What does an old Russian joke have to do with getting new business?

Has your business increased in the last 12 months? Don’t discriminate between more new customers or old customers who spend more money; count the increase either way. If you didn’t, you really should ask yourself why not.

Yes I know, it all started with the implosion of the internet. Then came the terrorist attacks. Next, the global recession. And after that a war that threatened to destabilize the world’s political structures for peace and harmony. Who knows what’s next, but the fact is that none of these “cataclysmic” events have really mattered.

How can I say such a thing? Because for most of us, several more clients or a few additional transactions can turn a mediocre year into a great one. And large-scale trauma and transition at the macro level doesn’t really affect our ability at the micro level to find the next client or make the next deal. The only place that macro stuff matters is in your head, but, for better or worse, what happens in your head tends to powerfully affect what happens in your business.

Yefim, a Latvian emigrant who worked for me years ago, told me a joke (if you can call it that) from the former Soviet Union. He said: “What is the difference between an American and a Russian?” “The American hopes things get better and the Russian hopes they don’t get worse.” Well, after a year or two of mediocre, even lousy business, you’re probably becoming more like the Russian: you’re not sure if things can get better. And you are wondering if you can spend any resources to do something about it.

When you think the world is going to hell, it seems natural not to take steps to improve your business. You expect current and potential customers to say no to even your best proposal. After a while you just stop trying.

Thinking about more business starts with thinking that such a thing is possible, no, likely, but if you’ve read this far, you can still be a believer. And if he thinks it’s possible to increase his business, despite what’s being reported on the evening news, then it’s time to get to work. No more excuses. Not the weather. Not the season, I don’t care if it’s summer, Christmas or Ramadan. Not even the economy.

So what’s the good news? In 1966, Richard Farina wrote a book called “It’s been so long that it seems to me that it depends on me.” Do you feel that way? Great, because making a difference is going to be easy. It has probably been inactive for so long that any improvement will look just wonderful.

Here is the secret.

There are only three ways to grow your business: you can find new customers, you can get your customers to buy from you more often, and you can get customers, old and new, to buy more each time.

“You mean that’s it?”

Listen carefully, grasshopper. This little formula can provide some great insight into how to approach your business right away, if you let it. I want help? Answer the following questions.

What ways are you currently using to find new customers now? Go ahead and make a list, even if it’s only in your head. Are those ways working? (No, probably not, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this.) (Shame, they didn’t work a year ago, why should they work better now?)

What new products or services have you introduced in the last six months to help your current customers? (You haven’t… no one is spending money.) Of course not, they already have all the things you sell that they think they need.

What new combinations of products, or products and services, or subscriptions, or renewable services, or… It’s amazing how many ways there are to increase the value of each individual purchase. How many of these new offers have you made to your prospects and customers in the last six months? (I’m not even going to wait for your answer).

If you meditate on each of these questions like a Zen Koan, you’ll surely invent at least two, and perhaps many, new ways to grow your business.

Of course, these aren’t the only things you can do, but they are a great start.

Don’t you have any ideas? Let your clients do the work for you; after all, it is the best for them. Take a survey: call 10 or 20 and find out what they need from you that they can’t get. Even simpler: use one of the online survey tools like surveymonkey.com or zoomerang.com.

While you’re at it, you might want to make sure your core product still makes sense. After all, customers don’t buy it like before. That can only mean a few things: either you’re doing a bad job of telling people why you want it, or you just don’t want it.

Both problems can be fixed, but it’s important to make sure you’re fixing the correct problem. If you rig your marketing and tell people about something that no one really wants, you’re just wasting money. On the other hand, if your products really fit the market, but you’re not communicating effectively, you could end up changing your products unnecessarily.

I hope you realize from this simple exercise how easy it is to quickly start generating new and bigger business. Just ask yourself good questions and come up with some good answers. After all, that is what thinking is.

Then take those thoughts and put some into action.

–PL

©Paul Lemberg. All rights reserved

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