Business has improved a wee bit but certainly not enough for any of us to be cavalier about where our next project is coming from. Here are three tips to help you build business right now:
- Be flexible and creative and make an offer that people want. Don't be rigid and stick to what you've always done before. These are different times and old tricks just might not work. Do you know what your prospects want, what they crave, what they'll say yes to? You don't? Then why not do a survey and find out. The best way to increase sales is to provide products and services that the market wants. Even if you're a superstar salesperson, if they don't want it, you'll probably have a difficult time getting them to buy it. Why work so hard? Ask the right questions and your prospects will tell you what they want and need and perhaps even what they will pay for it.
- Have you looked at your existing database lately? The fastest return on time comes from your existing clients, dormant accounts and even those prospects who never said "yes" but are still in the undecided stage. So take a closer look right now. Start with the clients who have given you the least amount of business and find out if that is because they truly have no more sales potential or because they are giving their business to your competition. (You didn't really want to leave business on the table, did you?)
- How good are you at staying on the grid? If you allow yourself to be "out of sight, out of mind," then you are simply not getting as much out of your prospecting efforts as you should. We are all inundated with marketing messages, and if you are just "checking in" or "touching base," then you are probably not winning the attention and interest of your prospects. Remember the three Is—information, invitations and introductions. Deploy them and you will be a sales superstar.
Start now. The sooner you take action, the sooner more business will flow into and through your sales funnel.
