I would bet that in your business right now, there’s a little detail (or lack thereof) that stops some people from doing business with you.
These potential customers would like to do business with you, but something makes moving forward seem risky or difficult in their minds.
When you consider that people must either switch brands or purchase something for the first time if they are to do business with you, you can see why you cannot have any obstacles in your sales process.
Many businesses make the mistake of investing all of their marketing into convincing you that they are worth doing business with and that they offer something that would benefit you. However, this is pointless if you do not take them from being interested, through to becoming a loyal customer.
The way you do this is to put yourself into the shoes of a potential customer and walk along the sales journey that they would need to take to part with their money to become a customer.
Since they are required to commit time, money, effort and consideration to do so, you need to ensure that you make it easy for them to do business with you.
Do your potential customers have to:
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- Search far and wide to find examples of your work or testimonials?
- Click on a million links to purchase your product or request further information?
- Know the lingo of your industry?
- Search for your email, phone number and website on your business card (all three should be there)?
- Speak to an unprofessional receptionist in order to talk to someone who can answer their questions?
- Decipher what you really do?
- Ring you multiple times to ask for a quote?
- Fill out a thousand forms before they can move forward?
- Wait a week to hear back from you (in which case they have enough time to go elsewhere)?
- Seek frantically for contact info on your website?
- Read the fine print with a magnifying glass?
- Know exactly what they want even if they have never used your services before?
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If so, you are not making it easy for people to do business with you. Make it easy for people to do business with you.
For more tips on how to avoid losing sales opportunities, I suggest taking a look at this article in Dynamic Business by Rick Mapperson, Managing Director of Rick Mapperson and Associates (a personal insurance brokerage).
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Small businesses have the benefit of being agile and personal enough to make sure there are no roadblocks in the sales journey that potential customers must take.
Have a look at your business today from the perspective of someone who has seen your business advertised in a magazine. Is it easy for them to become a customer?
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If you are game, you can ask a trusted friend or family member who is independent of your business to walk you through their thoughts and experiences along your sales journey. There will always be things that you miss when you are inspecting your own business, so ask for another perspective and make your business more attractive to your ideal customers.
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- Have you experienced roadblocks in the sales journey when trying to do business with others?
- What affect did this have on your perception of their business?
- Did you end up putting your money back in your pocket?
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