Business Development The Easy Way
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
As 2010 comes to a close and we look to the New Year, sales and marketing goals are being set, keeping in mind as to how our Business Development will unfold in 2011.
It’s best to start with taking a look at this last year. Hopefully you put your sales and marketing goals in writing. What was your sales goal for last year? Did you make it, exceed it or miss it by a mile? How much did you spend on marketing? What was the return on your investment? Can you calculate the cost of new clients, broken down into the different types of marketing you utilized? This information will help you determine where you should re-allocate your expenditures — not just in dollars, but in time as well.
Whether you market your business in print, the Internet, via newsletters, or face-to-face going to networking events, you’ll want to make sure that you also follow-up on the leads and referrals you receive. This is where most business owners — not YOU of course — fall flat on their face. Do you have follow-up systems in place as part of your client acquisition plan? Perhaps you call prospective clients, email them, send a note, or maybe those business cards you collect simply pile up on your desk, only to get pushed into a drawer, never to be seen or thought of again!
People don’t usually buy the first time. They want to make sure you and your company are legit, trustworthy, and that you will deliver on your goods or services. So, even if you reach out that first time, do you continue to stay in touch? I recommend a combination of different avenues of communication to ensure you keep your name and business in mind. Your competition will do this too, so how do you set yourself apart from the others? Do something different and unexpected to develop business relationships!
SendOutCards has affordable, easy-to-use Business Greeting Cards of all types that will make a lasting impression and give them something physical to hold onto that can’t be deleted. Social etiquette has fallen to the wayside in this high tech world, so when someone gets a thank you for meeting with me note, or thanks for the referral with a Starbucks gift card, or a congratulations on being my newest client card with a box of brownies, they’ll most likely even tell their friends, family, and co-workers about you! What an easy way to get referrals without even asking for them!
No matter how you go about reaching your marketing and sales goals for 2011, make sure you have Follow-up Systems in place so that your Business Development will unfold according to plan. Also WRITE IT DOWN since the written word is far more powerful than just thinking it (hey, that’s another good reason why cards work!).
Those are just a few reasons to stay in touch. For more, please opt-in to receive “40 Marketing Ideas To Help You Stay in Touch with Your Clients”.
Related posts:
- Hang On To Your Money: Business Development Becomes Affordable For Everyone! As business owners, we love doing what we do,...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Very interesting post. Thank you for sharing. this is exactly what i was looking for. Keep up the good work. I really like your blog and will recommend it.