IF YOU have a friend starting in business, don’t let them spend hours thinking about what their business cards and letterhead will look like. We call this letterhead syndrome.
People suffering from this complaint are putting too much emphasis on image and not enough on how to get customers. They should be focused on what they are going to sell and who their customers are going to be.
Where do you find these prospective customers and then how do you make contact with them?
We know of a man who runs a garden maintenance business, cutting lawns etc. He belongs to a contract bridge club. He advertises in its magazine and gets work from it. Have a look at who plays bridge. Many of them have gray hair. They are a great target for his type of business.
How to win a quote and get a good price
A PAINTING contractor has a novel way of explaining his quotes to prospective clients.
As part of the quote, he insists on the right to discuss with the owner, the merits of all prices when they are in. His prices are relatively higher and yet he gets most of the jobs.
He is able to explain to the owner why his price should be accepted, which could be for any number of reasons. He is selling the quality of the job. The lowest price is not necessarily going to be the cheapest and he gets the opportunity to explain why.
It’s the little extras that count
A JOURNALIST prepares our newsletters from the articles we provide. When he set out a recent newsletter, he added little extras. For example, there was an explanation to help you understand what a PIE is. There was also a picture of Edward De Bono to go with our article about how to think. These additions add value and cause customers to say WOW! Do those little extras and keep your customers and clients.