As a speaker, consultant, and coach in this great industry, companies eventually will ask, “What’s the best way to grow my business?” The answers are as many as there are personalities because of the many variables.
• How much do you want to grow?
• What are the current market conditions?
• What does your client base look like?
• What types of client do you currently attract?
• What does your bandwidth look like?
• In order to grow, do you need additional staffing? And in what areas? Maybe – maybe not.
• Are you in good health, physically, mentally and spiritually? (This matters a lot!)
The list continues…
There are some additional considerations to look at, after you weigh the variables to set yourself on the right path of success. This will take work and it won’t be easy.
• What is your current sales volume? At the end of 2018, where would you like to see it?
• More importantly, What are your current profit margins, and where would you like to see them at the end of 2018?
Let’s look at the four ways you can ultimately grow your business, in my December article, we will explore deeper methodologies on working these different growth channels.
As I see it there are four ways to successfully grow your business…
Organic Growth
Of the methods of growing your business, this by far the easiest and most cost effective approach, due to the fact you already have a working relationship with the client. The key is to analyze and go deeper. Your current client base is your foundation, but as with all foundations there can be cracks. It is essential to shore up your foundation in order to build a solid business. This is done by thoroughly examining your current clients through segmentation and classification. Most companies merely work on a surface level and rarely delve deeper into an account to ensure a strong foothold.
Resuscitating Inactive / Dormant Accounts
These are the hidden gems of your business that are often neglected or have gone by the wayside. This could have been your fault or not. Consider running a list of all of your inactive accounts, accounts you have not done business with for three months or more. Review their buying patterns, what they purchased in the past and most importantly, the reason why the connection was broken. Was it an order that went bad? Did your contact, leave, retire, or get promoted? Did you just forget about them? Or, were they impossible to work with and you decided they were not worth the effort and you cut them loose? The idea here is to look at the clients, now prospects again, to try and resuscitate the account. You’ll need to devise a plan/strategy for this effort. Be open about this, if there are none on your list, no problem, but if there is just one, don’t discount them, they may be the diamond in the rough client and a perfect candidate for your business.
New Clients from Prospecting
I always encourage my clients to build their businesses through segmentation by vertical markets. You may want to consider this because when you do and you do it successfully, you and your company can go viral in that space. On a broader basis, you can work outside the confines of your small market and grow your business in that space exponentially. When you become entrenched in a few vertical markets and really get to know those businesses, you can focus your time and attention to maximize opportunities.
When I owned my marketing company, I went from a product pusher generating low-margin orders to developing a company that was highly profitable and sustainable. I really focused on five core markets where I had background, experience, and expertise: hospitality, banking and finance, construction, manufacturing, and sport and leisure. I specifically marketed to these groups, attended trade shows, wrote articles and spoke at events, all in an effort to position our company in the forefront as a marketing specialist/expert in those areas. All of our marketing efforts were relevant to those markets – we even drilled down to the various departments within those industries for deeper, relevant interactions.
The transition took a while, and it will for you as well, if you choose to go down that path. I will say the rewards can be tremendous.
Acquisition
The fourth way to grow your business is through acquisition – buying or acquiring an existing company. There are many challenges that come with acquiring a company and we will deal with those in my third and final article in this series. You may want to consider this option if you have the first three methods humming along nicely. Recognize that this phase takes a lot of focus in order to meld the two corporate cultures together. Don’t think that the transition will happen on its own – it won’t, so it is critical to work with a reputable company that can help you navigate those waters. If done correctly you could have a significant bump in sales and profits.
In my next article I will drill down with a few examples on how the first three methodologies look like and in part three, I will share the details of acquiring a company for successful growth.
A balanced program strategy of existing, inactive and NEW clients is critical. It is imperative to have multiple opportunities working at all time. Having a plan is a must.
Growing your business is important doing it right is most important. Should you have any questions about how to do this effectively, feel free to reach out!
Wishing you the best and continued good selling!
For more than 30 years, Cliff has been speaking, training and consulting internationally to associations and national business groups on more effective ways to market themselves, their products and services, as well as motivating their personnel. Recognized by PPAI for his creativity, he has won the prestigious PPAI Pyramid award 25 times, and the Printing Industry's PSDA’s Peak Award for creativity five times in three years. He has also received PPAI's Ambassador Speaker of the Year Award six consecutive years and was the inaugural recipient of PPAI's Distinguished Service Award. Named one of top six industry speakers and trainers, he also was recognized by PPAI in the book, "PPAI at 100," as having a significant influence in education. He has also been recognized by Counselor Magazine as one of the Top 50 Most Influential People in the Promotional Products Industry. You can engage with Cliff at http://www.myengagepage5.com/cliff-quicksell-1associates.