Well one important way is by outside approaches – PR is a good example – it is probably true to say that over 20 years most of our clients have started with us without really understanding what we do and have only found us on the basis of vaguely questioning personal contacts for “someone to help with marketing”. Many years later I am sure it is also true that our clients have succeeded better and survived better with us than they would otherwise have done.
The truth is that outside approaches do us all a favour – they educate us, they allow us to compare, they save us the time needed to research, they point up those suppliers that are keen for our business.Without outside approaches we cut ourselves off from the real world and may not even know that we could be doing better with the support of some presently unknown product or service.I do understand the desire to shut ourselves off from distractions and “just get on with my work” but would suggest this is the business equivalent of hiding under the duvet. Retreating into a protective capsule is not the answer to growing business in good times or bad. Survival may depend on some factor you simply haven’t even considered and if you don’t let it in then you still won’t – this can seriously limit your business.
One important aspect of promotion is that not only does it bring potential customers to our door – it also encourages valuable suppliers to want to do business with us.
So what?
So let the world in. Are your sales engineers dishonest parasites – no of course not – and neither are the great majority of suppliers in your marketplace. They generally know their business and can often demonstrate alternative ways of improving your business by virtue of their valuable expertise. It’s just simple respect – respect other sales people the way you would like your own to be treated and you will be rewarded with a better business.
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