Studies have shown that superstar salespeople spend 60% of their time focused on building rapport with a prospect, way more than the average sales person. What better way to gain their trust than to release a natural “feel-good” chemical and make them laugh! I happened to be searching LinkedIn last week and I came across a fantastic LinkedIn group called “Brilliant Ads.” I took the most hilarious ones just for you because…

1. Seeing these massively successful campaigns will give you some good creative muse for your next marketing campaign.
2. I’ve been using these pictures as a sales tool to send to my potential clients to break the ice, crack a good joke, and win some rapport through text message, facebook chat, and email. (I even put #8 in a proposal right before the pricing to soften them before the close).
3. Because I find these hilarious and I want you to enjoy them as well

How can you do something like these ads in your next campaign…

The Funniest Insurance Ad Ever. Can you create a picture and caption like this for your company?

A picture is worth a thousand words. Can you capture the perfect picture that puts your buyer in urgency, pain, or laughter? This Diamond company did all three.

Can you use the holidays to post something seasonally funny? Welcome to the scariest day of the year…

Educate your buyer about why you’re better than your competition! Even something as simple as this, highly effective! (Notice how many likes this got on LinkedIn, almost double what all the other posts received).

Can you create something that’s innovative and grabs attention? How many employees do you have in the field? Did you ever consider using their cars as billboards? #guerillamarketing

Can you come up with a creative place to put your ads where people haven’t seen them before and find it clever?

McDonalds took thinking out of the box to a new level. What out of the box thinking can you create in your marketing mediums?

HILARIOUS. This is the one I’ve been using in my emails and proposals to potential clients… “P.S. I saw this ad a couple days ago on LinkedIn and found it amusing. I think it’s a great analogy of what our work will do together… All you need is [insert what you will give them] and it changes everything. ;)”

What clever merch can you place your company information on? I’ve been keeping this stick of chapstick for years because it tastes amazing and the provider that put their information on it has been on the top of my mind years later because of it. Where can you place your information where people will continue to see it for years to come?

Who is your target market? Can you speak in their language? Jacoby&Meyer knew millennials liked emoji’s and this campaign has been a huge hit for them.

Hah. Too funny. Be clever and remember laughter is a great way to gain rapport with clients. The difference between superstar salespeople and mediocre is their ability to build a lasting relationship.

If you’re looking to spice up your marketing material, or find more compelling ways to close more sales download our chapter that changes lives from our New York Times Best Seller The Ultimate Sales Machine. Or if you’d like to speak to someone about growing your company faster, better, smarter, sign up for a 22 minute strategy call with one of our growth specialists.

Love and light,

Amanda Holmes
CEO -Chet Holmes International

P.S. Have YOU ever put together a clever campaign? Tell me about it below in the comments box!

In anticipation of our upcoming webinar 4 Step-By-Step Strategies To Win 42% More Business, we thought we’d share a sneak peek at one of the strategies we’ll be covering—HOW TO CREATE A GREAT SALES SCRIPT.

This concept will be addressed in greater detail in the webinar (you really want to hear this sales script delivered LIVE by an expert in order to grasp how ridiculously effective it is, but we’ll do our best here just in writing). That said, any enterprising CEO should be able to implement the concepts contained solely within this post to huge benefit in their company. In fact, for greater ease of implementation we’ve included a download at the end of this post containing a blank template for creating this kind of killer sales script in your business today.

But enough preamble, in the words of music producer Berry Gordy, “Don’t bore us, get to the chorus!”

What follows is the sales script used by the salespeople of a 1.5 Billion Dollar home-building company in Mexico—BEFORE CHI got involved.

THE PRE-CHI SCRIPT:

SALESPERSON – Hi, this is Pedro Gomez from X Company. I would love to come talk to your employees about buying a home.

PROSPECT – Homes? No thank you. We’re not interested.

END SALES SCRIPT.

That’s basically what they were saying.

Train wreck…

Their solution to the resulting low rate of appointment setting was to pound away at the phones with the hope that maybe ONE business owner SOMEWHERE would be mildly interested.

At CHI we’re all in favor of pounding away at a sales effort, but we also live by the maxim: work SMARTER not HARDER—and this was not an example of working SMARTER.

BUT THEN AGAIN, MOST SALES SCRIPTS ARE NOT.

Our experience is that most sales scripts look like the one above. Such a script accomplishes three things—none of them particularly useful.

1. It lets the prospect know who you are. OKAY.
2. It tells them what YOU want. BAD. Hint: they don’t care what YOU want. What’s in it for THEM?
3. And it opens the door for the prospect to say NO immediately. VERY BAD.
4. If a sales rep does manage the sale from here, he/she deserves a medal—it’s going to be an uphill battle against a foe that is in control and LEADING the whole time.

Oftentimes this limp script is all the sales rep is provided. After that they’re left to their own devices while in poor strategic position and with poor tools. Good luck, buddy.

ENTER the strategic, SMARTER approach…

THE CHI SCRIPT:

By contrast to the three weak accomplishments of the previous script, this new script accomplishes 11 carefully thought out, strategic objectives:

1. It lets the prospect know who you are. OKAY.
2. It positions your company as well respected in its field. GOOD.
3. It only opens the door for the prospect to say, “Yes.” And does so REPEATEDLY. GREAT.
4. It focuses on THEIR needs. Not yours. GOOD.
5. It positions your company as altruistic and outwardly focused—trustworthy. GREAT.
6. It educates the prospect (allowing for objectives 7, 8, 9, and 10). EXCELLENT
7. It builds rapport (educating builds rapport while selling breaks it). GREAT.
8. It allows you to reset the prospect’s buying criteria in your favor. GREAT.
9. It keeps the prospect INTERESTED. GREAT.
10. 10.  It positions the salesperson as a knowledgeable expert. GREAT.
11. 11.  And finally, it makes the Call To Action a breeze. RESULTS!

Here’s how it’s done…

FIRST, A WORD OF CAUTION

Don’t use this script on the WRONG PERSON! Every word of this sales script has been painstakingly chosen, and pitching it to the wrong audience will absolutely ruin its effectiveness. Who is the RIGHT AUDIENCE you ask? ALWAYS PITCH THE PERSON WHO HAS THE AUTHORITY TO SAY, “YES” WITHOUT ASKING SOMEBODY ELSE’S PERMISSION! If you pitch what we call a “gatekeeper,” chances are they have the power to say, “No, we’re not interested,” but not the power to say, “Yes, we’re buying!” The best you can hope for is that the gatekeeper will try to get you in front of his/her boss. Then you end up with the gatekeeper pitching YOUR script.

WITH NO PRACTICE.

WITH NOTHING INVESTED IN THE OUTCOME.

AND PROBABLY IN LESS THAN THIRTY SECONDS.

Don’t do it! If you want to know more about getting past these gatekeepers, click HERE.

With that essential warning out of the way…

HERE IS THE SMARTER SCRIPT:

SALESPERSON – Hi, this is Pedro Gomez from X company. Are you familiar with us?

PROSPECT – Yes/No.

SALESPERSON – Okay then you should know (or already know) that we’re the largest homebuilder in Mexico.(This lets the prospect know who you are, and also why your company should be respected—objectives 1 and 2. We’re off to a good start)

Now the reason I’m calling you is because we recently commissioned a study of issues facing Mexico and how that’s going to impact you and your employees. (Objective 4, focus on THEM and THEIR needs)

Are you interested in making your employees more secure, less stressed, and more effective on the job? (Again objective 4)

PROSPECT – Uh, of course. (Remember how quickly the prospect said “No” before? This time we don’t give them that option—objective 3, get them saying YES. On that note, what is a question that you can ask right away in your sales scripts that the prospect CAN’T say “No” to? Remember: the best way to close a sale is for the prospect to close themselves)

(Side note: who is leading this conversation? With that last question we passed the ball to the prospect, but they have no choice but to pass it right back)

SALESPERSON – That’s where we can help. You’re probably aware that Mexico is emerging in several areas as a leader in the world market. Since our company is one of the largest companies in Mexico (Objective 2), we feel it is our responsibility to assist this country in any way we can. (This establishes our company as both altruistic and trustworthy, accomplishing objective 5. Now watch as we keep the prospect saying “Yes,” and continue to LEAD the conversation with another question the prospect just can’t say “No” to)

Are you interested in making Mexico a stronger nation if it doesn’t cost you anything to do it?

PROSPECT – Uh, yeah, I guess. (Objective 3 again—what self-respecting Mexican citizen can say no to this?)

SALESPERSON – I’m sure you’re aware that there are government programs that make it so almost every employee you have can own a home. (This is where the sales script begins to educate the prospect. Education based marketing is an incredibly powerful and advanced tool—that we’ve developed into something we call a Core Story—that deserves a whole blog post unto itself. For now we will say only that this approach accomplishes or enhances almost all of our previously established objectives, particularly objectives 4-10)

PROSPECT – I didn’t know that. (But it’s an interesting piece of information, right?—objective 9)

SALESPERSON – Oh it’s a fantastic opportunity for individuals and also for the entirety of Mexico. See we work closely with various government agencies (objective 2) and now have a program that educates you and your staff about the growth of the Mexican economy, why you should have more pride in Mexico, and how almost every employee can afford now to own a home. (Objectives: 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Perhaps you get the picture and I don’t need to point out all the different strategies at work in every line. From here on I’ll mention just the highlights)

You see, if your employees own homes, they are more tied into the job, and need to keep it even more. Do you like keeping good staff around?

PROSPECT – Well, yes, of course. (ANOTHER YES. It’s almost too easy at this point…)

SALESPERSON – Then what I’d like to do is make this program available to your entire staff. Here’s how we do it. You send out a memo and make an announcement to each staff member. We will supply the announcement and memo (See how we leave nothing to chance here? We do all the work for the prospect, but more importantly we’re in complete control. This makes the call to action SIMPLE. People have a tendency to go where there is the least resistance. So we make it as easy on them as possible—objective 11), then we come by at lunch and also after work and talk to the staff. You win from this as people who own their own homes are better citizens, better employees, more stable and more dependent upon their job. Does that make sense to you? (By now you surely don’t need us to point out how this line actively contributes to objectives 3-11. Instead I’d like to guide your attention specifically to objective 8—resetting the prospect’s buying criteria. Two minutes ago this prospect had no buying criteria and was absolutely uninterested in us selling houses to his/her employees. By educating him/her however, we’ve completely changed his/her perspective on the matter. Now the prospect sees what’s in it for him/her. Through educating your prospect—which also accomplishes objectives 7-10 if the information is good—you can give criteria to buyers who had few buying criteria beyond price, and you can change the buying criteria of more knowledgeable buyers into criteria that are favorable to your company)

PROSPECT – Yes, it does. (How can they say no at this point? They have much to gain and all the hard work has been done for them)

SALESPERSON – Great, then we could get in there next week and get started. I’ll get you over the announcement and memo. (All that’s left is to iron out the details)

END SCRIPT.

It should be obvious that strategically and tactically the second script blows the first script out of the water. Remember the salesperson using the first script, stuck in poor strategic position with no tools at his/her disposal? At CHI we don’t believe in sending salespeople into the front lines of capitalism empty-handed; as the second script should demonstrate, we want them armed to the teeth.

RESULTS

Nobody can say that any sales script is effective 100% of the time, but it should be obvious that our script was far superior to the one that the company previously utilized. As you might guess, the results reflected this. Along with other tools we provided, this exact script was responsible for the homebuilding company landing Walmart as a client—dream client. In fact, in total, our efforts for this particular company increased sales to the tune of 700 million dollars over two years.

We want you to have these kinds of results.

Below you’ll find a free download of the template used to create this STRATEGICALLY SUPERIOR sales script. If you like the information in this blog post, feel free to share it on your favorite social media platform(s) and/or with anyone you know who might benefit from it.

Also consider subscribing to our blog. We’re in the process of implementing a new initiative concerning blog posts, and future entries promise to be packed full of concrete and actionable tools to help you succeed.

TEMPLATE DOWNLOAD

Cheers,

The CHI Team

In celebration of my father’s life, here are a couple of free videos for you to enjoy:

The Exact Sales Script Chet Used to Get to the Most Successful People in the World

Now that I’ve shared these with you, I’d love to know, what’s your favorite inspiring quote? Leave it in the comments section below.

With love,

Amanda Holmes

While small companies still bring in a significant part of their revenue from local customers, they can miss out on increased sales and clientele by ignoring their Web presence. Ecommerce presents a greater chance of small business success as it allows owners to attract new patrons from all over the country.

However, before embarking on the ecommerce journey, there are a few things that you, as a small business owner, should keep in mind to ensure your Internet operation is delivering the results you want.

Ecommerce not prevalent among small companies
The fact that small businesses are not as invested in the online sale of their products and services as their larger counterparts shouldn’t come as a surprise. After all, smaller organizations don’t have the budgets of large retailers and therefore don’t have the same amount of resources.

On the other hand, the Web has become an extremely helpful tool for organizations of every size, and small companies should no longer ignore the use of the Internet in their business operations.

According to a recent study by MasterCard, the cost of the necessary technology appears to be the largest obstacle standing in the way of smaller enterprises and ecommerce efforts. Forty-six percent of respondents cited this as the No. 1 reason for the hesitation to adopt ecommerce strategies.

Another main reason was a lack of knowledge on how to sell products online, as 31 percent of owners gave this reason for their slow adoption of Internet sales strategies for their companies.

Use big data to make ecommerce work
However, none of the previously mentioned reasons should hold small businesses back. After all, when weighing the costs of adopting the needed software and hardware against the revenue that online sales can bring in, it should be clear how this strategy can lead to small business success.

Small Business Computing spoke with Kevin North, CEO of ecommerce analytics firm Terapeak, and he stated that big data can play an important role for small business ecommerce. Implementing this technology doesn’t mean that small companies need to spend large amounts of money, North said.

Taking the time to shop around to find the right deal and the right technology to fit your needs will help you adopt the best ecommerce strategy for your company. Big data gives you insights into what your patrons prefer and how you can shape your online sales methods to grow your operations.

The payoff will be increased revenues, higher customer satisfaction and ultimate small business success.

Understanding employee motivations can help increase productivity.

Professional consulting services help businesses on the cusp of reaching new levels of profitability, efficiency and output attain their goals. Such services also help employers better connect with employees and learn best practices for worker interaction and leadership.

One of the best ways to make sense of what drives workers is to look at things from their perspective. Some overarching career advice from Business 2 Community can help managers and owners understand the motivations of many of their workers, as well as know how they can adapt their offices to better accommodate staff. Some of the advice will apply to you and your managers as well.

Personal branding

Employers and employees should both have an idea of how they want to be viewed by others and make changes to that effect. For workers, those differences may involve extra effort in certain business behaviors and a focus on learning new skills. Reputation is a factor that can be controlled by both individuals and businesses if they put in the work.

The corollary to managing perception is that everyone needs to be honest about who they are. Making positive changes is entirely possible for employees, but they likely can’t become totally new people or go against instinct. Instead of enforcing a too-rigid corporate culture, supervisors should find out what their employees are deeply interested in and see if they can fit those passions into new work opportunities.

Management should offer to help employees who want to learn and do more and be proactive about letting their workforce know that mentoring and counseling for professional growth is available.

When companies bring in a corporate consulting service, they should involve employees as much as possible. Asking for and acting on feedback is a great potential source of growth for employees and supervisors. And when an employee is successful, management should make note of a job well done as well as subtly encourage others to offer congratulations for good work.

Employee-to-employee interaction

Workers often care the most about their relationships with colleagues, according to research by TinyPulse reported on industry website Employee​ Benefits. The happiness of staff often has more to do with co-workers and less to do with managers, especially with businesses becoming less hierarchical and more focused on collaboration.

Employers can foster positive relationships though non-traditional benefits like catering lunch or offering out-of-work activities in a low-pressure fashion to help develop those horizontal bonds between employees on the same level.

While each company has different methods that it uses to keep clients happy, there are a few strategies that each enterprise can employ in order to boost customer engagement.

It’s no surprise that customers are an essential part of any business operation. Business owners spend a large amount of time and put in great effort to ensure they are making connections with potential patrons and keeping their current customers satisfied. While each company has different methods it uses to keep clients happy, there are a few strategies that each organization can employ in order to boost customer engagement.

Keeping patrons engaged is key for business success. By focusing on this aspect, you, as an owner, can increase revenue, boost your organization’s reputation and draw in potential customers. Engagement is not only for employees, but should become part of your client retention strategy as well.

The following methods will help ensure that your customers will be engaged, happy and will keep coming back to do business with your company:

Start by asking questions: Taking the time to get to know your patrons will go a long way in boosting engagement. You can ask questions while customers are shopping in the store, or, as Business 2 Community suggests, you can go online and to gather feedback from your clients. These questions can range from what kinds of products and services are preferred to what changes customers would like to see.

Put customers in the spotlight: B2C recommends acknowledging your most loyal patrons. This can be accomplished by featuring them on your company’s website, social media pages or even in your brick-and-mortar locations. This will give consumers more reason to return to your business.

Improving your company website and customer experience: Customers expect great service when they are in your store. The same rules should apply when they are on your business website. Business News Daily suggests that your website should meet the needs of patrons’ expectations by allowing them to complete transactions quickly and efficiently. Also, to improve customer service, your website should have the most up-to-date information about the company, products, services and other important details. Having a strong online presence that your clients can easily access should be a key part of any business growth plan.

Contests bring customers in: Holding contests with the chance to win products and services not only boosts existing customer engagement, but this strategy can also help bring in new clientele. B2C recommends hosting frequent contests, both online and in stores, to garner higher patron engagement as well as get the word out about your business. Business News Daily states that holding contests on your social media pages helps to increase your marketing reach as well.

Take the time to celebrate your customers: Not all customer engagement strategies need to happen online. B2C writes that having parties and small celebrations at your brick-and-mortar location lets your patrons know their business is appreciated. When your company reaches a certain milestone, or you just feel like celebrating your business success, consider having a party as a way to share your enthusiasm with your customers.

Entrepreneurs have to adopt the traits and habits of people who have already achieved business success.

Entrepreneurship carries with it a lot of responsibility. Business success requires an individual to juggle multiple tasks at one time like ensuring the company is operating efficiently in order to generate revenue and be a viable entity in the marketplace. Many people who branch out on their own and begin an enterprise don’t always fully understand what it takes to be the kind of leader who can drive an organization toward profitability. Not only does it take a lot of hard work, but it also requires patience, an open mind and a willingness to learn.

One of the best ways for a business owner to gain knowledge is by eliciting the help of others who are more experienced than they may be. There are a number of resources available to be those who start their own companies, such as professional business coaching services that can help guide an entrepreneur through the difficulties associated from running their own enterprises.

However, one of the best educational sources is seeking out the knowledge of those who have already established themselves and their companies as viable players in the marketplace. All of these individuals developed personal characteristics – in addition to strengthening their business acumen – that contributed greatly to the growth and sustainability of their organizations and those individuals seeking business success would be wise to follow their lead.

Common traits of entrepreneurs with strong enterprises
A recent article from Inc. Magazine listed a number of habits adopted by company owners that contributed to their thriving businesses. Here are a few traits that Entrepreneurs and owners should adopt into their daily routines:

1. Be proactive: Thinking ahead and preparing for the unforeseen is a good way not be caught off guard in the event that something bad happens. Not having enough foresight can derail an organization and cause the head of a company to make reactionary decisions that could do more harm than good.
2. Strike first: The most successful business leaders are those who don’t wait for things to happen and instead are aggressive in ensuring that their companies thrive.
3. Serve others: Obviously, putting customers first is an important part of achieving business success. However, the same level of service given to patrons must also be provided to staff members. Ensuring happiness is achieved internally and externally will contribute greatly to an enterprise surviving in a marketplace that has become increasingly competitive.

Change your way of thinking
In addition to creating and developing good habits, a shift in your thought process as a leader should also occur if an organization is to be successful. A recent article from CEO.com highlighted the importance for entrepreneurs to not get too caught up in details but instead keep everything is simplified as possible.

This leads to clarity of thought and greatly diminishes the frustration associated with making things more complex than the have to be. For example, when making a decision to bring staff members on board, focus on the people who appear to have an ability to do their jobs and be an asset from day one. Don’t get caught up in their skills and experience. Instead, evaluate them on their ability to come in and contribute right away in order to help the company reach its goals.

Another suggestion is to envision the solution to the problem as opposed to focusing on the issue itself. This act can be difficult as it is very easy to lose sight of the big picture whenever situations come up that can be detrimental to the business. Having a mindset that foresees a successful outcome when negative situations occur, lends itself to thoughts and ideas that can be beneficial and move an organization past a roadblock with relative ease.

Keeping track of emerging business trends can put your company in a very strong position.

As your company looks toward 2015 with an eye on growing successful practices and finding areas to improve, there are some emergent workplace trends that may influence how you do business.

Staying abreast of changes in the work environment and prevailing attitudes can help position your organization for success and keep your operations ahead of the pack.  Knowing how to use some of these new trends in fashion at top companies, as reported by U.S. News and World Report, may give your group an edge.

Developing young and talented hires

Millennials, those born between the early 1980s and early 2000s, are beginning to make a mark in the working world. Hiring young talent is important because it brings workers on board who could stay and develop within your company for decades, are in touch with cultural trends and can help steer marketing, sales and customer service efforts toward younger populations. Incorporating young employees into breakthrough consulting sessions for your company can strengthen these positives.

Internships and proactive college recruiting are both poised to become more common in 2015. Emphases on recognizing ability and providing interns and apprentices the opportunity to have substantial interaction with high-level employees and executives are gaining popularity.

For existing employees, an added focus on professional development can keep them eager and willing to advance and learn. Mentoring and job-shadowing programs are growing at top companies, providing ways for workers to become more involved and move up the corporate ladder.

Workplace Trends for 2015

Some trends cited by Forbes as the most popular of 2015 are already predicted to continue through the new year, like increases in the hiring of millennials.  The continuing retirement of baby boomers will also likely continue, but a few trends from the past year are worth extra consideration.

Other trends worth mentioning is Mobile hiring and mobile job search as well as social media posts used to attract and retain talent.

The use of freelancers in the workforce is becoming a normal way of life and Forbes has continued  to predict an increase in 2015 as well. Companies use freelancers to both save costs on benefits and other long-term financial obligations and to successfully target specific problems and opportunities.

To help your business decide which new trends will be especially beneficial to your unique situation, look into acquiring help from a corporate consulting service.

Business success will be difficult to achieve if staff members don’t work together toward the common goal of seeing the company succeed.

Business Owners that have a staff of any size understand the difficulties and complexities that come with managing multiple personalities and egos. This is a delicate practice that will test the patience of any entrepreneur, although it is necessary if your  business success it to be realized. When there is discord running rampant throughout an organization, it can be felt by customers. This negative energy can be detrimental to business and threaten the viability of a company.

People management isn’t something that comes naturally to entrepreneurs. Many times, individuals who branch out on their own are usually experts or achieved a certain level of mastery in their field of experience, but oftentimes find themselves learning as they go when it comes to running a company.

A certified business consultant is a great asset to owners working to understand their marketplace, customer base and how to ensure that their organization succeeds. However, when it comes to employing a workforce that is happy, engaged and contributing to the success of the company, it’s important for an owner to foster an environment of collaboration in order to achieve this goal and see to it that his or her business does not fail.

How to encourage staff to collaborate with one another
Getting people to work together in harmony isn’t easy. However, owners who set this expectation on the front end have a much better chance of seeing this kind of environment flourish internally.  A recent article from Forbes outlined ways that entrepreneurs can create a collaborative culture:

1. Be open: As a leader, the people that you employ look to you for guidance and will follow any cues or leads that are given directly or observed. Being an individual who is open and works closely with staff members will encourage others to take similar actions, many times without being forced or told to do so.
2. Celebrate individual accomplishments or achievements: Everyone wants to receive positive acknowledgement from their boss. This could be in relation to exceptional work performance, or something as small as celebrating a birthday or employment anniversary. Both create positive feelings and contribute to an internal environment that is both happy and productive.
3. Encourage staff members to engage with one another: Sometimes collaboration happens naturally and other times it must be implemented by organizational leadership. As a business owner, you must make employees understand the value of collaboration. Not only will working together help them achieve professional goals, but it will also contribute to the sustainability of the business.

The value of working relationships
Despite the novelty of collaboration within the workplace, it’s unrealistic to think that as a business owner, everyone that you hire will get along. Obviously, that is the hope, but it’s likely to never happen. Still, that doesn’t mean that people who don’t get along can’t work amicably, side by side.

CEO.com listed some suggestions on how business owners can ensure that staff members who have differences can still work together to achieve common goals.

The first step is to encourage them to keep an open mind and listen to their co-workers. Additionally, it’s important to get them to understand the difference between listening for understanding and listening to give a response. The latter will contribute to discord and have a negative impact on workplace harmony.

It’s also important to get them to understand the value of making themselves available when a colleague needs help. The saying, “we’re all in this together,” applies perfectly to all businesses. If everyone isn’t on the same page and committed to seeing the business grow and thrive, then success will be difficult to achieve and enterprise can easily fail.

As a business owner, you know how important your patrons are to your operations

Bringing in customers and using strategies to increase loyalty should be part of any solid business growth plan. As an owner, you know how important patrons are to your operations. While certain methods may prove effective, there are other strategies you can follow to ensure your customer base is constantly growing.

Fortunately, you have a leg up on larger companies when it comes to attracting and retaining patrons. As a business owner, you can dedicate more time and effort to truly connecting with your clients and learning about their specific needs. Providing excellent service for clients is what will keep them coming back.

Word of mouth goes a long way
There are many ways that organizations can bring in new customers. However, word of mouth from other patrons is the main driver when it comes to attracting new business. According to a joint study conducted by Verizon and Small Business Trends, 85 percent of small enterprises said they bring in new clients thanks to referrals from existing customers.

While a lot of time and money can go into reaching potential patrons through marketing and advertising methods, the results of the study show that it’s actually the low-cost strategy of word of mouth that is drawing in new business. This means that, as an owner, you should be working on increasing satisfaction among your current clientele in order to attract new patrons.

Satisfaction leads to more business
Inc Magazine reports there are five key things that customers look for when dealing with companies. Focusing on these aspects can increase word of mouth, leading to new patrons.

The first is consistency. Clients don’t want your processes and procedures to change frequently. They are counting on your business to be reliable, so constantly changing your operations could result in lower satisfaction. The second is excellence. Inc. states that while clients are not always looking for the best of the best, they do want your enterprise’s best.

The third thing that customers look for is empathy. They want your company to understand their needs and work to see the situation from their side. Attention is fourth. Taking the time to learn about what they are looking for lets them know they are important to your operations. The fifth thing that patrons want is appreciation. Inc. suggests  putting effort into showing customers their business is appreciated through new and innovative ways.

RIS Media notes that it’s about going above and beyond for patrons. As a company, you and your employees can dedicate more time and resources to achieving this. Therefore, it’s vital to develop relationships with your customers and show them they are important and why they matter to your operations.

Focusing on your current customers not only brings you business success through higher satisfaction, but it also draws in new clients, helping you to grow your company.