Yes, no or maybe?

There’s a tendency for business owners and entrepreneurs not to want to pass up the opportunity of a potential sale.

The famous saying attributed to Richard Branson goes something like, ‘If some one offers you an opportunity, say yes and think about how you’ll do it afterwards’. 

There is good sense in this. You want to show confidence and enthusiasm to a prospective customer so making them aware of your immediate concerns is not the smartest sales tactic. 

For lifestyle businesses too where the owner is the person delivering the service, saying yes and being positive at the outset is a good tactic. If it turns out on further investigation that it is not such a great idea you can always offer help in some other way. Perhaps refer the prospect on to someone in your network who would do a great job. That way you make two people happy and spread a little bit of goodwill.

Pricing specialist and business thought leader Ron Baker argues that ‘knowledge businesses’ - those that deliver value by means of their intellectual capital and ‘know-how’, should consider charging less if they gain new knowledge from a particular assignment. They may not make as much profit as on a more routine job but they have added to the bank of the firm’s knowledge which should be beneficial in the longer run.

In these challenging times, where sales and cashflow are at a premium, the inclination to say yes is greater than ever.

There are circumstances however where I believe that turning down a potential sale is the best thing to do. By all means try to refer the prospect on to someone else if you can, but sometimes it is better not to to proceed.

An example would be where the business has a clear niche where they do specialised and highly profitable work. Stepping out of that niche to exploit an opportunity will shift focus and resources from what the business already does very successfully. So it may not be the best approach.

Another instance where caution is recommended is where the new opportunity would require significant input from the owner. If this would shift their focus from managing their core business, the benefit from the potential new sale might not outweigh the costs.

Passion and enjoyment are also important. You may make money on a new assignment but if it doesn’t make you happy or inspire you, you may want to think twice.

So in many cases I would agree with the great man and saying, ‘Yes’ and going for it is the best approach. 

Every now and then though, after reflection, a better way forward might be, ‘Thank you for the opportunity but we are not able to help you this time’.

www.base52.co.uk

Who is your ideal customer?

A simple question but one that many small businesses don’t take time to think about and build a strategy around.

Starting a business is tough and there can be a tendency to take on more or less any customers where you can provide them with your product or service and get paid. Being passive about this is probably not a good approach. 

Let’s say you’re a start up freelance designer. You can turn your hand to most types of creative work but what you really enjoy is film, video and animation projects. If you take on ‘any old job’ you will not be playing to your strengths and before too long you could get stuck in a cycle of poorly paid and unrewarding work.

So lets get back to the ideal customer. There are some ‘givens’ - they pay you on time, they recognise the value you provide and don’t squeeze you too much on price, they share your core values and ethical code, they are easy to deal with.

More than this we need to paint a mental picture of who they are. Are they members of the public or working in a business? If in a business what position do they hold? What age and gender are they? Where do they hang out? What social media platforms do they use? What do they read? What do they do in their leisure time?

Knowing what kind of customer you are looking for should drive your marketing strategy. How will you get in front of these people, build a relationship and sell to them?

For our designer, if his ideal customers are small media or publishing companies, he needs to find and engage with the executives who manage the budgets for the kind of work he delivers. That is quite a specialised and small pond and he needs to give some thought to how to reach these people. A blanket Facebook or Instagram campaign is unlikely to achieve stellar results. Targeted networking or attending industry events and conferences might be a more fruitful approach.

One way of putting it would be, ‘We get the customers we deserve’. We need to be on the front foot with this. Be clear about the business we are in and the customers we want to work with...then go find them.

www.base52.co.uk

The perfect sales pitch

Have you ever met a brilliant salesperson?

My wife and I met one on a recent trip to Marrakesh.

We went on a walking tour through the ancient souk with our jovial and knowledgeable guide, Fouad. The souk is a labyrinth of alleys with stalls selling wares of every description. We strolled along for an hour or two dodging people and motorbikes and marvelling at the sights, smells and sounds.

Then almost imperceptibly we crossed the threshold into a carpet shop. We were greeted by the charming and fluent Omar who welcomed us and ushered us inside. We explained that we were not really looking for carpets but this did not dint our garrulous host's enthusiasm.

He asked us to go upstairs to, 'Admire the beautiful building' and have some mint tea. 'No pressure we are just friends speaking together'. Fouad nodded encouragement so up we went.

Pleasantries were exchanged - Where were we from? How long were we staying? Then the show started.

Omar's helpers proceeded to roll out carpets of all shapes, sizes and colours. He tells us they supply Liberty, John Lewis and other prestige British stores.

'Which do you like?'

'Er...we're not looking for a carpet but maybe a small one?'

Omar claps his hands and shouts a command. More helpers arrive with armfuls of small carpets. By this time Omar has noticed that my wife is more receptive to his charms than I am. 'Let's choose the ones you like - just say yes or no'.  In no time at all he had narrowed it down to 6 'possibles' and then 2 'most likely.'

Now to talk money. 'These are hand made. Every one is unique. A work of art.' Omar tells us, 'They are a snip at 1,000 of your English pounds each.'

'They are really very nice but we are not looking for a carpet.'

'Ok you make me an offer'

At this point my wife leaves (she hates haggling) and goes off to find Fouad.

This is where my years of watching Antiques Road Trip and Bargain Hunt on the telly pays off. I make a ridiculously low offer (which I would be happy to pay) and refuse to budge despite Omar's pleading and big reductions from his initial price.

Eventually he gives up. We parted friends (I think) - Omar still with his carpets and us with our money.

I reflected on the experience afterwards and especially Omar's sales technique - being referred by a trusted mutual contact, the lovely welcome, building rapport, demonstrating credibility, offering choices, changing the conversation from, 'Do you want?' to 'Which ones do you want?'.

All brilliant and much to admire and learn from. Except one important thing. He didn't really listen to what we wanted.

Omar's well rehearsed theatre undoubtedly works for one off sales where he is unlikely to meet the buyer again. I'm sure there are lots of mild-mannered tourists who leave Marrakesh with expensive carpets they never knew they needed.

If we want customers to buy again and spread the word about our business, we need to listen and try and give the customer what they want. Sure, sometimes we may need to help them appreciate what is possible but we are still listening and fulfilling what is right for them.

Sprinkle that with a little bit of Omar's magic and I think then you may be close to the perfect sales pitch.

www.base52.co.uk

A tale of two sales

Last year my wife and I had the holiday of a lifetime in India. It was a wonderful experience with fantastic monuments, history and culture, great food and the warm and friendly people.

We came back with lots of stuff we hadn't really intended to buy due in no small measure to the local merchants' talent for selling.

The format usually went something like this. We would have a morning's sightseeing with a local guide. On the way home he would invite us to drop in at a local merchant - jeweller, potter, fabric trader etc. Let's use the jewellers as an example but the experience was similar, whatever the trade, 'Would you like to visit a local jewellers? The owners are very nice and they have a workshop on the premises which they will be happy to show you'. 'Why not?, we thought. There was no 'hard sell', we were free to say no but we usually opted to have a look around. We were greeted by the owner and several others at the entrance and warmly welcomed. Masala tea was offered and we were invited to look around the workshop. We had a personal tour and were shown the journey from raw gem stones, through cutting to designing and manufacture of the jewellery. Nothing was too much trouble. Lo and behold at the end of the tour we ended up in the jewellery shop. More tea was brought in and we were asked about our holiday so far. 'Would we like to see some jewellery?' No one asked us to buy anything but somehow we just did. Not things we needed or had planned to buy but presents and mementos from an enjoyable trip.

Let's contrast this with a trip to a carpet shop at home this weekend. We are in the process of redecorating our house. My wife has thought very carefully about the decor, we just needed the carpets and wanted advice on what to buy. We were ready to be sold to. We had a budget (well sort of) and a deadline. A couple of sales people were sitting down as we entered. We were welcomed and shown a few samples and basically left to potter around and well...leave. We had lots more questions, we wanted some ideas, some input, to let us know what was possible. A cup of tea and a chat would have been nice.

Ok so it's a different situation but I think illustrates a point. In India we had not intended to buy but were shown the possibilities and buying was made easy. So we bought. In the carpet shop we were ready to spend. We had the money ready and wanted help. The kind of help we wanted wasn't forthcoming so we didn't buy.

Off to a new carpet shop today so will see how that one goes...

www.base52.co.uk