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Eight ways to boost business development in a soft economy

Tuesday, July 09, 2002

By Adam Bujanowski

Our budget was cut." "Can you give me a better price?" "I'll have to run it past management." "We don't have a need for what you are currently offering."

	(Illustration, Ted Crow)

These are all too common responses heard by business development people today. Is it that people and businesses simply aren't buying, or is it just harder to find the right hot buttons when you call a prospect? Either way, it is more difficult to sell in a soft economy than it ever was. With the advent of the Internet, competition is global and customers have more choices, more options and more price points than ever before.

It's about selling on value. Your wares have to add value if you want your message to resonate with your audience.

Customer relationship management systems do much to create and foster relationships, but a friendship alone will not sell your wares if management doesn't approve the purchase order. When dealing with the decision maker, and to find ways to get to him or her quickly, follow these eight techniques to avoid downward price pressure, close more sales, and boost the bottom line.

Focus on the benefits. People buy benefits, not features. What's the difference? Did you buy your new car because it has gas-filled shocks vs. hydraulic shocks (feature), or because it has a smoother ride than similar models (benefit)? Benefitize the features to make your message boom! The car has the smoothest ride in its class because it comes with gas-filled shocks instead of hydraulic shocks.

Make them listen. The first thing, after you introduce yourself, that your message should emphasize is how you/your product/your service can save the prospect money, or increase sales. Offer hard evidence as testimony to your message: return on investment valuations, case studies of customer successes and customer testimonials. Your message is intangible until you introduce these items. Once it is tangible, it becomes real to the prospect.

What is your unique selling proposition? How and why are you different from competitors? That is the unique selling proposition you offer to prospects. No one else has it because it is unique to you. In addition to perking some ears, you uncommoditize your wares. If you are seen as a commodity, undifferentiated from all other competitors, it is almost impossible not to succumb to downward price pressure, especially in the current economy.

Personalize the experience for the customer. Whether it is B2C (business-to-consumer) or B2B (business-to-business) selling, personalize and create an individual experience for the customer. Use first names. Nothing sounds sweeter than the sound of your own name. Do you want to be sold by someone calling you, "Hey you"? Use mass customization to create an experience for the prospect. If you are sending a blanket direct mailer or e-mail blast, merge the file with a targeted database so each touch point with the customer identifies him/her by name, not title.

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Identify customer needs with a specific solution. Tweak your marketing materials to a specific audience. Why? Retail establishments don't buy your cleaning services for the same reasons that an industrial manufacturer does. Research and establish a distinct message for each major audience you prospect. Cater the marketing materials (print literature, direct mailers, advertisements, e-mail blasts, sections of the Web site) to that message.

Offer customers a referral incentive. Referrals are like gold! It is always much easier to get in to meet with a prospect when you have a name to help open the door to opportunity. Almost any business can offer current customers something for referrals that lead to closed sales. For instance, if you sell trade show and promotional items, offer your customers 15 percent off their next purchase for a good referral. And don't forget to send a thank you for the referral too!

Revisit lost and pending customers. Lost sales are not always lost opportunities. Can you offer prospects that didn't buy from you before something different (but still profitable) now? Have your financing options changed? Can you bundle or unbundle products/services for them? Can you make an up-scale or low-scale version of your wares? After you've called on all your prospects on your "A" list, take a second look at customers on your "B" and "C" lists. Don't give up until you have exhausted all possibilities.

Research competitors to see what they are doing differently. Did they come up with new uses for a similar product/service, along with an untapped customer base? Do what they are doing, only do it better. This also reinforces the fact that you need to know your competitors better than they know themselves. That way when a prospect raises an objection about your wares compared with a competitor's wares, you can tell him or her why your wares are different and better.

Not all of these techniques will work for every business development opportunity, nor do you need to try all of them at once. They are listed in general order of priority. Start at the top and implement a few of the techniques at a time. Most of these can be implemented with very little, if any, disruption to your current work processes. However, you will see marked results in boosting your bottom line.

Adam Bujanowski of Charleroi is a marketing strategist at NuRelm E-Business Software and an MBA student at the Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh. He has contributed articles printed in other publications.