Category: Profitabiity

How to Double Your Referrals

Posted on by Don Vanpool

What if I told you that you could put an inexpensive system in place that would effectively allow your business to grow itself?

For most business owners, a large part of their customer base is comprised of referral customers. These people found out about the company’s products or services from the recommendation of a friend or colleague who had a positive experience purchasing from that company.

If your business benefits from referral customers, you will find that these customers arrive ready to buy from you, and tend to buy more often They also tend to be highly loyal to your product or service.

 

A referral program can:

  1. Save you time
  2. Deliver more qualified customers
  3. Improve your reputation
  4. Speed the sales process
  5. Increase your profit

 

You don’t “get” customers, you buy them. The money you spend on advertising, direct mail, and other promotions ideally results in potential customers walking through your doors. Referral customers cost less and require less time investment than any other customer. That means you can spend that time making them a loyal customer, or a devoted fan.

 

Here are some ideas to get you started:

 

  • Past relationships – Former colleagues, associates, customers and friends

 

  • Suppliers and vendors – They can be a great source for referrals because the presumably deal daily with businesses that are complementary to your own.

 

  • Customers – This one should be obvious

 

  • Employees and associates – Give your employees and associates a reason to have their friends and families shop at your business with a simple incentive program.

 

  • Your network, associations and special interest groups.

Some simple strategies include just asking, offering incentives, being proactive (referral cards, gift certificates, free seminars and closed-door sales), providing great customer service and simply staying in touch with all your potential and converted customers.

 

These are just a few examples of some of the referral programs in our system. Hope this helps and happy selling.

P.S. Always remember: The first rule of Alzheimer’s Club: Don talk about Chess Club

PPS. If you’re looking for a proven system to grow your business …. we created business development software and high-end step by step training to support it…

I can find any small business owner $100,000 in 45 minutes without them spending an extra dollar on marketing or advertising.

Visit me on optaprofit.com to find out how

Don Vanpool … AKA “The King of Cash”

 

 

Cash is King in Good Times and Bad

Posted on by Don Vanpool

Often business owners are directed to spend heavily on advertising and marketing programs, when looking at her companies cost structure would provide more benefit – at least initially. It will take considerable success in top line growth to match even a 5-10% improvement in variable costs/cost of goods sold.

Some areas to focus on include:

  • Misaligned pricing to her targeted margins
  • Constant or excessive discounting
  • Supplier price increases
  • Warranty and returns
  • Scrap
  • Excess inventory

By focusing on these levers, a 10% improvement can increase profitability by as much as 35 to 40% improvement in revenue, depending on the margins of the business. And in the current economic environment this leads to much needed cash.

In the area of pricing and discounting the business owner can create bundles of goods, innovate her business and benchmark industry standards. As suppliers increase prices, and they do, the business owner can get competitive quotes, set up group purchasing agreements and negotiate longer terms. And for warranty/return issues and scrap, a lean program can identify and eliminate unnecessary waste in her business.

When the business owner has a clear roadmap, she should assign specific owners to key initiatives, establish improvement targets and consistently review to establish accountability. By consistently delivering on plan, she will quickly see improvement in both operating margins and cash balances. And that additional cash can then be used to invest in marketing programs to drive leads and conversions of new customers.

While we provide programs that will triple your leads and double your conversions, focusing initially on the profitability setting right in front of you is often the best option.