Plan for Booming Business Year-Round

So many people return from holidays and realize they haven't done nearly enough planning, scheduling and preparation with clients. They spend most of January trying to connect, get started or re-kindle lost momentum. In order to reduce slowdowns and eliminate being at a standstill, you’ve got to have a plan in advance! There are 2 key things to remember to ensure you are ahead of the game, not falling behind….

Plan Future Projects

Whether you’re a business owner or in sales, often our relationship with clients is only planned out as far as the next transaction. Ideally you want to engage clients in conversations that get them thinking about their future purchases and also the timelines to those things. Often clients say, lets tackle it in the spring. Well, let’s set some dates! The other issue is does the client realize what type of preparation and lead time is necessary to hit "spring"? We need to be asking clients about future projects and purchases while they are in the thick of the existing ones. We need to educate them on all the steps and time requirements (which often educates them on just how much value you provide).

Know your Client

When I go buy clothes in the winter, my favorite clothing salesperson, Carmen is already asking me if I golf and telling me when the spring/summer lines come in. Then she always asks if she can call before then to book a VIP appointment so I have first pick on new items. She made me feel special by taking an interest in my hobbies, positioning things so I was a VIP and ensuring I committed to a future appointment.

Another great example is the printer that calls 3 months after you order business cards as a courtesy to ask if you need cards again now or in one more month – note that NOT re-ordering wasn't a choice.
Or how about the pumps/compressor salesman asking clients about 24 months of upcoming projects and selling 5-10 units at a time simply by suggesting clients look at their long term needs (and again created more value for customers as a planning facilitator versus just a salesperson).

Sit down with clients and plan for this coming summer now. There is no reason to be slow this summer if you start to book up the whole spring now. When you're in demand and make the effort to plan and guide people on when they need to buy, they will!

Your Elevator Speech

How do you respond when someone asks 'what do you do?' There are a couple of key things to consider and unfortunately most people do it wrong. Most people just answer the question: their role, company they are with and products/services they offer.
Unfortunately, they stop there.

It results in something like:
"My name is John, I work for Johnson Manufacturing, we make kitchen countertops and pre-fab stone structures."

Wow! Gripping! Who wouldn't walk away from John after this uninspiring speech?!

This is where the elevator speech comes in. Basically it is your short window of opportunity (similar to a ride in an elevator) to educate someone on what you do in a way that is inspiring, intriguing and BEGS for questions to be asked!

1. Start with what you offer: Your audience is judging whether they want to keep talking to you based on what is in it for them. So tell them.
2. Make it sound exciting: Don't just manufacture something - own the industry, be cutting edge, hold a record. Your tone of voice will also say everything you're not - BE excited, smile and share your passion and energy!
3. Ask a question: Engage people in order to get them talking about what you do and what they need. Make it an open ended question not a yes/no answer.

A replay on John's speech should be more like this:
"My name is John, I turn people's kitchen into works of art that make having dinner parties thrilling for our customers. I work with Johnson Manufacturing and we lead the industry in creativity. When was the last time you had your kitchen upgraded?"

Final tip: Practice it. Moving to a new, interesting elevator speech is awkward for most people. Repeat it to yourself 50 times, to others 20 times and then take it out to the next meeting or network event.