Invent a special offer for customers

The other day I was having lunch with a friend of mine who runs a services business and all she could talk about was how slow things had been.

I listened intently for awhile, then less intently and then I finally snapped.

“You’re ruining my lobster,” I said angrily. “So here is how I am going to help you.”

My advice was pretty simple – do something different.

There are times when your usual sales and marketing strategies won’t work, particularly if your best tactic is waiting for referrals and doing a bit of online marketing. You have to change the environment and force the issue a bit.

Specifically, come up with a special offer and use it as an excuse to call all of your current, recent and lapsed customers. It doesn’t really matter what it is – it could be a discount, the bundling of two services, a free consultation or even a completely unrelated gift (I see a lot of iPads being chucked into deals at the moment).

It’s important to make sure the offer is affordable for your business and remember it is a conversation starter to help you stand out from the crowd.

When you’re stuck in the slow lane, keep changing gears.

Get it done – today!