If you are a business person: owner, self employed or employee, then you need to build your business each and every day. Failure to continually build your business will someday mean you are no longer in business.
Will each of these strategies work for you? Maybe and maybe not. But without trying something and measuring the results, how will you ever know? The real key to building your business is trying different methods to reach your potential client base and measuring what works for you. You must measure everything you do to determine what helps you best, use the techniques that work and throw the rest away.
Cold Calling – pick up the phone, and smile and dial. Cold calling has helped to build many businesses With the do not call lists, this method may not be appropriate for you if you are trying to reach members of the general public. A key element of the successful cold caller is the ability to reach the appropriate decision maker for your service or product. So before you begin cold calling, develop a list of the type of person you need to reach and a strategy to reach that person.
Call the president of the company and ask them who the right person is to talk to about your product or service.
Call the sales department and ask them to whom you should talk. Make sure you tell them if you are a potential client for them or not. You will get far more help from this group if you are up front and honest. Don’t waste their time; they are trying to do the same thing you are, so let them do it.
Ask for help, call the general number and ask the receptionist for help to reach the right person.
Print Media Advertising – does your target market find you by the yellow pages, circulars in the newspaper, magazines? What type of advertising is right for you? Do your homework, it can be very costly and the returns might not justify the cost. Track your numbers to see if this method really works for you.
Website and Other Online Advertising – Will your business profit by having a website? In today’s era of technology, most people go to the internet to find a business or service to meet their needs. Is your business on the web, and can people find you? Work with a professional marketer who has extensive knowledge in this area to get the best bang for the dollar. You can build a website; and no one will find you if your site isn’t picked up by the various search engines. Just because you built it doesn’t mean they’ll come to your site.
Seminars – does your product or service lend itself to giving a seminar? Get a list of likely candidates together for an educational seminar on your product or service. Host the event at an appropriate venue that will attract the type of business you want.
Networking – there are many different types of networking organizations that exist today that didn’t exist a few short years ago. Many business people join their local chamber of commerce, local networking groups (Le Tip, BNI, etc.), organizations of like minded professionals (Association of Realtors, Association of Software Developers, etc.). Which type of networking is right for you and your business is dependent upon your business and who you are trying to reach. Key to being successful in this area is to get involved! Joining a group and not getting involved is not going to help your business. Networking is a very powerful way of building your business, but it requires you to put the time and effort into building the relationships to make it work.
We’ve listed just five strategies to help you build your business. There are many more strategies, but the common element to all is tracking and measuring what works for you. Be open to new methods of reaching your potential client base – but always track and measure your results. How long should you give a method really depends upon the method and how well you planned the strategy. Do you have the right message for the method? Do you have enough time to allocate to the method? Develop a marketing plan then execute your plan!
