How can you increase your company's income through eating? How to expand your customer base?
Today, many are talking about the crisis, that the situation in small and medium-sized businesses leaves much to be desired. Some are looking for ways out of this situation, looking for ways to increase sales, some have resigned themselves. Today, the most effective way to attract customers and expand connections to grow income is through personal contacts.
There are enough unscrupulous entrepreneurs on the market today, and money as never before requires an account. But how do you expand your customer base and get an increase in sales? Calling? Cold calls? Walking from office to office hoping to find a client? But how long will it take before there is a meeting with a potential client who will give the company's revenue growth? First, you need to find the phone number of a company that you think can be your client. Then get the phone number of the decision maker. And this is not always easy and simple.
If this person is a manager, then he can instruct any of the employees not to give his phone number. And even if you managed to find this cherished phone number, then you still need to arrange a meeting with this person. And it may not want to date you. And if he agrees to a meeting, he can limit your presence in his office to 10 minutes. Well, how to convince a potential client that you can solve his problem, that you can offer him the best conditions in the market, which in turn will lead to an increase in income, that you exist in this market at all. These are the problems that arise with personal sales from the seller's side. But the buyer may also have problems. Full workload of the day, and no one wants to waste precious time on an unknown seller either. Someone has such a busy day that there is normally no time to dine.
So what can you do then? No exit? There is. I will share my experience of how our marketing agency expanded its client base.
Business lunch. It is a business lunch, not dinner or breakfast. It is he who can help you increase sales, and this in turn will give you the opportunity to increase income growth. Everyone is trying to have lunch, but everyone is trying to do some business at the same time. So suggest combining the absorption of food with the expansion of business contacts. At the same time, everyone spends time useful: both the seller and the buyer. Neither one nor the other is wasting time. They have lunch and get to know each other. And both have the opportunity to increase their sales.
After all, we always work with a person, we solve problems and affairs with a person. And we may simply not like the person with whom we have been striving to meet with such an effort.
The seller saves a lot of time during such meetings. Each meeting with an individual prospect can take up to one hour. And here we have gathered several people and saved up to one working day. At the same time, they may not have increased their income, but they saved time for sure. And time, as you know, is money.
But you need to keep in mind that no one will even come to you for no reason. We need to offer something useful to the invitees. Invite them to present themselves in the same way. Be sure to recommend that they bring business cards with them to lunch. Give them the opportunity to talk about themselves, 2-3 minutes will be enough. After all, you are the protagonist of this lunch.
How to organize and hold such a business lunch? Here are some tips.
Decide on a venue for your business meeting. Make an appointment with a cafe or restaurant manager. They will also be happy with the additional income. Determine with the manager the cost of the business lunch and menu. But be sure to give the guests a choice of dishes within the cost of a business lunch.
Notify about a business meeting. 2 weeks will be enough. For notification, use social networks, your own website, sites that post information about any courses, trainings and something like that. Be sure to indicate the cost of the event, indicating that this price includes a business lunch. In the ad, give the phone number for registration of interested persons. So you will know approximately how many people will come. You shouldn't gather more than 10-12 people. This is not a conference or a seminar. With a larger audience, it will be more difficult to communicate and hold the audience.
Invite only owners, business leaders.
When the day of the meeting arrives, come early and make sure everything is ready. The waiters know, the table is set. Better to be all at the same table.
When everyone is gathered, introduce yourself and tell us about yourself. After that, give everyone present the opportunity to talk about the company they represent.
Have questions in the templates that will be discussed by the majority. But at the same time, everything should come down to you, as the main character of the meeting.
A business lunch should last about an hour. Usually a person spends so much time on food. If the invitees found common topics, they will stay and chat after that.
Be sure to ask for feedback on the meeting on the resource where you posted information about the future business lunch.
Be sure to thank the attendees. And post photos if possible.
With regular meetings like this, your business circle will expand. And more and more interesting companies will fall into it. Thus, you will get a "warm" base, it will be easier to go to them, they already know you and you know them too. Your business meetings will already be recommending you.
