We’ve focused on how to go about winning new clients in previous posts so thought I’d just clarify the best ways NOT to attract them – the deadly sins to avoid at all costs!
Below are the rules that will not only ensure you do NOT win new business, but probably lose the business you already have.
Does a name matter? We think so!
Flat or apartment? You say flat and an old tower block springs to mind on a not so desirable estate. Say apartment and I’m envisaging waterfront and / or city centre luxury living. In essence its the same thing but what you call it can have a significant impact on the price somebody is willing to pay for it!
What product or service do you have that could be renamed and repositioned?
A good example is Macy’s department store in the US. Many decades ago they had a surplus stock of dressing gowns / terrycloth robes. They were very nice but they were not selling. Bernice Fitzgibbon decided that they were not robes anymore – they were blotters! The name that Europeans used for these garments, and the new adverts for blotters resulted in sales sky-rocketing.
Same product. Or was it?
Sometimes, it’s all about how you say it!
We work with many clients who assumed they were positioned at a certain level in their chosen markets. However, when you start to analyse the market dynamics and reasons why campaigns are failing, it is usually because they have perceived themselves to have a certain place amongst their competitors within the market, but their assumptions are inaccurate so subsequently they are marketing at the wrong level / benefit / audience.
Understand your positioning
Here are ten ways that you can start to generate publicity for your company, which not only helps to position you as an expert in your chosen field(s) but also helps to keep you in the limelight ahead of your competitors.
If you work in a service-based business you will know how difficult it can be to achieve client satisfaction. It can even sometimes be difficult to properly articulate the value or define the benefit of your services, thereby making it difficult to manage client expectations.
With products, much of the hard work is done for you. Many products are designed to satisfy a clear, well-defined need or purpose – you expect ‘this’ to do ‘that’. Continue reading
The power of asking the right questions
The best way to learn about your clients (or prospects) is to get them talking about themselves. The more thoroughly you know your clients the better you are able to anticipate their needs. And there is not really a more convincing demonstration of your interest and attention than knowing what is important to them and what is happening in their business at any given time.
By learning these things, you have the basis of a strong professional relationship and by continuing to ask the right questions you also have established a very powerful process for gathering relevant client information. We all expect our clients (and prospects) to invest in our experience, skills and products – what better way to encourage this than by showing your own investment in them.
How do you think your customers or prospects see you? Does it match with how you want to be perceived?
I was recently buying a gift for someone and had very limited knowledge about the item they wanted. Therefore, I did the usual research on the internet, made a shortlist of potential suppliers and made subsequent phone calls to each of the three chosen.
Be careful you don’t lose the business you worked hard to win
Most people work very hard to win new business and nothing is too much trouble. You can generate significant sales for a service simply by promising miracles.
After doing that, you have a new client who can hardly wait to see the magic you promised. In short, the client from hell! Meaning you can roll every dice and you still lose!
Even if you do a very good job, you have a disappointed client. Why? Because your client wasn’t expecting a very good job, they were expecting a great job. You promised!
Remember that if you make a client think that you will do better than you can do, they will end up disappointed. Even worse, the client will decide that you misled them, or lied. This will lead to bad publicity for your service and possibly result in existing clients getting wind of these rumours and deciding not to use you any more.
Don’t raise expectations that you cannot meet.
Who decided the way your industry should work?
Give yourself permission to think in a different way.
Do it your way - as long as it's legal and ethical
There are no rules so throw out the book and start to achieve more – generate new ideas and subsequently leads by allowing yourself to explore new ways of doing things.
We all know that it takes a lot more time and costs more money to win new business than to look after the clients you already have. On this basis, it should mean that cross-selling services in professional firms is a very profitable activity.
In our experience, the reality is that most departments within professional practices operate independently from other practice areas. At board meetings and team briefings, cross-selling is promoted as the easy business development tool and receives a very positive response. However most of the enthusiasm goes no further that this and it is often because people are focused on individual or departmental goals rather than firm-wide ones.