Many businesses go on about…well…business without taking notice of their greatest asset. This long forgotten asset in business is one of the most valuable to those who take note of it. What is this asset? The customer database!

If you are not continuing to build relationships with your current customers so that you can get them as repeat customers, or to generate referrals you are making a huge and expensive mistake!

Up to 66% of customers leave due to perceived indifference! What does this mean? It means you are losing a fortune because you are not nurturing strong relationships with your current customers.

So, what is the first step in nurturing your client base? Getting out the calculator! Yes, we know it seems strange, but getting the calculator is the first step. Why? Because you need to calculate out the lifetime value of your customer, and then determine how valuable the client is to you and how much you can afford to spend to nurture that customer.

Here is an example. If the client buys every 6 months on average for 3 years that is an average of 6 customer transactions. If the average profit per transaction is $100 then that client is worth $600 to you.

However, if the industry average is 5 years and you are only getting an average of 3 years then you are losing, on average, $400 per customer.

Doesn’t it then make sense to invest some money in nurturing and building relationships and staying in front of your customer? Let’s say you implement a monthly newsletter that is truly valuable (valuable being the key word). This costs you $1 per month per customer.

Over 5 years this would cost you $60 for this customer. But you have brought in an additional $400 in revenue you would have lost! The question you need to ask yourself is this. Is it worth it to trade $60 for $400? The answer is clearly yes! Also, this does not factor in referrals and other income you can make from keeping the customer longer.

Nurturing and building relationships with your current customer database is extremely important and something that should be done on a regular basis!

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In our previous post we discussed how to build a future buyers system so that you can increase your market system. In today’s post we are going to discuss what you can do to help with converting prospects through follow-up.

Here are some things you can include:

1) Industry standards.

2) Good questions for future buyers to ask of vendors (and your competition).

3) Things to watch out for, common mistakes people make.

4) A checklist to quiz potential vendors on.

5) Examples and testimonials of current and happy clients (of yours).

Now, if you are smart you will make sure that this information educates your potential buyer, but also that it will help your future buyer come to a simple conclusion.

What is that conclusion? That they would be a FOOL to do business with anyone else except you!

Now of course many people think of all the work that goes into something like this, and yes there is work. But what you need to realize is that once this system is setup it will be converting prospects for you automatically!

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Depending upon what you sell, most people are not in a “buying now mode.” This is why it is extremely important to continually harvest a list of potential buyers or people who are in information gathering mode and who are looking to buy in the future. By building this list you will greatly increase your market share.

Here is how the process works. Most people don’t immediately run out and buy something. Generally, they started thinking about it a few months ago. Then they probably went out and did some research. They might have even visited some places that sell it. Then after they feel they have gotten adequate information to make a buying decision, they then made a purchase. This process could take days, weeks, months, or even years depending upon the product or service being purchased.

Now, this buying process gives business owners a tremendous opportunity because most businesses are only focused on NOW buyer, which is only a small percentage of the potential market. So if you want to get more market share you must build a list of prospects. But how do you do this? It is really is quite straightforward.

1) Identify WHERE your potential clients and customers look for information on what you sell. Or identify where they are in general. For example, if your ideal prospect is generally a golfer that golfs at elite golf clubs on a regular basis, perhaps you should find a way to get in front of him at that elite golf club in some way, shape, or form.

2) Promise interesting and relevant information to them. Remember, this information must be both interesting and relevant. Don’t give them a white paper that tells them all of the boring details of how you make their technology system work if you sell IT services. They generally don’t really care about any of that. They just want to know that it works. They would be more likely to bite if you advertise a white paper on “How to Choose an IT Firm: 7 Mistakes to Avoid”.

3) Combine #1 and #2. A percentage of people who currently have IT companies, or who are looking to hire an IT company will request your relevant and interesting information IF you advertise it in the right place and to the right people.

4) Collect their contact information then give them the information. It does you no good to simply give out your white paper without having collected someone’s contact information first. Don’t bet on them remembering where they got the great information, even if you do have great branding throughout the white paper. You will have to remind them through your follow-up. So collect their contact information. This allows you to build a relationship with a future buyer, educate the buyer on what makes you different and what they should look for in their market, and to build trust and rapport.

Now, guess who the future buyer is likely to go with when it is time for them to make a buying decision? That’s right! You have the greatest chance because you have educated the prospect and they should trust you.

This prospect list allows you to get more market share because you are getting future buyers since there will always be more future buyers than people buying this second. Implement a prospect list now and you will increase your market share!

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Many people struggle to manage their time and feel as if they are unproductive. The simple fact is that everyone has the same 24 hours in the day, and the difference between getting a lot done and a little done is often times very simple. Here are a few timely time management tips and tricks to help you make better use of your time.

1) Write out a plan for your day or a to do list. The to do list is super important. Putting a monetary amount next to each to do list entry is also important as it will help you prioritize what to do first and it can motivate you. Here’s why. When you quantify what each task is worth, then when you start to procrastinate you will see that procrastinating will cost you X amount of dollars. In the past it was just a task that you could push off, but now it hits you where it counts, the wallet.

2) Set a reasonable time limit for each activity. Work will expand to fit the time allotted so if you give yourself a lot of time to complete a task–it will take a lot of time to complete a task!

3) Create an environment where you are sure to succeed. This means you need to remove distractions, give yourself motivation, and make it impossible to do anything other than work toward your goals. Psychological anchors that remind you of your goals, your rewards, and other items are also a good idea to keep you focused.

4) Force yourself to succeed. Many people are more motivated by pain (or rather fear of pain) than they are by pleasure (or the promise of pleasure). With this, many are not motivated because they do not have a situation where they will experience enough pain or punishment if they fail. Training yourself to work hard and smart to where you will experience pain if you fail is not an easy task. Only you know what would be a worthwhile punishment to motivate you.

Sometimes it is merely the absence of a reward. For example, if you don’t accomplish the items on your to do list you won’t go to that baseball game you bought tickets for. Or maybe it is forcing yourself to do something that you hate doing such as mowing the yard or running in hot weather. The key is to make it a punishment if you do not get your work done.

On the other hand, there are others that are more motivated by a reward than they are by a punishment. So rather than punishing yourself for not accomplishing something, give yourself a reward when you do accomplish it. This could be as simple as allowing yourself time to watch your favorite show or to indulge in your favorite treat. Only you know whether the reward or the punishment will motivate you best, so act accordingly.

If you implement just one of these time management tips you will get more done this week. If you implement all of them you will blow your to-do list out of the water!

What strategies have helped you manage time in the past?

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It seems like 2013 just started recently and here we are talking about 2014? Why the rush? Because life moves fast! And business moves even faster! Many people started New Year’s resolutions, published goals for 2013, and have probably not touched them since. So, let us ask you this question:

Are you on track to accomplish a respectable percentage of your goals for 2013? If not, here are some tips that will help you.

1) Write out your goals. If they are not written out they are not real goals. Why is this important? Because with the constant information we are exposed to, if you do not remind yourself and review your goals you will FORGET them. Writing out your goals and reviewing them will continue to motivate you.

2) Put your goals in several places where you will see them. On your bathroom mirror, by your bed, in your car. You must utilize top of mind awareness if you want to accomplish your goals.

Make sure to reward yourself with prizes along the way when you accomplish your goals. It is always good to give yourself treats, and breaks. This keeps you fresh and motivated.

3) Your goals need to be a step-by-step plan on accomplishing something. For example, if your goal is to lose 20 pounds that is a horrible goal. A better goal is to exercise 4 times a week for 30 minutes, with a goal of losing 2 pounds a week for 12 weeks. That is much more realistic and achievable.

4) Unfreeze the process. Nobody can lose 20 pounds at once (unless they chop off an arm or leg). Move from “lose 20 pounds’ to losing 2 pounds a week.

What goals have you achieved so far this year (both business and personal)? What goals would you still like to achieve by year’s end?

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Whether you’re the leader of a volunteer organization, a company or a little league team, you use leadership skills every day. You may be leading others to a victory or just trying to influence a sale. According to John C. Maxwell’s “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership”, your ability to Influence others is made up of several factors.

In addition to your character (who you are, what you believe), your ability, experience and intuition help determine how others perceive your morals, credibility and capability. All of which are considered when someone is deciding whether or not to follow you – work with you – buy from you.

However, one final characteristic is often overlooked, and it may be just as important as all the others combined. That is your relationships, or circle of influence. Who do you know? Who knows and trusts you? People you are trying to influence will look to your existing relationships to validate you, and determine how or if they will be influenced by you.

Build enough of the right kinds of relationships with the right people and your ability to influence others will continue to grow exponentially. In today’s business environment, don’t be afraid to look outside the box for new and more efficient ways to develop and enhance your B2B relationships!

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What if you could get multiple referrals to the person or persons you needed to meet in the next five minutes? What would that do for your ability to convert that person into a sale? What if you did that every day for a month? Do you think that would increase your business?

With One Degree Connected, LLC you can do just that. Simply search for the person you need to meet either by last name, job title, or company name. A list of people who know that person will come up within seconds.

Choose which of your contacts you want to ask for a referral and then click on “Request an Introduction”.

Once you request your introductions your contacts will automatically receive an email asking them to provide you with a referral to the person you would like to meet. They simply click on the link in the email and are taken to their OneDegreeConnected.com Dashboard to fulfill your request with a couple clicks of a button.

Your prospect will then receive professional introduction emails from each contact that approves your request for a referral. At the same time you will also receive access to their contact information, allowing you to set up a point of contact. This can all occur in less than 5 minutes. If you are not already using OneDegreeConnected.com to grow your business you need to be. Click here to start your free 15 day trial.

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Let’s imagine that you need to boost your sales for the month (for some of you that may not be much of a stretch for your imagination). Who would you choose to contact in order to accomplish this goal? To be successful at such an endeavor you should contact your 3 easiest prospects to sell to. Who are your 3 easiest prospects to sell to?

The first would be the people who are currently your customers. If someone is already happy with you enough to give you their money, they are more likely to buy from you again. You can start to boost your sales this month by concentrating on this area first.

The second would be the referrals you receive from your happy customers. This group is much easier to sell to than a cold prospect, so if you have any referrals concentrate on these. If you don’t have any current referrals, go back to the first group and ask them for referrals. An easy way to accomplish this would be to use the OneDegreeConnected.com tool. Check out our article Top 3 Ways to Use One Degree Connected in Networking to see how you can use this great tool in your business.

The third would be people that used to be customers. Now, most business people completely forget about this group of people. After all, they are no longer customers for some reason. Generally, it is much easier to reactivate a lost customer than it is to sell a new prospect.

If you focus on these 3 groups you will be able to boost sales this month.

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Referrals and introductions can mean the difference between an appointment and a redirection to voicemail. But did you know that just any little old referral or introduction won’t do? In fact, a poor referral or introduction can actually hurt you!

Let’s look at a scenario. You meet a person at a local networking meeting. After a short conversation, the person eagerly offers up, “You should meet so and so at Company XYZ. The two of you would be perfect together. Here is his contact information. Tell him that I told you to call.”

Now, fast forward to the next day. You eagerly pick up your phone and dial the number they gave you. After a moment of ringing, the prospect picks up. You give your best 10 second blurb yet and end it with your trusty name drop, then wait for it to work its magic. Expecting to get an appointment set up right away you are surprised when the prospect tells you they are not interested in a very short tone.

After hanging up you wander to yourself what happened. Did you blow it? You beat yourself up over it all day. You even bring it up to your power circle at lunch. Your mentor, who is sitting right next to you asks, “Who was the referral from?” You tell him and you can literally see the light bulb go on over his head. He lets you in on a little secret…your prospect just happens to be the newly ex brother-in-law of the person who referred you and apparently the divorce was not on friendly terms.

Ugh, you could just hit yourself for walking into that one! Now your prospect will never take your call again as he associates you with his ex brother-in-law.

How can those situations be avoided? Well, first any referrals or business introductions must be qualified. If someone says to use their name, ask them what their relationship is or how they know the person. Then, ask them if they would be willing to give them a call or shoot them an email on your behalf.

Think of it like this. If name dropping works well, imagine a personal introduction. Then your prospect knows that you are really someone of quality that is worth taking seriously. Plus, this method helps weed out those “referrals” that are merely some eager beaver at a networking event trying to look helpful by passing out contact information for any Tom, Dick, and Harry that he has ever rubbed elbows with.

What was the worst experience you have had with a referral? What did you do to try to overcome it? Were you able to? What did you learn from the experience?

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Have you ever seen a baby smile and started grinning yourself for no reason at all? A smile is one of the most powerful ways to win clients and referrals. A genuine smile is not only a way to put someone at ease; it is a little known sales tool that many people forget to take with them to a meeting.

A smile is contagious not only in the physical action, but in emotional feelings. Have you ever noticed how hard it is to stay upset when you are smiling?

Try it with your spouse or significant other the next time you have a disagreement. Do what you can to make them laugh or smile and you will immediately disarm the situation. Not only that, smiling actually releases natural endorphins into your body and will help to take away stress.

The same goes for business. If you can get your client or prospect to like you, you are that much closer to winning the sale or the referral. People like to smile and they like people who make them smile. Some of the most likeable people in the world are those who smile easily.

One of the best ways to be that person is to make sure you are smiling. However, the key is to be genuine. Don’t just paste some fake smile on your face because people will notice the insincerity and it will backfire. If you have trouble coming up with a genuine smile, think of something that makes you incredibly happy before going into each meeting. Before you know it, you will find yourself smiling for real into the face of a new client or referral partner and that is something to smile about.

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