What a week! Seven speaking engagements in five cities in Washington, California, and Texas, with five flights provided for an exciting but tiring trip. When my wife picked me up at the airport last night, the last thing I wanted to do was dine out. However, she had had a long week as well. She was prepared to have a quiet dinner at home, but I surprised her by suggesting we go out for dinner.

Jensen’s Café in Burnsville, MN is a wonderful breakfast and lunch restaurant, open from 7 AM to 2:30 PM. The Jensen’s are third generation restaurateurs, with another store called Jensen’s Supper Club in Eagan, MN. On my flight home I read in a magazine that they were diversifying their business by using the Jensen’s Café location to launch Jensen’s Wine & Dine, which uses the same facilities and opens at 4:30 PM. They have an entirely different crew that comes in to provide a warm, upscale, but reasonably priced dining experience with fine wines, an excellent menu, and an entirely different feel than you would find if you showed up earlier in the day for breakfast or lunch.

What does this have to do with sales? Jensen’s is growing their business using four principles of successful diversification. To be successful we must focus on what we do best, but when we become successful, we can diversify our business, and add exponential growth to our bottom line. To diversify your sales business you can use the same strategies, which are:

1. Stay in your area of experience and expertise
2. If possible, use existing business assets and resources
3. Provide better service to and more profitability from existing customer relationships, and/or…
4. Use diversification to expand your customer base

Don’t forget to focus on the profitability of expanding your offerings; it has to make sense from a business perspective. Once you have established yourself and become a solid presence in your marketplace, offering additional products and services allows you to increase your profitability and take advantage of scale. Take a look at what you can offer that will build on and strengthen your existing business. Build a plan to grow…and execute your sales plan!

Bon appetite… and good selling!

Technorati Tags: speaking engagements, sales business, customer relationships, sales plan

Late yesterday, I received an email from Larry Littler, an investment wholesaler with John Hancock Financial Services, with an idea on how he touches his clients in a memorable way. Over his twenty years in the investment business, Larry has consistently been a top-decile sales leader. Larry’s email spoke of the importance of developing professional relationships with clients, and reaching out to them on a regular basis in ways that are unique. At a dinner in Boston recently, his assistant Eileen Lachance shared how Larry’s team continued to stay on top, and this was one of his strategies.

Larry is in B2B sales, distributing high-end investment products through financial planners. He sends a bi-weekly email newsletter from www.cookingwithandree.com to his best clients and their spouses on personal entertaining. I looked at a sample of Andree’s service, and it is first-class! Each newsletter is a complete menu, including at least five recipes, with shopping lists, wine pairings, table settings, helpful hints, and photos to match.

This has nothing to do with investments, but is all about building relationships! Larry uses this strategy and others to augment his exceptional knowledge of the investment industry to produce consistent sales success.

Be memorable. Stand out from your competition by building deep relationships!

Good selling!

In my role as a professional speaker, I am always looking for ways to bring value to those companies that hire me. Whether the topic is motivational, training, a keynote, or about sales coaching, I want to leave a lasting impression on the audience. My goal is to make a difference by helping people make measurable improvement by taking action. Some clients understand this better than others…and in fact I learn a lot from them!

Next month I will deliver a popular keynote presentation titled “Tradition” for a financial advisor that is hosting a high-end dinner for his very best clients. I called him today to check on the details of the evening, and just hearing about it motivated ME!This dinner will include fine wine, china settings, and a gourmet meal. This is an annual event that has resulted in a high level of client loyalty, to say nothing of the fact that the majority of his business comes from referrals from this group.

The presentation I will deliver speaks to the impact of tradition on our culture, relationships, and business practices. This advisor “gets it” and has built the theme of his event around the concept of tradition. The five-star formal dinner will be served on the finest china, set on white linen tablecloths. His guests will receive a gift of wine glasses engraved with the word “Tradition.” They will leave with a bottle of wine he has private-labeled with his company logo, and the name of the wine is…you guessed it…TRADITION!”

No detail is left to chance, and everything is coordinated with the chosen theme. His opening comments will focus on the tradition of service and exceeding customer expectations that he has built into his company for over 20 years, and will lead into my keynote address. This financial advisor is a PRO at customer relationship development!

If you host client appreciation events, do it first-class! Build in a theme, and show them by your meticulous planning and attention to detail that you really do APPRECIATE them and their business. Be memorable, and remember…it is hard to fire your friends!

Good selling!

Over the weekend I received an email and subsequent phone call from a financial advisor who read my post on BNI as a networking tool. He chose not to reply to the post, but had a GREAT prospecting / networking idea!

This financial advisor arranged and hosted a networking luncheon for his clients, and invited a CPA, attorney, banker, real estate agent, and travel agent. Each participant received up to eight minutes to describe a “Premier Planning Suggestion” aimed at present or soon-to-be senior citizens. The participants invited their own clientele, and the event was publicized in the local media without cost, as a PSA or “Public Service Announcement”! The cost of the luncheon was shared equally (which encouraged the presenters to work to generate a turnout.)

Only 22 people showed up, but each of these professionals now has some new prospects, as well as the foundation for a successful networking group. As the catalyst for this group, the financial advisor demonstrated leadership; a fact I believe had to impress the other professionals involved. The group is planning to do this on a quarterly basis, and other professionals have inquired about the ability to participate. Of course, the group has chosen to limit the “membership.”

When you choose to look for innovative ways to market your business, your growth is often exponential. All the presenters will find new and possibly serendipitous business relationships and opportunities within their marketplace. If you think this makes sense, try to build a similar group. If no, say so as a reply to this post. If you have additional networking ideas, please leave those in the form of a reply, as well.

Good selling!