Finding More Business
Every business needs more business. That’s an accepted fact. The unaccepted fact is that most businesses don’t use all the opportunities available that will bring them additional business. When one looks for additional business, the primary goal should center around getting second sales.
Add-Ons can be when customers buy 2 or more things during the same time period. It could also relate to a situation where the customer is thinking about buying a $10.00 item but buys a $15.00 one instead; the extra $5 is an add-on.
Repeats are the goal for any business gaining “customer loyalty.” While it is often spoken of, it often is not pursued.
The opportunity to create add-ons and repeat sales is often overlooked. The opportunity everyone should be aware of is ways to sell new ideas, services and/or products to old customers; sell old ideas, services and/or products to new customers; and sell old ideas, services and/or products to old customers.
Referrals are profitable because the person doing the referral offsets the need to spend marketing dollars to get the customer in the door and to buy. The term “referrals” has several meanings when it comes to second sales like”word-of-mouth” “awareness factor”
New Customer: When one is talking to new customers, and to it is customary to be discussing a product or service that goes with something they are doing. That’s why they come to you or allow you to do more than just into their environment.
Current Customer: They too, have the same three buying situations as new customers. So, while you are taking care of the current project, if you are listening closely, you may perceive an open door for either add-on or repeat sales.
Past Customer: Just because the project is over does not mean the door is closed for second sales. If while you are completing a current project your making an effort to find other things customers have in their plans or would like to do could mean that there would be no such thing as a past customer.
The other aspect of this is to get back to past customers whenever the firm has something new (idea, information, product or service) to offer. While
Current Users of a Particular Product/Service: The chances for getting additional business are open because they are “researched leads”(you know and maybe they know you have services they could use but you haven’t come together yet) or “prospects”(you know/think they could use other products/services but they don’t). By letting you in the door the first time they are, in some ways, giving you the key to their pocketbook — repeat and add-on sales.
Researched Leads: It is an oft-repeated saying that before contacting a prospect, research should be done on what the person or firm does or makes, where they are located, their sales/income levels, etc. But it should not stop there because no matter how much research is done, they are prospects for products or services that research doesn’t expose.
prospects: Prospecting for customers has kept the advertising business healthy for years. It has been their key to vendors’ pocketbooks because it takes repeated use of the media to move prospects to researched leads and researched leads to current users.