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| Business Development |
 Divide to Multiply - Your Path toSuperPROFITS - Part 2 By Mara Osis - Action International In Part 1, we started you on your path to SUPERProfits by showing how lead generation and conversion rates work hand-in-hand to bring more customers into your business. By dividing the activity called “getting new customers” into two distinct parts, you began to multiply your results! I am always amazed at the number of businesses that continue to spend huge sums and effort churning for new customers, while ignoring the potential in their current customer base. They must not know (or have forgotten) that it costs 5-6 times as much to get a new customer as to keep an existing one! In this issue, we’ll divide total revenue into two parts, by looking at how to get existing clients to come back more often and spend more every time they do. Satisfied clients who have experienced your service are often an easier sell than those who haven’t. Treat them as an asset, no less than a loyal employee or a critical piece of equipment! The keys to repeat business are: consistent, positive experiences; continually raising the bar of service and quality; knowing your clients wants and needs; and finally visibility, visibility, and visibility. Regular contact is key to staying ‘top of mind’ with your customers. Communicate with clients about new offerings, or those they haven’t tried yet. Hold events and make offers that make past customers feel special. Refine your database to personalize and target promotions to customers most likely to buy. Use email, fax, or direct mail to announce “past customers only” events, VIP specials or frequent buyer incentives. Keep good data on your clients and query them often to keep a pulse on what they are thinking. Develop a customer appreciation program and make sure you stand out by doing it year-round, not just during the holiday season. HOMEWORK: Dig into your customer records; find out how often customers buy from you now. Set a new goal, recognizing that you will work with averages - some people may double their business with you, while others may not change their habits. Focus your efforts on those most likely to change. Once you have clients coming back more often, concentrate on increasing the value of each transaction. Increasing your average $ sale is by far the least expensive of the 5 ways to grow your business. The most obvious, but little used, way to increase this category is a simple price increase. Most business owners, to their detriment, believe that price is the main driver behind purchase decisions. In fact, only 1 in 6 people are a price shopper; the rest base their decisions on service, selection, convenience or some other dimension of your business. So, go ahead and increase your price by 10%, and watch how few people notice! Other good ways to increase average sales are: shopping checklists; impulse buys at point of sale; package deals; gifts with minimum purchase; up-selling and add-on selling; selling with an either/or question. For most of these strategies, it is critical to have some scripting in place that asks the customer to buy more. HOMEWORK: What gets measured, gets improved. You will be surprised how your average $ sale increases as soon as you start focusing on it. Start by calculating what it is today, and set a new goal. Tying staff rewards to improved average sale is an easy, fun way to sharpen your team's selling skills and increase competitive spirit. Last issue, we combined 10% increases in lead generation and conversion rates to net a 20% increase in customers. Let’s go the next step now:
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