Xigaware

Wish you could work with warmer sales leads? Are you feeling the chill from all those cold calls? Then why not “warm” your clients up and improve your relationships with them? Sales professionals earn respect by being competent and experts in their field, but respect plus being liked by your clients will result in an endless stream of referrals and a potential for exponential sales growth.

“Well, I know my product, but I’m not the most outgoing person in the world. What can I do so that my clients see me more than just a provider of a product of service?” You may think to yourself.

One effective way is to offer something valuable to them to improve their lives and then asking questions to learn more about them.Give them one tid bit of information related to your field that could help them save money, make money, avoid problems, etc.  Send out a monthly or quarterly e-zine or newsletter with FREE and beneficial information whether you are in the real estate business, accounting, law, construction, landscaping, etc. Do things that no one else would do and do them well!

The second part is to send out inexpensive but quality gifts they will like. They can be something personal to your clients’ hobbies, family or job or just something they would enjoy and be grateful to you for going out of your way to do. Other gratifying business gifts that are inexpensive and that can be produced in mass are certain desserts and candy. There are many different kinds of cookies that are easy to pack for delivery or drop off, as well as chocolate covered pretzel rods, chocolate covered crisped rice treats to mention a few. For your truly special clients you could choose from many easy recipes for cake or pie. Learn which sweets your customers like best and they will appreciate your efforts. Try to stay away from recipes that ask for nuts since some people are allergic to them, unless you know for certain they don’t have any nut allergies. Drop in a list of the ingredients to be safe. Of course if you would rather order your gifts and have them sent there are many great websites that sell these items~Of course if you are “kitchen-challenged” then you could order the gifts online and have them delivered}~{Of course you do NOT need to make the gifts yourself, you could order them online and have them delivered}~Of course if you are “kitchen-challenged” then you could order the gifts online and have them delivered}.

“When should I give my clients gifts?” You wonder.

I’m glad you asked! You should get to know your client on more of a personal level and learn to become a good conversationalist. Learn about your clients’ lives and their families. Through the course of your conversation take mental notes of special occasions or anything they are proud of. Then create an organized system in which to remember each of your client’s unique moments or achievements.

Here is a list of 10 ½ Great Occasions in which to give your clients gifts:

1. Congratulations on their birthdays or
2. Their children’s birthdays
3. 1st anniversary after client does first order with you
4. Milestone anniversary for a positive moment they experienced that was in the news
5. Wish “Bon Voyage” before big vacations
6. Recognize them for company awards they’ve won
7. For achievements or awards their Children have earned
8. Birth of First Son
9. Retirement
10. For becoming the coach of their child’s soccer team

And finally…

10 ½  Reward them for milestone referrals they give you

As you come up with your own occasions just simply think about moments, events or achievements for which they would be proud of themselves.

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Business growth can be difficult during a recession. How do you continue to market and promote your business when spending cuts are necessary and profits are down? It can be done – but it takes some creativity and effort to make up for paid advertising. Here are three good ways to market your JV during a recession:

1. Pricing Strategy

What is your pricing strategy for your joint venture product or service? Are you pricing for sales or profit? You should remember that many consumers base their purchasing decisions on experience and quality in addition to pricing. Thus, you and your JV partner need to evaluate these elements in your pricing decisions.

Pricing doesn’t necessarily mean you have to sell at the cheapest rate. You want to create an experience and quality that the customer wants to come back to and share with others. But remember that in a recession consumers are likely to price shop more, which means you, may have to experiment with pricing to determine the optimum price strategy. You might try a certain price in one region of the country and another price elsewhere. Find out what consumers respond to and make adjustments accordingly. Remember, it’s not the lowest price, but the overall experience for the consumer that brings them back.

2. Social Media

In a recession, your advertising budget is precious. Though the conventional wisdom is not to lower your marketing budget even during a recession, you need to find the best ways to get value for your marketing efforts. Social media is a way you can promote your JV without a lot of money.

Social media such as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, have become popular not only among individuals, but for businesses as well. If you or your JV partner is tech savvy, you could create and produce short videos and promote your JV product or service with a YouTube account. Facebook has millions of users. Create a business page and gather fans to which you can send notices of promotions and specials on your products. Twitter is becoming a popular way for celebrities and businesses to promote themselves with short broadcasts and links.

What’s the best thing about social media? It’s all free! All you need is a little effort to create your JV business profiles and update regularly.

3. Press Releases

Press releases can provide your JV business with free publicity. Did your JV business just form into existence? Write a press release. Do you have a new product developed through your JV? Write a press release. A well-written press release should be sent to all local and regional media. If a particular media finds a press release interesting and worthy of further investigation, you could get interviewed for an article. That type of free publicity is priceless, especially in an economically depressed climate.

In order for your JV to succeed, you need to get the word out about your joint venture product or service. Consider these easy and cheap marketing strategies and come up with your own creative ideas.  Marketing during a recession can be successful if you find the right avenues.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

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