So Much Lost Revenue

Opportunities to grow our businesses are offered to us every day. This morning I attended a presentation on a software program, “SalesForce”, a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform. Discipline

As I listened to the presentation, I was reminded of a client who, when I asked her about networking, opened her desk drawer and pulled out two shoeboxes full of business cards. My responsibility was to help her grow her business, and networking was one of the topics we covered. I reached into one of the shoeboxes, pulled out a card and asked her to tell me about that person and when she met him. As expected, the response was, “I don’t remember he must not have become a customer.”

I estimated that there were over 1,000 business cards between the two boxes; they represented hundreds of lost opportunities to gain a customer. If you are like most small business owners, every so often you clean out your desk of all the business cards that you picked up, names you don’t remember.

Utilizing human touch marketing and discipline together will help you capture new customers.

Human touch marketing, meeting someone face to face, is still one of the most powerful marketing tools available. (That includes telephone calls) Unfortunately, many people expect a sale on the first contact, and don’t have a follow up system if a sale is not made at the first meeting.

After seeing the demonstration and learning more about SalesForce, I was pleasantly surprised at how simple it is to integrate into any small business. I was even more surprised when the presenter, not a sales person for SalesForce, shared how he used it and how he kept it up to date. He basically runs his business through his cell phone. After meeting one or more people and getting back to his car, he inputs the names, time, contact information, and any other pertinent information into his SalesForce app.

I am not going to explain all the “magic” that the technology incorporated into Salesforce offers, but I encourage you to go to their website and explore the possibilities. At the current monthly cost of $25, it has to be one of the most essential and cost effective marketing tools a small business can have.

Like any other great tool, there is a caveat; you must have the discipline to use it. In 2009 I published a book “How to turn $1.00 Into Thousands.” I devoted the introduction to the topic of discipline. The book, like the amazing “SalesForce” software will only work if you do.

The Key to success is and always has been, your ability to discipline yourself to do the things that you know you need to do.

Tips & Advice by Nick Petra, CFP – Founder of Strategic Duck and BizQuack