Last week I’d posted a suggestion on my facebook page for an alternative to the dreaded follow up.

Ebrahim Fakir asked me to explain this in greater detail, see our comments below.

Ebrahim Fakir Hi Jenn. Was just checking out your website and its lovely. I noticed earlier that you were talking about the checking in method. Sounds interesting but what exactly is that?

P.S. Thanks for the comments about my site.

Ebrahim Fakir Wow that sound brilliant Jenn:) You’re a smart cookie Your site came out lovely. I like the color theme. And of course, Eric totally complements it But that’s a lovely concept. Thank you so much for sharing:)

Thanks again for the question Ebrahim. I hope that makes things a little clearer and how you could use the same technique for your business.

To your continued success in business,

How do most businesses increase their prospects? Spending more and more money on advertising. How do “smart” businesses increase their prospects? By forming marketing alliances.

Forming alliances with other businesses that serve the same target market as your own (not competitors) can help further your reach without increasing your expenses through advertising. By partnering up with other local businesses, you can tap into their databases to increase your own business.

Marketing alliances can be made by simply cross-promoting each others product or service to the others client base.

Example, Company A has a list of past/current customers and Company B has a list of past/current customers. Company A writes a letter/email introducing his clients to Company B and their services. Company B does the same thing with his list. Easy cross promoting of both businesses. To sweeten the deal, you could even provide exclusive discounts to each others clients.

Some alliance deals are build on compensation, you could receive a percentage of the sales for each of your customers who also become a customer for the alliance partner and visa versa. There are many ways to work it depending on what both parties would like to get out of the arrangement.

So how do you determine who you can partner with?
Think about who your customers are. Where do they live? What other products or services do these people buy? What other businesses appeal to them?

What other businesses do you know who may have the same type of customers?

Look for relationships with other businesses, particularly in your in own database. Look for businesses that target the same type of customer as you and have them in their data base now. You can also look for complementary businesses that are located nearby. (Think of any business associations that you belong to currently that you could tap for additional partners.)

Come up with a list of at least 3-4 different businesses that you think could be potential partners and start contacting at least 1 per week.

To your continued success in business,

Did you know that the easiest customer to sell to is the one you’ve sold to in the past? A lot of service businesses out there don’t realize this.

So how do you get them to purchase from you again?

1. Build A Relationship

First off, if you haven’t already, start building a relationship with them beginning at or before the first sale. Get their contact info and start sending a regular newsletter. This can be via regular snail mail or email. By keeping in touch with them regularly, you’ll stay on the forefront of their mind; you’ll be the first one they think of when they need a service such as yours in the future.

2. Offer Past Customer Only Offers
Another way to get them to use your services again is to send them special “Past Customers Only” offers. You could tie this in with a special members only card.
Example: Special! 10% off X service for Past Customers Only when booked by X date.

3. Create Exclusive Deals

Create a special price break or package deal that you don’t offer the general public, reserved for those who are on your mailing list. This can be for past customers as well as prospects.
Example: Service package – 3 visits/service calls over the year. Only $xxx if paid in full.

4. Create Package Deals

Create an automatic reoccurring service package that is pre-scheduled for regular intervals.
Example: Accountants could do quarterly reviews of customer’s books to see where they’re at. Hairdressers could pre-book the next 3-6 appointments, etc.

5. Reminders

Are any of the services you provide, things that should be done on a regular basis? For example, lawn care companies can send early reminders about mowing schedules, leaf cleanup, etc., Bookkeepers can send out quarterly reminders to clients to send out their quarterly income tax payments, etc.

There are many reasons to contact your past and prospective clients, you just need to be creative in coming up with ideas for your specific business.

Look at the companies that you currently do business with, such as vendors, and if you are a home owner, any businesses that you use for things on a personal level. How are they marketing/building a relationship with you? Are there things you wish they’d do a better job at? Even if they are in completely different industries, see how you could modify what they are doing to use for your business.

To your continued success in business,

When writing copy for a web site, most companies have a habit of writing what “they” want to say rather than focusing on what their visitors want to know.

Every page on your site should have a purpose. Does it contribute to the end goal you have for your site? Does it help the user or is it just there to please the owner of the company?

Take a look at your site and review each of the pages from your visitor’s point of view. Does your content help direct the visitor to complete a task such as learn more about your services and how it can benefit them, make a purchase, lead them to contact you either by phone or email?

Think about the content on your site, if it doesn’t help the visitor complete a task, maybe it’s time to think if that info really needs to be on the page or if it is just taking up space… 

To your continued success in business,

Several months ago, I was looking in my closet and realized that, as I’m doing a lot more face-to-face meetings with clients, I really needed to get my wardrobe revamped looking little more professional.

I’ve been a work-from-home mom for the past 12 years so, up until now, I’ve had very little reason to get dressed up.

I mean, I’m really a down-to-earth, jeans and tee shirt kind of gal. But with the repositioning of my business, I knew that I needed to make a change to clearly represent my business in a professional manor.

That being said, I didn’t have a clue as to where to start. I’ll be honest, while I’m good at knowing what the design/style trends are for businesses and web sites, I am definitely not up with the latest fashions/style in clothing.

I needed help and I sought out the advice of a professional. Yes, I’m talking about my sister, she is up with the latest styles and she always looks great.

She was able to help me go through my current mess clothing and show me what is still usable and how to pair it with other clothes to create fashionable outfits. We also went shopping for “new” pieces to help expand my wardrobe (By new, I mean new to me – shopping at our local Savers for good/fashionable clothes/shoes ‘saved’ us a ton!)

She also consulted with me about what’s in and what’s out, so I’ll have a better understanding of what to shop for in the future.

“So”, you may be asking, “how does this relate to my business?”

The point of my story is that it helps to find “an expert” to help you in areas of your business that you don’t understand, may not be familiar in, or just don’t have the time to learn for yourself.

Find someone who currently is doing what you’d like your business to do, and ask for their advice. If you don’t you’ll end up struggling along doing the same thing you’ve always done or worse yet, get yourself into a bigger mess than you’re in currently.

When you get help, chances are that expert will be able to help you execute a plan as well as coach you in knowing what to do going forward, so you won’t be struggling in the future.

Do you have areas that could use some help? Give me a call and I’ll see if I can help you. If I can’t help you in a particular field, I can at least help you find someone who can.