Jerry R. Wilson - No Nonsense

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Jerry R. Wilson

This edition first published in 2020 by Career Press, an imprint of
Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC
With offices at:
65 Parker Street, Suite 7
Newburyport, MA 01950
www.careerpress.com
www.redwheelweiser.com

Copyright 2020 by Jerry R. Wilson
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC. Reviewers may
quote brief passages. Previously published in 2005 as 151 Quick Ideas to Get
New Customers by Career Press, ISBN: 1-978-56414-830-8.

ISBN: 978-1-63265-180-8

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available upon request.

Cover Design by Kathryn Sky-Peck
Interior by Steve Amarillo / Urban Design LLC
Typeset in Adobe Dapifer and Minion Pro

Printed in Canada
MAR
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

www.redwheelweiser.com/newsletter

Every quick idea in this book has been selected to help youdirectly or indirectlygain and retain customers, create relationships, and build a successful business.

Don't try to implement all these ideas at once, because some may not be a good fit right now. Read through them all and select only those that can really make a difference at the moment. Don't worry, you can go back and review the others periodically.

Place your ideas into three categories:

1. Those to implement now.
2. Those to review again in thirty days.
3. Those to pass along to an associate.

Involve your staff in selecting and implementing these ideas, and don't forget to give credit for their success! Invest in additional copies of this book and distribute them among your staff. Get everyone involved in selecting and recommending various quick ideas.

Revisit this book every ninety days. As your business changes, you will find new quick ideas that may suit you better now that competition is heating up.

Remember, all the ideas in this book have been proven in businesses across the United States and around the world. They have worked for others and will work for you!

Not every person is cut out to help you prospect for new customers. You've been told before and you'll hear it again: Hire for attitude; train for aptitude. The people in your business who meet and greet customers have to do it with a smile. Prospecting for customers requires people with a pleasing, positive, and agreeable attitude. Anyone without that mindset needs to leave your business!

ACTION ITEM

If you have people who are not willing to work to bring in new customers, evaluate whether they should stay in your business. Good prospectors evaluate the people who are helping them achieve their goals.

When an Illinois farm-implement dealership confronted the fact that their parts manager was a walking encyclopedia on tractors, combines, and implement equipment, they also had to admit he was the most cantankerous guy east of the Rocky Mountains. He constantly aggravated fellow employees and drove away customers. They finally reached a decision and invited him to pursue other employment. Immediately after this problem employee left, many prospects returned to the company and became customers. It seems that he had alienated a great number of people over the years who had decided to avoid the dealership. Once he was gone, however, things changed, and business soon picked up.

TAKEAWAY

The only thing worse than allowing rogue
employees to destroy your attempts to get
new customers is paying them to do it!

There's nothing better than selling prospects, but it doesn't hurt to include their spouses or significant others in your sales efforts. In fact, a significant other may become the key motivator to get your prospect to become your customer. After all, it's always helpful to have more influence with your prospects.

ACTION ITEM

Start now to build a database of your prospects' and customers' partners, family names, and home addresses. In the days and years to come, this list will be as valuable as any you will ever have.

When a major distributor was planning his sales conference at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN, he decided to invite his prospects' significant others. His company had worked hard to build a database with all their names. He sent a special message to their homes offering an all-expenses-paid weekend at the conference, complete with hors d'oeuvres, good food, a touch of business, and some classy entertainment. Throw in a really deluxe room, a bottle of wine, a gift card to pay for incidentals, and some free time to enjoy Opryland, and the entire event became a huge success. It's even conceivable that some of the spouses and significant others may have been more sold on the company than the original prospects were! Regardless, the event paid off in a big way, and the major distributor earned some major new customers.

TAKEAWAY

You can never have too much influence with
prospects or customers, so use whatever means are
available to convince them to join your business.
You can often use spouses or partners to give that
extra effort to push your prospects over the edge
and convince them to become your customers.

If you truly want to build long-term name recognition and convince prospects that you are the best choice, mailing to their homes can have a huge payoff. Obviously, you need to be careful what you send and make sure it's appropriate to tell and sell your story, but your creative choices are endless. Use cartoons, fun newsletters, or contests to involve the family.

ACTION ITEM

Think about what you can do to involve your prospects' and customers' families. It's a great way, at little or no expense, to tell and sell your story and convert those hard-headed prospects into big-buying customers. Let their families help you convince them to join you.

When a Virginia-based tire company wanted to involve both its employees and its prospects in understanding more about what the company was doing to grow, be successful, and serve its customers, it began mailing a high-quality newsletter to the homes of all prospects and customers in its database. The newsletter contained a code number. Each month, they randomly called two homes. If the person who answered the phone had read the newsletter and could recite the number, the company immediately sent two crisp, clean $100 bills. That amounted to $400 each month. But in the process, the company convinced about 1,000 prospects and customers to know about their newsletter, look forward to its arrival, and be involved in the information it provided.

TAKEAWAY

You can't have too much help when it comes
to convincing prospects to be your customers.
Don't be shy about reaching out to familiesit's