Self-Devpt. Nuggets™

A badly managed company (or indeed country!) that still makes regular sales will stay “afloat”. Peter Drucker’s famous quote explains why:

“Because its purpose is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two – and only these two – basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are “costs”.

Serving Clients/Customers is Serious Work, but Marketing & Innovation are More Important

Why? Because anyone who’s been in business a while knows that there will be peaks and troughs now and then. Today, potential buyers may be chasing you around, but tomorrow you may be wondering where all the enquirers went!

The most seasoned business owners make continuous generation of good quality sales leads their number one preoccupation.

Ask a hotel owner. His/her focus is on percentage room occupancy, day in, day out. All other considerations are important, but that one stays right at number one!

That’s Why Marketing (Backed by Innovation) MUST Never Stop!

And you should do it through as many channels as possible too. Nothing is too much/little to consider. Sales people talk about keeping the sales funnel filled. At all times, take innovative marketing action to get more potential buyers clamouring to get your attention.

That’s the “funnel” concept. The more they are, the greater the chances that when you attend to one, another will simply pop right in as s/he leaves. Your sales people would be able to maximize time closing sales!

So, even if you’re overbooked now, the last thing you want to do is stop marketing! Instead THINK of ways to close more of those begging sales opportunities, now that they are within reach.

For instance, you could get one of the smart chaps working in another section to undergo crash training in taking orders. S/he could be added to as an extra hand to cope with the additional surge in demand, until it subsides.

If it does not subside, you’ll be making MORE money, and may be able to hire a new (or temporary/contract) employee to play that role.

If that’s still not enough, consider tactfully negotiating a longer response time with those yet to be attended to. Depending on what you sell, this may be a good way to avoid having people get upset.

Of course if it’s an online sales model with a shopping cart, and credit card payment processing, none of this would be relevant.

However, I remain very conscious of the fact that my favourite people (Farm Business Owners) read my articles on Entrepreneurship.

So, the examples provided are sometimes given with them in mind. And for those who do not yet “get it”, I’m on a mission to make farm business owners in developing countries make more creative use of web marketing to promote themselves and their products/services locally and even internationally – for PROFIT

Interestingly, if/when you have to tell intending buyers to give you time due to lots of orders you’re getting, that  can actually boost your image and credibility in their eyes.

They’re likely to think “Hmm. S/he must be good to have so much demand and be unable to fit me in!” Some could actually decide  to wait till you’re available – just because of that.

So you see, filling the funnel via regular creative marketing can end up helping you achieve a “celebrity” status of sorts. What is called “Authority” status…and why not

Final Words: The Time to Do More Serious Marketing, Is When The “Going Is Good”!

Here’s an instructive historical anecdote…

An entrepreneur who achieved great success over many decades, reportedly often got worried if things were going too well for (what he considered) too long in his business.

Hmm? He got worried whenever everything was going right? Why?

Well, to him, it was a signal that some things were (probably) not working which he was missing.

So during such (seemingly) “good times”, he paid greater attention to every aspect of his operations.

It was through that habit of his, that the company achieved long term success!

It goes without saying that what he did included ensuring marketing and sales did NOT slow down – because only a company that made sales could last that long!

Sometime ago, I read a quote that said:

“A little dose of paranoia is healthy”.

I’ve made a little change to it for any business owners enjoying “good times” to consider:

“A little dose of marketing paranoia is healthy…especially when you’re making lots of sales!”

NB: All I’ve said above applies to every kind of business – including that of the writer/blogger!