Farming VS Hunting… The way we get BUSINESS

Ok I am not really a hunter or a farmer, but there are some great similarities in the way the we look for business. Both Farming and Hunting put food on the table but which is better.

First Hunting

Hunting is going out and looking for some business to drag home. The small stuff is a little easier to find and certainly easier to carry back. However the big business will feed you for much longer. Although the big business is usually harder to find and harder to drag home. But when you are successful there is nothing better than going out with a purpose, finding that big job, closing the deal, and enjoying the rewards of your hard work. The problem is the to many businesses rely on this approach exclusively. We wait until the last job is finished then go out looking for the next job. Maybe you will find it maybe you don’t.  It can be an unreliable source of business.

Farming

Farming is a much more reliable form of getting business. This approach requires that you take the time and spend the money upfront and wait for the business to come in. Farming is not instantly rewarding. It requires putting up a good website that people can find easily, calling on potential clients on a regular basis, sending out a newsletter or marketing materials. To make farming successful you need to plant the seeds about your business all over the place and in time those seeds well mature and bring you more business. Some seeds take longer to machure and produce business but that actually works out to your benefit. If you are always sowing the seed about your business you will , over time, have a steady flow of business coming in.

So why do most business choose not to farm for business.

Farming requires an upfront expense. Hunting can be done by one person armed with a few business cards. Hunting brings instant results , when your successful, and farming takes longer before the results come in. The best plan is to do a little of both. If you will take the time to market your business on a regulare basis ,with good print and web design, when you go out looking for business the chances that you will succeed will be much higher. If the seed is already planted the hunter may just have to go by and pick it up.

Decide now that you will find at least one marketing plan to do on a regular basis. Commit to doing it for atleast 6 months. You will be glad you did. Please contact Rush Design Group if you need help your print or web marketing materials.

4 Steps to Building a Marketing Database

This summer I started to commit more time to building a database of contacts. In the past I had not been very good about working on the list on a regular and consistent basis, but now I do. Actually I pay someone part time to do it from home because it would never get the attention otherwise.

Here are ways to build and use a database for growing your business in a slow economy.

1st. Make sure that the names you get are from people that you have met or have given you permission to contact them. That is the reason for building the list, because you plan to contact them.  If you get a business card or an email from someone add them to your database. Or call and ask if you can contact them later or I ask “Would it be ok if I sent you my contact information”. Or “Can I email you some info about our company.” Those are ways to build the list.

2nd. Get good information. I use Google documents this lets me set up a spreadsheet that I can update and edit from any location. It also lets multiple people update the same list. This keeps the information up to date and correct. I can leave notes about the conversation I had and when I last contacted the business. I keep track of Industry, Company, Contacts Name, Title, Phone, ext, Date Contacted, Date to call back, Email, Website, and Comments about the call.

3rd. I use that info to import into Rush Mail this lets me send a email newsletter to that list on a monthly basis. I could also use that list to form a direct mail campaign.

4th. Always update the list. Call your contacts on a regular basis. I make a point of calling my potential clients when ever I have down time. I call them every 3-4 months. I ask if they recieved the email or post card that I sent and if they have any project coming up in the future. I am not very aggressive with the call. I keep it casual and quick. If they don’t need me I don’t want to be annoying. But I do want to remind them that I want their business.