Several weeks ago I asked readers to send in their best business tips. I received many good contributions, several of which I want to share with you today. The idea behind this exercise was that I thought that there are many real world ideas out there from which we can all learn.
I suppose the question I am asked most often from friends and family is where I get column ideas from. They come from many sources - articles and books I read, business associates, press releases, seminars, and of course my own experience. But over the years I have come to really appreciate the ideas my readers share; you are the ones in the trenches. So that was the idea behind this call to action - getting you to share some tried-and-true strategies that the rest of us may not know.
One of the first tips I received was from Don, a residential architect. He says that "Every time I go into an interview" with a potential client he does so with the "knowledge that I already have the job and act as if I do. I hold nothing back directly relating to their project."
Don says that when he leaves the interview, because he has shared so much information, "the customer knows me and they have a better understanding of the possible solutions to their project." Interestingly, unlike many professionals who offer a first meeting for free, Don charges for this initial interview - "the potential client benefits from my visit (and I get paid). It's a win-win" he says.
The upshot? "With the next visit, I am their architect." Don says that it is his attitude that closes the deal.
Having an attitude that you are valuable, that your time is worth money, and acting as if you are already hired is a strategy that many professionals could adopt.
Another reader (who asked to remain anonymous) wrote me to say that the key to his real estate career was to have the temerity to ask for exactly what he wanted. He started out selling homes, as many real estate agents do. He wanted to sell bigger properties, but did not know how to even get started, let alone how to do it. "Then, at a real estate seminar one day, I met Marty." Marty was a broker who specialized in commercial real estate.
The reader approached Marty about working together, and "although it took several months of pestering," Marty eventually hired him and taught him everything he knew. Today, the reader has a very successful commercial real estate career. "It never would have happened if I had not found the right mentor." He adds, "The important thing is to ASK."
AD told me that the key to business success is to "under-promise and over-deliver."
Here's a good marketing strategy from Kristy, an advertising executive:
"When I meet with a potential advertiser I'll often hand them a sheet of paper and ask them to write down everything they believe about their business. Then I'll hand them a second sheet of paper and ask them to write down what they think their potential clients believe. Now I know our job! Our job is to move the 'beliefs' of the (potential) clients from what they currently believe to what we know to be true."
That certainly is a good exercise. Write down what you believe to be true about your business and what you think possible clients may think about your business. The gap between the two is where you may want to focus your marketing efforts.
Which brings us to the final tip from David. He says that the best thing he ever did for his business was to risk alienating customers. Instead of "being all things to everyone," David decided that his business needed a niche, and set about creating that niche. "Yes, I did lose some possible customers in the process, but more importantly, I created an identifiable business that less people remember well, instead of a blah business that a lot of people sort of remember."
Good advice if ever I heard it.
Thanks to everyone who participated!