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By Ed Rigsbee, CSP (442
words) Today’s
business-to-business, products and services, dealer/distributor can
unfortunately by seen by many as simply a commodity—easily replaced by
another. If you allow your customers to have that perception of you, it
is your own fault. But why might so many people think you are simply a
commodity? It is because you have not provided any value to your clients
beyond that which your competitor delivers. It’s time for your
creativity to kick in. It is time to do something different. One
twist to make a huge difference in their perception of you is to deliver
fresh business to their doorstep. You might be wondering what in the
world you can do to generate leads for your clientele? It is called
cross-pollination, and it will work for you, and your clients. Contact
a few of your current clients and suggest this cross-pollination
idea—an idea of client base sharing—you act as the intermediary.
Select clients that see the world as more than a zero-sum game. Select
people that understand the value of partnering to create more. Another
words, don’t try this with losers. Current
clients give you a list of their customers; for discussion, let’s say
a list of 500 names, addresses and e-mails (best in a Microsoft Ecxel
file). In turn, for sharing that list with the “cooperative,” you
give them 1,000 new names in return. Where did you get the 1,000 names?
You get them from other current clients that are also willing to
participate. Just
to make it simple, let’s say that 10 of your customers each gave you a
list of 500 names, that is a total of 5,000 names. Your job, and the
unique value you deliver would be to give each of those 10 clients back,
a list of 1,000 names. The names would come from others that are also
current clients that do not compete directly with one another and have a
customer base with similar needs. An
example might be an insurance company client getting 1,000 names that
came from both a title company (500 names) and a real estate company
(500 names). The insurance company definitely does not compete with the
title company or the real estate company but the end users of the title
company’s and real estate company’s services most likely have a need
for insurance. This way, everybody wins—it’s cross-pollination. This
idea is a bit of work for you, but will deliver loyalty from your
customers for being smart enough to put this idea into action. Each of
the 10 participating clients will get a fresh list of prospects and
leads for their contribution to the “cross-pollination cooperative.” Copyright
© 2008, Ed Rigsbee #
# # Ed Rigsbee, CSP is the author of PartnerShift, Developing Strategic Alliances and The Art of Partnering. Rigsbee has over 1,500 published articles to his credit and is a regular keynote presenter at corporate and trade association conferences across North America. |
