Having founded and operated a few companies myself, I’ve learned which factors contribute to a company’s profitability…and they may not be what you think.
My businesses have survived economic downturns and thrived when the economy rebounded. As a result, I’ve uncovered the secrets of building a cash surplus during any economic climate—secrets that can lead to success or failure.
The fact is, the ability to generate revenue (sales) and create profit requires action. Incredibly, many business development professionals keep wishing for dramatic improvement in their revenue generation, without doing anything dramatic.
I hope this doesn’t describe you. Still, it does describe the majority of the business owners I’ve encountered. Over the years, I have created and presented many different and specific recommendations for clients to increase sales and create profit, all of which required action.
Here are seven action items that when executed, will enhance any opportunity for sales and profit in both the short and long run.
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Over Communicate
Act with enthusiasm by having a variety of engaging and positive contact with customers and prospects. You will either get more business now, or be first in mind when they decide to buy.
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Create Experiences
Go beyond routine presentations and high-pressure sales pitches. Instead, build lasting relationships with consultative selling. Learn about the needs of the customer, and then suggest products and services that meet those needs. It’s the relationship between the salesperson and the customer that leads to memorable and beneficial experiences.
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Get A Mascot
Find a way to identify and market your organization with a celebrity or mascot. Look at the success of Geico Insurance’s Gecko, the Pillsbury Doughboy, KFC’s Colonel Sanders, and almost any Disney character. Mascots help emphasize the idea behind a product, build connections with customers, and help to humanize the company.
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Beware of Common Sense
Pushing aside common sense may seem counter-intuitive. But breakthroughs require you to question historically-based biases to find new opportunity. Shift from doing what’s comfortable. Challenge yourself to innovate and update!
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Avoid Perfection
Perfect is the enemy of good. Being good involves meeting the needs of the job, rather than the ideals. If you attempt to continue a task until it is perfect, it becomes impossible to complete the task well.
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Don’t Correct Weaknesses
Determine what your one or maybe two major strengths are, and build on that. Focusing on using the strengths you have now to achieve future success leads to longer lasting results.
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Resist Putting Products and Services On Sale
If you make the purchase of your product or service about price, you create a culture of success or failure based on a negative relationship. Have confidence in the value of your products and services. When faced with the alternative, quality customers prefer quality offerings.
Make a commitment to put the action items that I’ve discussed into practice. Implementing a plan to market and sell your way out of a slump can take the focus of your business out of survival mode and into production mode. Remember, for a dramatic improvement in your revenue generation, do something dramatic!
To get more information and receive other no-cost special audio downloads, reports, articles, blog posts, and more, visit Ron Hequet where I cover valuable topics that every person wanting to grow their business or career needs to know. And, if you’re ready to take your business to the next level, get a free assessment from me personally at Free Business Assessment or for those wanting to build your career go to Complimentary Coaching Assessment.