What can I do...?

Four little words, just a simple question - most commonly heard in some kind of emergency, aren't they:

He's not breathing! - What can I do?
The laundry is flooded! - What can I do?
Sales are down! - What can I do?

If it's one of the first two, I'd skip reading this and do something immediate - for the third, read the rest then apply those words just a little bit differently...

Sales do go up and down, for an infinite number of variables - but if there is a measured slump, it's time to look at doing something about it. A common response is to go into overdrive trying to drum up new business, but I'd like you to think about mining one of most businesses most under utilised resources - your existing clients.

Let's face it, they're already one of your most valuable assets, a group of people who know your name, know you do a great job, and know they can rely on you when they need you - in fact, if you've got it all happening, you don't have customers, or even clients, you have friends with business relationships, right? So lets turn to that resource, and mine it just a little bit better.

For many businesses, the existing clients are treated much like a herd of dairy cows... they come in regularly, they're made more comfortable and milked appropriately, then let back out into the field... it's a nice stable relationship, they get the service they needed, and the print shop stays in business - but one simple question can help you increase the turnover dramatically, at next to no investment in chasing clients than a few minutes of your time - What can I do to get more of your business?

People don't mind you asking - it's not a hard sell, you're not pushing them into buying anything they don't need, you're just asking what you can do to do more for them - at the most, you're making them stop and think "Is there anything else I can do with this company?" And if you've been looking after them, and you have a good relationship with them, they'll like you enough to genuinely think if there is any other work they can send your way.

There are a variety of answers - often you'll hear "The only other thing we get printed is {insert something they didn't think you did here}" followed by "oooh, I didn't know you did business cards/calendars/posters/variable data printing/binding/etc" Another common one is "Nothing, John, you already get all the printing we outsource." - there's your prompt to mention a new service they might not know you do, something you have as a special, or something they've never considered using in their business, that you can provide.

If it's not one of those two, it'll be something you needed to know, and would probably never have learnt without asking "Well, we do get our annual reports done by another company, because your price was too high..." - what an opening - a chance to requote on work you've lost in the past - if, like this example, it was a price issue, re-inforce why your quote may have been higher - perhaps the competitor gave a lower quote because they didn't put the same materials into the job - if you can see an example that they're happy with, perhaps you can requote accordingly...

If the issue was service related "We get our business cards printed elsewhere because it took over two weeks to get them from you." Rectify the issue, if you can - apologise for the concern, because if you've managed to get the details out of them, you can manage to make things better... You do want more of their business, don't you?

Run through your client base, and make a few calls - try five or ten a day and just ask the question - it's invaluable research. Not every client can do more printing - but I bet a lot of them can. Take what they say on board, and see if there's a way to do that, so you can do more with them - "We'd do more work with you, but your turnaround is slower than we need on most jobs."

Great - there IS more work there - but they need an express service - will they pay more to have jobs back in their hands faster? Is there sufficient demand for quicker turnaround to justify a staff member dedicated to their requirements when they come in - if you can increase the volume of work dramatically, is it worth having another staff member to handle the extra - and if so, how many more clients will be able to do more work with you too - find out the needs of your clients, and meet more of those needs, and you'll all be happier.

As one last point, take the question of "What can I do to get more of your business?" and make it yours, don't force yourself to use words that just aren't you - rephrase how you like, but keep it as a question "Hey, Bob, what would it take to do more printing for you?" "Is there anything else we need to do to get more work from you, Terry?" "Gary, I'm sure you need more printing than a pack of business cards every few months - how can we do more of it for you? Tailor it to you, and your clients, and what they do with you - just make sure you ask - it works!!!