Natural Entrepreneur: Developing New Business Opportunities

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Developing New Business Opportunities

When things get tough, adapt, try harder/smarter

-- by Paul Donehue, Paul Charles & Associates, Londonderry, NH

Every entrepreneur faces the challenge of attracting and retaining customers. New business development can be a tough job, especially in a smaller business environment where the "boss" wears so many hats. Whether due to economic shifts, seasonality or lack of time (time management?), the need for paying customers must be satisfied or even the best ideas will go unnoticed by a seemingly disinterested marketplace.

And beware! When the flow of interested prospects diminishes, many resort to simply beefing-up the marketing effort. While this might be a key component to generating business, it’s very difficult to inspire action through marketing alone. So, to keep your slice of a suddenly smaller pie, be ready to adapt your selling habits as well.

Back to basics

When things get tough in sales, it’s often due to a lack of focus. To break out of the slump, the first step involves getting back to basics – back to making more calls; back to following-through and following-up on everything, including the marketing letters/mailers; back to the daily checklist and meticulous record-keeping; back to consistent prospecting and to using sales automation and targeting tools; back to visiting more customers, and back to providing a little "extra customer service."

Do this and, before long, you'll be back on track.

Looking for sales orders in more places is another strategy that will likely yield more of them. A regular dialog with co-workers such as engineers, installers, technicians, and the administrative staff is a start, as in many cases the support staff can provide useful insight about your customers.

Networking with industry-related contacts to exchange strategies is another good idea. Many successful business owners leverage their time by interacting with peer and lead groups on a regularly scheduled basis. Over time, group members learn what constitutes a good lead for each of their colleagues, thus making new business opportunities more plentiful.

Useful data can also be found in local or regional newspapers and trade journals. Browsing one at lunch each day might well provide a couple of leads worthy of pursuit each afternoon.

Regularly seeking out networking opportunities at association meetings, chamber of commerce events, or trade shows is another key activity that often gets underused.

It's not always comfortable approaching people at these gatherings, but you might consider that many of them are there for the same purpose. To maximize your success, develop an approach strategy in advance and set specific achievement goals – i.e., my goal for tonight’s business-after-hours event is to identify at least two bona-fide prospects…

In addition, making a habit out of asking customers and prospects for referrals is a good practice that makes even more sense during leaner times.

Keeping the ball in your court or developing a proactive communication style can also make it easier for you to set the pace of business development. Being prepared with a few polite but effective phrases is often the key to keeping control and to arranging a timely next step when discussing possibilities with clients or new prospects. Do your best to end each encounter by scheduling a follow-up action:

"I'm traveling (or) in meetings over the next week, so let me call you back. When's a good time to try?" "I know you're busy, so let’s set a time to follow-up on our discussion… would you like to get together again on …?"

Working on the right things might seem obvious, but brainstorming with managers or peers increases efficiency by shedding light on the most critical needs, the right people to call, the best approaches to take, and the most appropriate benefits to stress. Regular meetings keep everyone focused on the right things.

And speaking of benefits, a self-assessment on how you are presenting your organization never hurts. Keep in mind that most of us tend to speak in terms of features – however, our customers and prospects only care about benefits (what’s in it for them?). Be sure you’re able to distinguish the difference between the two, and focus on the latter when proposing ideas and solutions.

Finally, diligent follow-up on all business development interactions is a must. Consider the following National Sales Executive Association stats regarding the importance of following up:

2% of sales are made on the 1st contact
3% of sales are made on the 2nd contact
5% of sales are made on the 3rd contact
10% of sales are made on the 4th contact
80% of sales are made after the 5th contact

The sales process works best when a number of different things go right. The more things we try, the better our chances of success.

Paul Donehue is President of Paul Charles &am; Associates, a sales and sales management consulting firm in Londonderry, NH. He can be reached at (603) 537-1190 or by email: pdonehue@paulcharles.com. For additional information please visit www.paulcharles.com. .

Upcoming Events

Feb 21 (8-9:30a): NH Forum on the Future, NHHTC, CR Sparks, Bedford, NH

March 1 (6:30-8:30p): Women's Business Center and MicroCredit-NH Networking Event, Bank of America, Portsmouth, NH

March 6 (10a-noon): Growth Capital Resources in New Hampshire, City of Nashua, Office of Economic Development, Daniel Webster College, Nashua, NH

March 8: (12pm -1pm) Break the Rules and Close More Sales, Amoskeag Business Incubator, Manchester, NH

March 16: Peak Pitch (pitch your plan to invstors on the chairlift), Mt. Sunapee, NH ($)

March 22: Breaking Trends in Web Develoment, UVCIA, Hanover, NH ($)

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