How far would you go for a sale?

 

21/5/2012 

I was in Istanbul recently and had stopped for some lunch inside the Grand Bazaar. What an incredible experience.  I wasn’t in a rush and happily spent an hour just watching the world go by as I sipped my apple tea.  One trader, a carpet salesman, caught my eye, as his shop was directly in my view, and I became fascinated by the effort he was going to in order to secure a sale.

Carpet Salesman Grand Bazaar Istanbul

I had noticed a customer go into the shop and a number of carpets being unrolled and laid out on the showroom floor.  As each carpet was rejected the shop door would open and the unwanted carpet was rolled roughly and placed on the floor.  Very soon a small pile was growing.  Suddenly the door open and two men came out, each dashing of in a different direction.  Another carpet joined the pile, and then another.
 
The two men, who had just a few minutes earlier rushed off, both returned with more carpets over their shoulders.  I could see the carpets being laid out on the floor, but these too were soon rejected and joined the others.  The pile of carpets outside the shop was now becoming something of a mountain.  Again the door opened and another carpet was heaved onto the pile.
 
Then the carpet, that was the main window display of the shop, was lifted from its rack and laid on the floor.  Would this be the one?  The customer walked around the beautiful carpet, considered it from every angle, but then shook his head.  It too joined the pile.
 
Now I tried to get a shirt from a widow display once. It was the only one they had in my size, but was told it couldn’t be done.  They lost a sale that day and as it happens I’ve never been back.
 
So, I think we could learn a great deal about sales from this carpet salesman in Istanbul!

Do you really go the extra mile?

2/4/11

“We go the extra mile” is something I hear from just about every business owner I meet.

Now first of all, don’t we all ‘go the extra mile’ for our customers?  So, it’s not exactly original.  But, more to the point – do you really?

Now I’m sure we all have plenty of examples of companies that we use that go out of their way to help us: some more than others.  I can think of one supermarket I use that when asked where a certain item is the member of staff will tell me it’s in “aisle 14, half way down on the right”, whereas in another I use, if asked a similar question, will say “I’ll show you, sir” and take me to the exact spot explaining the various types they have.  A very different ‘going the extra mile’.

A couple of weeks ago I was out for the day and stopped at a restaurant for dinner.  It was really good.  When it came to paying the bill I asked the waiter if there was a bank nearby as I needed some cash.  He said that he would ask the manager and come back to me, as, like me, he wasn’t a local.  A few minutes later he returned and explained how I could find the bank.  ‘Left out of the restaurant, round a couple of corners, down that road, next to the charity shop’.  I thanked him and made my way to the exit. Outside it was now dark, wet and cold.

As I hesitated at the door the waiter appeared with a brolly and said that he would show me where the bank was.  How brilliant was that.

So, my question to you: do you really go the extra mile?  What can you do to get your customers talking about you?  Because when I get the chance I will certainly be going back to that restaurant, telling others about it, and that is precisely how you want all of your customers to think about you!

What we can all learn from Abel & Cole

4/3/12

I was watching a cooking programme recently and in one of the dishes being prepared Black Pudding was used and the cooks said it was the best that they had ever tasted.  Well I have to confess that I like a bit of Black Pudding and after the programme I ‘Googled’ it.

Abel & Cole came up as a supplier, so I opened an account and purchased some.  In total I spent £10.00 plus 99p delivery.  A few days later it was deliver in a Cool Box and when I tried it, it was everything that the chefs had said.  It was the best that I had ever tasted.

But, it was the Welcome Pack and after-sales service that really impressed me.

In my Welcome Pack was a catalogue of all of their products (including prices), a calendar, a new customer guide, a wonderful cookbook (over 200 pages), and a leaflet asking me to ‘Log on’ and get more free stuff!

Get free stuff

The next day I received an email asking if I had enjoyed my ‘box’ and for feedback, and then a few days after that another email reminding me to order that week (and have done every week since).

There is so much that we can learn here.  A great Thank You, a catalogue (full of stuff I didn’t know they did but loved), a present, a reason to go to their web site, asking for feedback so that they could not only stay in touch with me but also improve their service, and a reminder to shop with them again.

As an entrepreneur, a business owner, what are you doing to ensure that your customers come back to you time and again?  Or, are you one of the many business owners that just hope a customer will return one day?

Abel & Cole know exactly how much they can spend on a new client to ensure they come back.  Do you know how much you can afford to spend on customer acquisition?

Are VOUCHERS the DEATH of a business?

22/1/12

I’ve just heard that the owners of both the restaurant chains Live Bait and Brasserie have gone out of business; it seems they are yet another victim of the current hard trading conditions.  Now I don’t know the full reason but I would guess that lack of profit has to be part of the problem.

And it got me to thinking.  Are vouchers the death of a business?

I ate at Live Bait myself recently and the place was pretty full; everyone seemed to be having a great time.  But what I did notice was that just about every person paying a bill had a voucher, including myself.  Now that just can’t be good!  Hardly a single customer paying the full price for what they were buying.

Now I’m not saying that vouchers are a bad thing, but if not used correctly they can be the death of your business.

The voucher idea is a simple one and has two main functions: 1) to attract new business, 2) to fill spare capacity.  Attracting new business probably doesn’t need explaining, but maybe filling spare capacity does.  Every business should know its numbers.  If you don’t, please ask me.  But in simple terms, for this example anyway: your break-even point, and when you have reached your target profit.  After that, any spare capacity you have, if filled, will be almost all profit.  So, you can afford to discount it.

And, that is where businesses are going wrong.  Groupon have been in the news as a possible reason for getting businesses into trouble.  At the moment you can get vouchers for 70% off beauty treatment.  Now this is perfectly okay if you are using the vouchers to fill spare capacity. But is very much a NO- NO if every customer has a voucher!  I know few businesses, if any, that can make a profit and give a 70% discount to all of its customers.

So, five key things on how to use vouchers to make more profit.  1) to attract new business, 2) fill spare capacity, 3) make your discounted price no lower than your break-even cost (it can be lower but this takes very careful thought), 4) there must be a limit on the number, 5) the details of any new customers must be captured and they must be given a reason to use your business again.  Otherwise, what was the point?!

Finally, to answer my own question.  Are vouchers the death of a business?  Well yes, they can be if no thought is given to the way that they are used.

Does your business card leave people in the dark?

7/1/12

You’ve been out networking, had a productive time and given out lots of your business cards.

But have you ever stopped to wonder what happens to your card?  Is it, and more importantly, are you remembered, or does it just end up in the rubbish bin?

Is, in fact, your business card worth keeping?

I ask this because all too often I am handed a card that just has a name and a mobile phone number on it.  Sometimes it will have a company name, but often the name gives me no clue as to what the person does.  And likewise, the email address doesn’t either, as often it is just a name with a number added to @.

If your card is anything like this the chances are that it will end up in the rubbish bin.  After all, I can hardly ring you up and say, “I’ve no idea what you do, or where you are based, but let’s do some business.”  It’s just not going to happen!

Now you might be thinking I’m not very good at networking, as having met someone I can take notes (not also possible with some cards), which of course I do, but, and it’s a big but, why take the chance on someone else making notes about you, when you have the perfect opportunity to tell them exactly what you want them to know?  Why risk your business card ending up in a bin somewhere?  Wasting your very valuable time spent networking.

My Entrepreneur’s Circle business card has everything on it that I want people to know about me, including a photograph and a QR code which links to an offer page on my web site.

In any market place you need an edge over your competition: that something extra.  So, why not increase the odds of your business card being kept, improving the chance of future business, by simply improving the information on your business card?

Cooked by James!

21/11/11

I had a few days away recently staying at the Park House in West Sussex, which will be the subject of a later blog.  On the way there we got delayed, and it being lunchtime, decided to turn off the A3 and go in search of some food.  We stopped at a T-junction and not knowing either of the place names written on the road sign, flipped a mental coin, and turned left.  Several miles of snaking single-track road later we were beginning to think that this might have been a major mistake.  There were no signs of life and it was getting very late for lunch.  We came to a main road and decided to turn toward our destination and immediately saw a pub: it would do!

As soon as we walked in we knew we had found somewhere special.  The place looked good, the staff welcoming, it had great beer, and they were still serving lunch.  We ordered whole sea bass with lemon & basil oil and seared Scottish King Scallops with roasted garlic butter.  Both beautiful.

We were sitting by a very large open fireplace and a chalk board advertised ‘Grill Night every Wednesday – prime cuts of meat & seafood cooked on this fire’ but it was the next two words that hooked us – ‘by James’ and underneath it said ‘Booking Advisable’.

It was Wednesday: we had to come back, even if it meant cancelling our current dinner booking.

What a brilliant piece of marketing. So simple, but so effective.  This was special, cooked by James, nowhere else could he be cooking that night, and of course there was the fear of not getting his food.  As it said ‘Booking advisable’.

We came back, the place was packed, and the steak was mouth-wateringly wonderful.  The landlord was the perfect host and other guests happy to be taking part in the event; it clearly was an event.

They had achieved what many business owners fail to do when they are seemingly in a common, over-crowded, marketplace, to be different, to stand out.

So, what are you doing to help you stand out from your competition that will help you to become super successful?  What could your ‘by James’ be?  Find it and you really could see some real business growth!

The Dog & Pheasant, Brook, Surrey

The ultimate take out experience…

14/11/11

An Indian restaurant menu dropped through my letterbox this week and I have to say that I was impressed!

Firstly, it was different to the normal A4 sheet folded into three so it stood out, but there was far more to it than that.  The design was nice, it had great photographs, and I liked the name: Delhi Durbar.  But the menu also had other great stuff, like ‘Finest Indian Cuisine’ and four stars for food hygiene.  It’s great to know that they run a really hygienic kitchen.  But there was even more, inside they said “Your patience is greatly appreciated as we take the utmost pride and care to prepare each dish individually to your order”. How great is that?

Delhi Durbar Menu

They also included three vouchers: all different, worth different amounts for different spends in the restaurant.  No restrictions, other than the date that they had to be used by – brilliant!

I also like the varied menu: again not all of the usual curries, and there was a nice key to the hotness of each dish.  Their address was clear and telephone number large and easy to fine.  Everything was made easy.

But the thing that really got me?  The ultimate take out experience…  What a great line – ultimate!

However, there was one thing that let the menu down.  On the back it said ‘Photographs used for illustration only.’  To be honest I felt let down.  And it’s not as if good photography is expensive, but as a good friend of mine says – it is priceless!  But overall a good piece of marketing material.

Bottom line: I will be giving them a try.