Blog posts tagged new business

There are no quick fixes

A new business quick fix — it doesn’t seem possible, does it? I’m afraid that’s because it isn’t.

Many small businesses find themselves in need of new clients and they are looking for quick results. But getting new business is about building relationships and that can take time.

The problem is that many firms fail to focus on new business until they are suddenly facing a drop in orders. That’s when firms tend to look for a magic quick fix. But a short-sighted approach can easily be perceived by the target audience as aggression and ultimately may be damaging to the reputation of a business.

The best approach is to work on new business relationships over time, showing potential customers what you can offer and gaining their trust. Then, when those customers need a service like yours, they are more likely to come to you.

A successful new business programme is based on a long-term vision and achieves a steady flow of good quality opportunities. There are a number of phases that need to be realised before optimum new business results can be seen.  A new business typical cycle looks like this:

1. Groundwork: steady, focused and tailored activity to gradually warm up your target audience;

2. A pipeline of mid-term opportunity is developed: clearly scoped against targets and a timeframe;

3. Trust is won and doors are opened.

As with any relationship, there needs to be an initial chemistry before trust is won and that interest then needs to be cemented before you’ve won over your conquest. To get to this stage you need to ensure you have the right approach in place and make sure your message is appropriate to your audience to get you noticed.

Good new business development is a skill and it is also a perpetual and evolving cycle. Those that adopt a long-term strategy will enjoy the greatest return — assuming the approach is researched well, pitched well and managed closely.

Sally Danbury is the founder of Cake Business Matching and an expert contributor to Marketing Donut.

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