BNI Riverside

BNI Riverside have recently changed their leadership team and on all counts, they seem to be very efficient and far better looking than the last team (he he).

The team is made up of:

• President – Melanie Waters
• Vice President – Geoff Kirkwood
• Treasurer – Susan Milicevic
• Education Co-ordinator – Chris Garrett
• Membership Committee – Bruce Pilcher, Cara Crundall
• Event Co-ordinator – Judy Briedis
• Visitor Hosts – Belinda Payne, Prue McMillan, Stuart Warren

Their personal profiles can be found on the members’ page or by clicking their names.

Thanks to Scott Hailstone and his team for all their hard work last term. The chapter is really going from strength to strength with two new members this week.

Strangely, the two new members joined after visiting two weeks ago when the chapter looked more like a set from an Adam Sandler movie. The previous leadership team went out with a bang with everyone dressed as his or her alter ego.

A picture paints a thousand words …

Some of the major characteristics of an entrepreneur are their independence and willingness to take risks.

They often start a business with nowhere near enough capital, very little experience and a dream of owning a successful business. And their strong sense of independence carries them through. If it needs doing they do it.

I have long believed that all you need to succeed in business is two things:-

1. A passion for what you do and..
2. A willingness to do whatever it takes

Yet the same independent attitude often leads to the downfall of some potentially very successful businesses. Because in the early stages there was no-one else, many business people forget to ask for help. They don’t seek advice and probably wouldn’t listen even when it was given.

Yet a coach/mentor can significantly increase the chances of success and minimise the risk of failure. And lets face it – it often gets very lonely if you are at the head of your business as a sole entrepreneur.

So my suggestions for overcoming this situation:-

1. Look for one or more mentors – people who have solid business experience even if it is not in your industry.
2. Meet regularly with other like-minded business people in an organisation that offers advice and resources for its members.
3. Find yourself a coach. It will transform your business and in some cases give you back your life.

None of these measures need cost a fortune.

….. The Referral Master®

Many of the better networking groups propose versions of the Golden Rule as a mantra for good networking and relationship building. Statements like “pay it forward” and “givers gain” abound.

Yet the Golden Rule is probably the worst way to go about building a good relationship!

Take the example mentioned in the book “Truth or Delusion” where 2 people received referrals of substantial value and both responded with a gift. One followed the Golden Rule and one followed what I call the Diamond Rule.

In the Golden Rule you treat people the way you want to be treated. In the Diamond Rule you treat people the way they want to be treated.

So in the example in the book, one gave the referrer a gift that they liked (followed the Golden Rule) and one gave a gift that the referrer liked (following the Diamond Rule). Unfortunately the gift using the Golden Rule was not even liked and totally unsuitable for the receiver.

So here are my recommendations for building better business relationships by using the Diamond Rule:-

1. First know as much as you can about your contact, particularly what they like and don’t like.
2. Make a habit of recording that sort of information on a database so that it is easily accessible.
3. Look for opportunities to put that information to good use – always following the Diamond Rule.

….. The Referral Master®

So what is Lead Generation?

Lead generation is converting “suspects”- people who have never heard of your business into “prospects”-people who have inquired about your business. At ACTION we have 73 different strategies to generate leads.

There are three major rules to follow in generating leads. First, you need to TEST and MEASURE how many leads you get from each marketing campaign. Second, you need to follow the AIDA principle, and third you need to follow the WIIFM principal.

TEST and MEASURE- You need to test which elements of your marketing are working and which are not. Measuring your marketing results on a daily basis is a must.

AIDA – Every marketing piece should follow this acronym.

ATTENTION – Does the ad (namely the headline) grab your attention?
INTEREST – Does the ad generate the readers’ interest?
DESIRE - Does the ad build desire for your product?
ACTION – Does the ad prompt the reader to take action?

WIIFM - This acronym stands for “WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?” Think like you are the prospect and how you can help them.

By following these three items you will turn your marketing costs from an expense into an investment.

There are three keys to creating consistent and predictable cashflow:

1. Strong and Sustainable Unique Selling Proposition: A strong USP is one that cuts through the clutter of our everyday lives. A USP is like a beacon that calls you like an irresistible force. It is the lighthouse that brightens the night sky after you were lost at sea and thought that all hope was lost. Do you get the picture?

   In his book, Purple Cow, Seth Godin explains that the USP must be as remarkable as seeing a Purple Cow. So, if you do not have a USP or you believe your USP is weak, try this exercise by Jay Conrad Levinson, author of Guerilla Marketing. First, write down everything you possibly could think of that you do that would possibly be unique and put it into seven paragraphs.

   Next, take the most unique ideas and reduce it down to seven sentences. Finally, take the seven sentences and use only seven words that describe your uniqueness. Going through this exercise, will give you a good starting point for a powerful USP.

2. Overwhelming a particular niche: Many entrepreneurs that start out with their first company make the mistake of focusing too narrowly on a specific target market.

   Haven’t we all heard that we should be really specific about our target market? The answer is yes and no. When starting a new marketing campaign the target market should be small and very focused. However, having this narrow focus for a marketing campaign does not mean that the company should have a very narrow focus.

   A new company may not have yet realized exactly what target market has the strongest demand for a new product or service. Once a target market or a niche is identified, then we can further develop the niche until we master it.

   Seth Godin refers to this process as “overwhelming the hive”. As when bees protect and swarm their hive, the same is true about how similar people tend to congregate as a target market. People within the hive naturally spread the word about you until everyone is talking about you and your product and services.

   In planning your marketing, what are the top three target markets or hives that your company is determined to overwhelm?

3. Multiple strategies producing balanced lead generation: Once you have a strong USP and you know who and where your target markets exists, then determine what specific lead generation strategies you can put to work.

   How often have you heard someone say that they get all their leads based on referrals? Well, if you think of the example of a diving board and its one leg, how much spring would the diving board have compared to having multiple legs prop it up? This example is true in business too.

   If you have one strategy or leg supporting your marketing diving board, how much bounce in your cashflow are you going to experience?

   For businesses, which rely solely on one referral strategy, cashflow is going to be up and down. Predictable cashflow is driven by well thought out strategies that equally produce a balanced set of leads.

   In the event that one strategy does not work in a particular month, there are several other strategies that could. We at Action like to plan for a 10 x 10 lead generation plan which means that a business should have 10 lead generation strategies that each produces 10 percent of the company’s leads.

Referrals: Referrals are one of the most powerful lead generators in the world.  It is a cheap and very effective, not to mention, extremely desirable situation when people start spreading the word for you.

Obviously this is achieved by offering exceptional value and service, but it can be further promoted by using special referral programs.

For example, you may reward someone who introduces their friend with a free weeks membership, or it could even be a ‘spotters’ fee paid in the form of a gift voucher.

The key is not taking referrals for granted and rewarding those who are your best ambassadors.

Hints and Tips:

1. Offer a scheme where people know what they get for a referral.
2. Be very generous with those who spread the word – think of what you would have to spend on advertising to get the same results.
3. Talk to other businesses that complement yours…you may be able to do a little reciprocal referring.
4. Test and Measure.

Test & Measure:

It’s strange, but just testing and measuring can help increase your number of leads.  Knowing where your customers come from gives you the power to make smart decisions about what to spend your marketing money on.

Hints and Tips:

1. Keep meticulous records of where all leads are derived from and how much they spend.
2. Monitor how well every single product sells, and WHY it’s selling.
3. Keep running marketing that works, even if YOU are bored of it.

There are two aspects to increase the value of your marketing which in turn creates profits in your business.  What are these two sides of marketing?  In short, they are Acquisition Cost and Lifetime Value.  The goal of Marketing in the business should be to reduce the Acquisition Cost and increase the Lifetime Value.  So, we will reserve Acquisition Cost for a later discussion and focus on how you develop the Lifetime value of your customers.  Based on the knowledge that it is six times more expensive to acquire a new customer than to sell more products and services into your current customer base, Action has created a system to build customer loyalty.  The concept Brad Sugars discusses in his book, Instant Repeat Business, is to increase lifetime value by using the Ladder of Loyalty.

The concept is to categorize each and every name in your prospect and customer database into levels according to their loyalty to your business.  You start with SUSPECTS which are businesses that fit into what you have defined as your target market.  Any name that you obtain through marketing efforts that fits your criteria enters the Ladder of Loyalty at the SUSPECT level.  Once the SUSPECT becomes interested in your product or service and makes an inquiry, you would move the business up to the PROSPECT level.

Next, a SHOPPER would be a business that buys once from you but has not yet determined that you are a vendor he or she wants to do business with again.

If the business buys more than once, then the SHOPPER becomes a CUSTOMER.

Once the CUSTOMER becomes a consistent buyer of your products and services, you may begin offering incentives and privileges to them so that they become MEMBERS and no longer look elsewhere for competitive products or services.  MEMBERS do business with you because of the relationship and trust that you have developed.

An ADVOCATE is where your MEMBERS begin selling for you through testimonials and referrals.

An ADVOCATE becomes a RAVING FAN when they cannot stop selling for you.  Anytime a RAVING FAN is out in the community they are promoting you to everyone about how wonderful you are.

Now, here is the question.  How many RAVING FANS do you have in your customer base?  What would happen to your business if you moved everyone in your database up one level?  Massive profits do not occur by bringing more SUSPECTS or PROSPECTS into your database but rather moving MEMBERS to ADVOCATES and then to RAVING FANS.

Massive profits occur at the RAVING FAN level.  As an assignment, go into your prospect and customer database and determine how many businesses you have at each level.  You will create a world of opportunity once you begin to implement strategies for each level on the Ladder of Loyalty.

According to the Harvard Business Review, 67 percent of customers who choose a new supplier said they were satisfied with their former supplier!  On an average, most U.S. companies lose half their customer base every five years.  So why would customers who are satisfied stop doing business with you? Well consider this – “Customers go where they are wanted and stay where they are appreciated”.

Varying estimates place the cost of acquiring new customers at six to ten times more than selling to existing customers.  Losing customers can drastically affect your company’s reputation, credibility, referrals, sales, and profitability.

Seven Ways to Retain Your Valued Customers:

1. Never assume you know what customers want – ask them! Customer surveys are a great tool for understanding customer needs and identifying innovative ways to solve their problems or exceed their expectations.
2. Measure and reward customer satisfaction. If customer satisfaction is really a priority in your business, demonstrate this to your team.  Develop a method to measure it, set goals for improvement and reward the team when the goal is accomplished.
3. When you hire people to interact with your customers, make sure they possess good customer service skills like trust, empathy, flexibility and verbal communication proficiency.  Each customer contact with your team is an opportunity to build your reputation or destroy it.
4. Say Thank You. Sounds obvious but consider this.  When was the last time you received a thank-you note from a company you do business with?  This simple strategy can really make an impact and says a lot about your company and the value you place on customers.
5. Stay connected with your customers – by phone, mail or email.  While the frequency may vary, every customer should receive a ‘touch’ at least once per quarter.
6. Make valuable customers feel more appreciated than non-customers or prospects. While new customers are critical to growth, make sure current customers get some VIP treatment.  Programs, offers or specials just for current customers work well.
7. Look for opportunities to sell multiple products or services to your existing customers – to create the perception of a one-stop solution provider.  Research shows this builds loyalty and retention.  It’s also a great way to increase revenue and profit!

Finally, make customer service everyone’s responsibility – especially in a small business where team members wear many hats.  Train your team on customer service.  From the receptionist to the delivery driver, your team will make an impression.  The kind of impression they make is up to you.

1. Try to sell them something they already buy from you (as if it were something new).  It never fails, each week I get an offer from a company trying to sell me something that I already buy from them. This amounts for wasted marketing dollars.
2. Be inconsistent in your delivery. Have you ever gone to a restaurant that was great, only to be disappointed when you went back with family and friends?  I know that I have.  Inconsistency breeds a lack of confidence in your ability to deliver.
3. Raising prices has a tendency to drive off some of your customer base—especially those that are price shoppers.  This one has an upside and a downside.  The upside is that if your product or service is fantastic, raising prices will allow you to increase your profit.  The customers that you will drive away are the price shoppers that make up the lions’ share of your headaches.
4. Respond slowly—great way to loose customers.  I responded to an advertisement for a marketing company two weeks ago—it took them a week to call me back.  How could a company that focuses on marketing be that slow in responding?  Obviously, I will not be using them.
5. Perceived indifference—the most important of the five.  You have invested good money in acquiring your customers.  Treat your “A” clients as gold by staying in front of them and reminding them how much they mean to you.  The key to retaining clients is to make them feel special.

Action Tip of the Month—Customer Management.

It is amazing how the 80/20 rule applies to different aspects of your company:

• 80 percent of your sales come from 20 percent of your clients.
• 80 percent of your sales come from 20 percent of your products.
• 80 percent of your headaches come from 20 percent of your clients.

At Action, we work with clients to identify the common characteristics of their “A” customers.  Once identified, we determine how to reach them best by discovering where they live, where they shop, and what else they buy.
Once we have a solid understanding of our “A” customers, we can develop the strategies to ensure that the lion’s share of our customers fall into that category.

So, what will  you do with your customers that have no hopes of becoming A’s or B’s?  Right now, you are  giving your C & D customers attention that should be going to your A & B customers. Make the commitment to your business today that you will start giving the people who deserve your attention your attention.

Action Coach Book of the Month – Instant Systems by Brad Sugars.

Most direct marketers will tell you that a response rate on direct mail of 6%-7% is excellent. Normally it is less than 5%.

So when a client of mine got an 80% response and 70% acceptance (sale) rate for her client, I was delighted (as was she) as well as surprised and maybe even a little sceptical.

Not that I should have been!

You see she used a personalised card mailed direct to her clients’ database.

No flyer in an envelope with a label!
No letter addressed to “The Manager”!
No impersonal generic postcard!

She sent a personal card written in her own handwriting in an envelope with address details printed direct on the envelope. In addition the card included photos of her clients merchandise (in this case “new release women’s fashion”).

So what results are you getting when you mail out to your clients?

If you want this kind of result then use the same system – click here and try Send Out Cards – you wont be disappointed.

….. The Referral Master®