These strategies will help you build any business at lightning speed.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a manufacturer of medical supplies…or a café in a small country town.
What you’ll learn here can be applied in every business imaginable. Why? The principles of business growth are universal… and unchanging.
There is nothing complicated here. These steps ARE simple… but not easy.
You’ll probably have to overcome all sorts of previous mental programming to put them into practice.
How can I say this? Because 80% of business go broke within 5 years.
Many of us have been conditioned with a poor person’s mentality. This is the one advantage the children of wealthy parents have over most. They are conditioned for wealth from Day 1. They need not overcome the various limiting beliefs often instilled by parents… and peers of lacking financial abundance.
Do you have a poor person’s mentality? I can’t answer that for you. Only you know. Please be mindful of this, now that I’ve told you. The road to financial success…
First Starts In The Mind!
Then riches follow suit. You cannot become wealthy until you feel you are already wealthy.
This sounds like a paradox, I know. It’s like the old saying, “What comes first. The chicken or the egg?”
That’s all I have to say about mental conditioning right now.
3 Hidden Gems
We have assumed that you do not have a database of customers at this point in time. We have assumed that you own a start up without loyal customers, yet… or… a struggling business that has committed one of the worst marketing sins possible – not amassing a database.
So if you need to get things going fast… follow these simple 3 steps.
Let’s begin:
Step 1: Give Something For Free
This shouldn’t come as any surprise to you.
A free sample allows your prospects to become familiar with your product or service, without any risk. This could take the form of a free sample, free report, free service, free video, free book, free newsletter or free seminar.
The nature of the free offer depends largely on the industry you’re a part of.
Shortly, I’ll provide you with numerous examples of how this is applied… so you’ll understand.
A word to the wise. Do not offer a free sample or trial if the product or service you’re selling is NOT up to par! You’ll only end in the poor house.
Remember, the purpose of the free sample is to ‘woo’ your customer to such a degree that he or she cannot help but return on an ongoing basis.
It’s not because you’re charitable… and it’s not simply to get more leads. You want more customers. You need them!
Examples:
Book store – free membership to a VIP club; a free report/audio, video or seminar on how to increase reading speed… or… how to purchase the latest book titles before they’re released on the market;
Clothing tailor – free tailoring of slacks, shirts or skirts; a free report/audio or video tape on how to mend bad stitching and rips… or… how to tailor your own clothing.
Interior Designer – free home decoration audit where the designer gives free advice on how to tastefully… and cost effectively decorate a home (can also do a free report on this same topic); a free report/audio or video on where to find luxury items at 62% discount (this could be a listing of estate and seized property auctions)
Colonist – can offer a free report/seminar or audio tape titled How To Detox Your Body; a free colon exam to ascertain the presence of dangerous free radicals etc.,
Do you get the picture?
Step 2. Obtain Your Customer’s Personal Details
Unless the average dollar sale is only a few dollars e.g. individual soft drink purchases from a corner store…
You Must Obtain Your Customer’s Personal Details
There’s a foolproof way to do this. Ask for it!
Ask your customers to fill out an application form upon purchasing. Offer a gift in return; run a competition… or… just make it procedure
Some business owners fight this idea because they feel customers will not be willing to offer their personal details. You’ll be surprised what they’re willing to provide you… when you offer something in return.
As an illustration, I ask you to put yourself in the shoes of your customer. Flip it around. How many times have you provided your personal details when asked for it?
Not often. And if you did mind, it was probably because of a completely absurd situation like a fish and chip store asking you to fill out an application form.
A fish and chip store should offer a competition to their customer’s. First prize can be 3 months worth of food. Any and every business can design an offer… or method… so that customers willingly offer their personal details.
You need to do the same.
Step 3: Ask Your Customers To Purchase Again!
Work your backend. Remember the front end is the customer’s first purchase.
The backend is all the follow on or ancillary sales you make over the life time of their patronage.
It is essential you have a back end. Don’t expect to make money in business if you do NOT have an extensive back end.
What if you don’t have a back end?
Get one! You need one… it’s essential.If you don’t know what to offer, ask your customers what they want to buy.
Conduct regular surveys with your customers and ask them what it is they want.
Which additional product and services can you offer to them? Don’t’ guess. Your customers hold the answer to every question you have about the marketing of your business.
Enlist their counsel. Ask…
What Other Product/Services Would You Like Us To Sell?
And they’ll tell you. Ask enough customers and before long you’ll begin to see a pattern emerge.
Conduct joint ventures with businesses in and out of your industry.
Go to your customers with various products and services. Tell them you’ve found a great buy. Tell them you’ve brokered an especially good discount.
They’ll appreciate your help. They’ll appreciate the fact you’re looking out for them. It’s a great win for all involved.
Finally, tie in with calendar special events. There are literally dozens of national celebration events you can take advantage of. To name a few:
St Patrick’s Day
New Years Day
Easter
Halloween
Mother’s Day
Father’s Day
Football Final
Basketball Final
U.S Open Final
And the list goes on and on. There’s no reason why you can’t just make up a day too! If something special has happened in your personal life… and you wish to celebrate… involved your customers.
Offer a special deal.
Further Explanation Of The 3 Gems
Now I’m going to be talking about each step in a little more detail… I’m sure you have a number of questions in your mind.
As I’ve repeatedly stated, 80% of businesses go bust within the first 5 years of operation. Most business owners just spin their wheels, hoping to get by.
They run ‘Me Too’, image type advertisements in newspapers and magazines. Sometimes, if they’re real entrepreneurial, may offer a 20% discount offer.
All in all however, there’s no real distinctive offer… no catchy headline… no big promise as to why a customer should call or walk in the shop.
They sit scratching their heads, wondering what to do. The fastest way to attract new prospects to your business is…
Offer Something For Free!
After all, if anybody is even remotely interested in what you have to sell, a free trial is always a good option.
Think about it. Instead of wasting money on conventional advertising… and getting a pitiful response… place a half sized ad and give something for free.
Your responses will be higher. And whatever you give for free, it will cost you cents in the dollar. You’ll be employing the ‘soft dollar’ concept.
Giving something for free will bring people in the doors. You’ll obtain their personal details… you can ask them questions.
Take the example of a drive thru hand car wash. They are extremely busy during nice, sunny days. On overcast days however…It’s A Ghost Town
Nobody gets their car washed because they don’t want to waste their money, only to have their car dirtied when it rains.
That’s fair enough.
The owners of the car wash could use this to their advantage.
However, when the weather is fickle… their staff (they may employ up to 20 people at one time to wash cars) just sit around.
This is wasted labor and unnecessary. The car wash, during quiet days could put out a banner which says…
Free Hand Car Wash!
Or test this banner against…
Hand Car Wash Normally $25… Today Only $5!!
Use the dead time to drive people into the car wash. And when customers come in to redeem their free… or discounted wash… they would be up sold to upholstery cleaning… vacuuming… and heck, even waxing.
If there is a café on the premises then invite people in to sell them coffees, desserts, sandwiches etc.,
They’d be offered to purchase a booklet of car wash vouchers. Obtain their personal details so you can send an offer for them to return soon.
Look… giving away free items is NOT what’s going to send you broke. Your fixed overheads will send you broke. It’s your rental… your floor space, your electricity. It’s your staff standing there, doing nothing with their time.
That’s what’s going to send you broke. So, as a Business Owner…
If It’s Dead, Do Something
It’s your overheads that will kill you – NOT giving away free samples. At least if you’re giving free samples away, you’re getting staff working… you’re getting prospective customers walking in your door.
You’re Creating Energy And Momentum!
You’ll have opportunities to up sell your prospects. To obtain their details and invite them to return. To conduct surveys and glean feedback.
So there you have it. The 3 gems for building any business fast. I told you they were simple. It’s not rocket science, believe me.
But will you use this information?
Is your conditioning holding you back?
Reflect on this. Pay close attention to the reasons (excuses?) you say for not taking action.
