Search Results for: blog it costs less to keep existing customers

It Costs Less to Keep Existing Customers

I often write about networking and expanding one’s business market, but I also think it is important to stress that it actually costs LESS in terms of business expenses to keep existing customers than it does to find, cultivate and create new ones. This is the reason we need to make sure that we work on retention as well as networking for new prospects. A huge chunk of my work background is in nonprofit management and fund development. I learned over my many years of helping nonprofit organizations raise and find money that it is much more difficult to create … Continue reading →

Increase Repeat Buyer Rates

As home business owners, we probably spend the majority of our energy and resources trying to attract prospects and turn those prospects into customers or clients. If you have a consulting business or a business where you work with just a few clients, you know how much energy goes into landing those big clients and how once you have them on board; it can feel like the hard part is over. In fact, as we are working to bring in new clients and customers, we also need to dedicate a fair amount of energy and effort to not only keeping … Continue reading →

How do You Encourage Repeat Business?

We spend so much time networking and trying to turn a prospect into a customer, it would be nice to think that the job is done! Unfortunately, getting them “in the door” one time just isn’t enough and we still need to figure out how to encourage repeat business. How can we turn a one-time customer into a loyal and devoted one? There are always going to be those elements that you cannot control that affect a customer’s or client’s loyalty—they might run into a budget crunch, or change the focus of the business, or they might get a much … Continue reading →

Evaluating Time Spent on Proposals

If your home business requires you to search out new business via pitches and proposals, it can be a bit confusing trying to figure out the “value” of the time you spend working on those proposals. Since this is time (and materials) spent that are not directly compensated, it can take away from time you could be spending on other paying clients or customers. But, again, those proposals are necessary in order to get NEW clients and customers who will eventually be paying. How do we evaluate how much time and effort we should spend on proposals and do what … Continue reading →

Does it Really Hurt You To Share Leads and Referrals?

I used to be fairly stingy when it came to sharing leads and opportunities. I had that typical “competitive” thinking that caused me to think that if I shared leads with others, it would somehow hurt my chances of getting more work. Over the years, however, I have learned that there is far more “work” out there than I could ever do even if I wanted to and that by sharing leads and referrals, I have opened up more opportunities for myself as well as for others. The truth is—there HAVE been times when I have been lost bids or … Continue reading →

Who Can Open Doors for You?

We occasionally talk about mentors and networking here in the Home Business blog, but I’d like to take things a step further. While you never know who you might be meeting or talking too and it is great to continue to cast your net far and wide as you meet new people, sometimes you really need to find the “right” people—those people who can open doors for you and help you get where you really need to go right now… The more comfortable you get in your field or industry, the better you will be able to identify those people … Continue reading →

Don’t Assume They Already Know

Assumptions can get us into trouble—whether it is in our personal lives or our professional ones. When it comes to our home businesses, we might assume that our customers or clients already know things about our products or services, or specific industry trends or other details affecting our work. It is better to err on the side of caution and assume that they do NOT know, instead of marching on as if there are “givens” that everyone is aware of. I have seen this issue pop up again and again in work situations. We have a tendency to assume that … Continue reading →

Ask For and Nurture Referrals

Sure, sometimes new customers and clients fall out of trees or present themselves on our front door without our having to do much at all—but it doesn’t happen very often. What is more likely is that we have to work for our new prospects and customers and that means asking for those referrals and then nurturing them along until they are ready to become full-blown customers and clients. Asking for referrals can be the hardest part for some people. You may feel as though you are being pushy or “too obvious”—but this is the way business works. It does not … Continue reading →

Should You Be Free or Stingy With Marketing Materials?

There seems to be two schools of thought when it comes to marketing and promotion materials–one is to be free and easy with promotional items; handing them out whenever and wherever–a quantity approach. The other is to be a little more selective and hand out materials only to those people most likely to purchase, or at those events that most match your target market. Which approach, however, is best for your home-based business? For some of us, our marketing distribution plan is very much affected by our budget–we might not be able to afford to print thousands of business cards, … Continue reading →

Rental Cars—-What I Wish I Knew A Few Weeks Ago

I try very hard to learn from my mistakes. (Ideally, I would prefer to learn from other people’s mistakes, rather than go through the drama myself, but I digress.) A few weeks ago I had to rent a car while my four-wheeled wonder was getting serviced. Without getting into the details of the billing process (the car was supposedly covered by insurance, yada, yada) I ended up getting a crash course in Rental Car Hidden Costs 101. In the coming months many of you may be forced to rent a car at your holiday destination and for you I offer … Continue reading →