benefits, Not The Product – Customers buy from you because you give them a solution to a problem. For example, businesses buy new computers because they need to update and replace old, slow machines. The attractive solution to this problem – new computers at a fair price with some added benefit such as good backup and support services from the supplier. Regardless of the product or service that you offer, sell the benefits to your customers. Differentiate your firm and increase your chances of closing the sale by offering added benefits such as great service, a free add-on, etc.
Focus on the Numbers – There is no point in selling huge quantities of a product or service to your “biggest customer” if you are selling at a loss. You should focus your business development efforts on targeting new “high margin” customers and build your business into a more profitable entity. Equally, you should try to reduce the number of or even eradicate non-profitable customers from your business. You can do this by increasing the price of your products or services to a level where you make a healthy margin. If the customer stays with you then you have a positive result – they are now profitable. If they leave you for another supplier – no harm, since they were loss making for your business.
Build Relationships with your target market should be viewed as an investment. It requires time, effort and budget. In order to become a market leader your business needs to demonstrate its expertise. You can do this by writing articles for business magazines and newspapers, producing newsletters, public speaking at seminars and events or just by meeting potential clients face to face. Essentially, you are giving a little something away to potential customers for free. Over time, by continuously demonstrating expertise and giving away some free advice, potential clients are more likely to buy from you.
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