May 15, 2010 40 Comments

7 Ways to Win New Business

Want new business?

  1. Serve your existing customers well. (Referrals rock.)
  2. Learn from all your prior mistakes, and offer stronger choices.
  3. Look for marketplaces that aren’t very well tapped or discovered.
  4. Stay attuned to the wishes of your buyers/prospects.
  5. Focus on what you do best, and do that even better.
  6. Make “what you do best” = “what your buyers need most.”
  7. Create new ways to do things even better/easier/faster than others.

And what do we do instead?

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  • http://JimRaffel.com/ Jim Raffel

    Maybe this is #4 Chris but I would phase it as be there all the time so when they need what you do … well, you are there. You of course do this via your blog. Make sense?

    • http://www.looble.com/ deceth

      The best way to accomplish this is via mind control. I won’t get into the details, but you need to make sure that when someone needs something, the first person they think of is you.

      I’ve found having a catchy villainous theme song is one of the most effective ways to accomplish this.

      Pinky and the Brain, Pinky and the Brain, one is a genius, the others insane…

  • Hashim

    Another:
    Partner with your competitors

    • http://www.looble.com/ deceth

      I agree. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer…

  • chrisgarrett

    “What we do instead?” – What I see a lot is people “selling” rather than “put awesome stuff out and explain it well so people want to buy”

    • http://www.looble.com/ deceth

      Kind of like a hostage or ransom situation! You acquire something of value or an awesome person and explain very clearly to your customer why they would want to buy it back. Brilliant advice as usual ;)

  • http://PersuasiveConcepts.com David Johnson

    I agree Jim, be Top Of Mind!

  • http://twitter.com/SigmaBiz Jamie Gorman

    Number 1 hit me in the middle of my forehead! So busy looking for new customers I'm forgetting to resell to the existing. Thanks for the reminder!

    • http://www.looble.com/ deceth

      I’d like to harvest your soul.

      • http://www.looble.com/ deceth

        muhahahah!

  • http://www.twitter.com/mdemmick M. Drew Emmick

    Very true. And instead of staying attuned to the wishes of our customers, we try to force (or sell) them on what's best for our bottom line.

  • http://twitter.com/CRGroscurth Chris Groscurth

    Instead of building on what they do best, people often try to do what other people do (only better). This is not the path to productivity or happiness. It is the result of a lack of self-confidence, creativity, and the courage to “Do Who You Are.” Read the full article here: http://tinyurl.com/25osqg3

    • http://www.looble.com/ deceth

      What if what you do best is trying to do what other people do only better?

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    True that. You can certainly accomplish things that way, too.

  • Kelly May (@videobio_to)

    So simple yet so true! Simple brilliance.

  • http://www.bizchickblogs.com Tia Peterson, BizChickBlogs

    You can't do #5 without first learning what the latter half of #6 is. That is often the longest yard, and it comes after failing at #5 a bunch of times, usually.

    • http://www.looble.com/ deceth

      All of this assumes you have customers. I’m still failing at that. You’d be surprised how few people are willing to trade their soul for empty promises of power these days…

  • http://www.kherize5.com Suzanne Vara

    Chris G,

    Hi, I am Suzanne (introduction). I did agree as seen with past comments on CB's blog most recently regarding looking a competitors and copying them to do it better, And I did say that is not necessarily a great business model but (but I was closed minded in a sense as now you are having me think) … what about not doing it better but your way? In your article you speak of “doing you” and “develop you” but what if a part of that is looking at what someone else does and doing it your way to develop you or build upon you. It does not have to mean doing it better (as doing it better is about public perception and of course for some sales) but really it depends upon what your audience perceives and expects from you AS you. We all talk in a certain way and that captivates our audience or does not. Whether it sounds like someone trying to do it better is pretty much up to who is listening, Surely it is not always that cut and dry but hey if someone says Suzanne says Crap,well um yeah I do. If a competitor says Crap, am I trying to say Crap better? As simplistic as that sounds, there are a lot of things I say or you say or others say that just makes us us. I mean who perceives us as trying to do it better? Maybe I am digging deeper but at the same time if we are flat out trying to emulate someone else, then I have to agree that we shall fail and it will result in lack of self confidence from the failure,

    Unless someone is coming out with something new like the iphone or ipad, no one is reinventing the wheel here, we are all building upon it in our own way. Right? I mean if you and I are in the same room talking about the same thing we both present in differently. If I present something (unless proprietary) differently and it is perceived as better or even if I perceive it as better does that make me a person who lacks self confidence or even someone who lacks creativity? I learned from someone else (and put a piece of me to it) so then even with a piece of me I am not creative? That then begs the question of do we have to create something so unique to be self confident and creative?

    Just some thoughts …

    @SuzanneVara

  • http://www.chocolate2.com Rhonda Delaney

    Heartly agree with #1 & #5. We spend time every day contacting past customers and helping current and new ones understand how to get the biggest bang for their buck using our product. Educating your customer so that they understand the value/benefits of your product results in more business because they find ways you havn't even thought of to use your product. Life really is simple and we as humans always find a way to complicate it!!

  • http://www.davelianelli.com Dave Lianelli

    Hey Chris,

    I see a lot of people in the info-marketing business rehashing and re-using the same content over and over. They're making some bucks with it. But the 'guru's' are the ones that are cleverly creating better, easier and faster ways to do things, plus they angle their products towards new markets…

    That's the difference between top marketers and b-class-marketers.

  • David_Perdew

    Well, that about sums it up. Balance is the key word here: bringing in the new while servicing the existing. It's a tough see-saw to be on…but that's the price of being in business.

  • http://twitter.com/JimHartman JimHartman

    Nice tips.

  • Mike Willner

    8. Apply your expertise in one industry to improve the way people do things in a completely different industry. For example. As part of his job, a real-time financial news reporter will tag a story as HOT, which allows a stock trader to receive an audio alert when a really important story on a company the trader owns crosses the wire (this has been going on for years, well before Twitter was a twinkle in Jack Dorsey's eye). Applying his financial newswire expertise to the social networking space, the reporter develops a Twitter app that allows Tweeter X, for example, to tag her really important tweets as HOT, so her followers can receive an audio alert whenever she posts an especially important tweet. Hey, wait a tick. Has anyone done that yet? If not, I'm in. Call me. :-)

  • http://r4adaptors.co.uk/ acekard ds

    Great article, love to read this. And it has been really informative for me as I had newly started my new business. Focus on what you do best, and do that even better is i think the most important. Market research is also very important. The most important things we had to keep always in mind superb article.

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  • http://www.looble.com/ deceth

    Dear minion,

    I have returned. It has been some time since I last attempted to recruit the souls of your readers into my own domain. Fear not. I am always lurking.

    Your evil overlord,

    - Deceth

  • http://www.looble.com/ deceth

    I find see-saws to be quite enjoyable, especially when placed in the center of a moat filled with gators. But that's the price of being overlord…

  • http://www.looble.com/ deceth

    Seriously.

  • http://garybloomer.com/ GaryBloomer

    Chris, Here's another point:

    Focus on the why of being in business, not on the what. I explain more here: http://garybloomer.com/2010/05/focus-on-the-why…

  • http://www.joemanna.com/blog/ Joseph Manna

    I agree with all but one of the ways to win new business. I agree in spirit with #6, but I want to share that acquiescing to market demands of today can make your unique selling proposition weaker tomorrow. Hopefully what someone offers is relevant to what people need most, but it doesn't always need to be.

    I feel it's alright if someone offers a product or service clients might need most later. If a business keeps shifting their offering, they become mute and inconsistent because they seem to serve the demands of today versus tomorrow.

    Again, I totally agree with the other 6 ways to win new business. Referrals rock and providing an exceptional service and product is the way to win 'em. Thanks for sharing this, Chris! :)

  • http://npdrugs.com/buy-xanax-online buy xanax

    Nice informative tips regarding how to win business, I think the best way to win new clients and to keep existing clients is to deliver for them. Once you get the project deliver their project at meantime. Which is good sign for your company.

  • http://www.onlinewritingskills.com Kym Mulcahy

    We place too much focus on chasing new clients instead rewarding and nurturing the ones we already have. Good wake up call!

  • http://www.onlinewritingskills.com Kym Mulcahy

    We place too much emphasis on building our clientele and not enough on nurturing and rewarding our loyal clients. Good wake up call.

  • http://www.looble.com/ deceth

    I agree. As an evil overlord, it's important to keep your minions happy in order to avoid a revolt or mutiny. Thankfully I don't have a boat, that seems to be where most mutiny's take place…

  • http://www.looble.com/ deceth

    Given your last name was Xanax, your parents were very cruel naming you Buy. Don't panic, seems to me you've got all the ingredients to avoid anxiety.

  • http://www.ryanhanley.com/about Ryan Hanley

    Chris,

    I just used this list of ideas for the Educational Presentation at my BNI (Business Networking International) meeting this morning up here in Albany, NY… They Loved it… Hopefullly you will have a few more faithful readers…

    Thanks.

    Ryan H.

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  • http://www.yuregininsesi.com yuregininsesi

    The best way to accomplish this is via mind control. I won't get into the details, but you need to make sure that when someone needs something, the first person they think of is you.

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  • http://www.redtapedoc.co.uk/ Employment Contract

    Suss out where to competition are weak and work out from this how you can play on this to benchmark against them..