Are you missing key opportunities to win more business?

Considering how tight cash is these days, I continue to be amazed at how sloppy many businesses are when it comes to winning business. Let me give you a couple of examples.

Last year, when we were looking for someone to carpet our house, we put the opportunity to two local businessmen. Both visited the house. One supplied a quote instantly. The other procrastinated... and procrastinated... finally supplying his price after the job has been done and dusted! 

My second example is a company that we subcontract to from time to time. It's taken no less than four phone calls to place an order and I'm still chasing them up to get the order moving so that our client receives their goods on time! It's infuriating me and it goes without saying, we won't be using them again.

So, are you doing everything possible to win your share of the business out there?

Here are my 5 top tips on those fundamental things that you should be doing in your business to up your chances.

Answer your phone in a professional manner.
How your business number is answered forms the first impression that a potential client will have of your company. Sloppy answering means sloppy company as far as I'm concerned! It should be clear to the caller that they've reached the correct company and who they're speaking to. On this topic, if you can't always answer the phone, be sure to have an answer machine with a professional, recorded message and it is good practice to respond within 4 hours. Better still, use a remote PA service (I can put you in touch with a few).

Build a database.
How many times have you called a business to ask for a price but not been asked for any contact details? Building a database of enquiries and clients is crucial to business growth and frankly, if you're not going to take details, you might as well chuck your marketing budget in the bin! Without contact details you can't follow up, you can't market ongoing and you can't build a relationship with your client base. There are plenty of excellent CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems out there but even Excel will do the job on a smaller scale.

Provide a price promptly.
I'm a big believer that the way you do business before you've won the order is a good indication of how you'll handle the contract once you've won the order. Be prompt and efficient and above all, don't wait to be chased up! I'm aware that there's a school of thought that advocates appearing not to need the work in order to add more value to what you do but I personally think that this is a risky approach to take. I think that sloppiness at this stage just demonstrates that you're disorganised and will likely carry through to the entire order process. That's just my opinion but also my experience.

Follow up.
You wouldn't believe how much work we win because we bother to follow up our enquiries. It's not always about price. Sometimes people just want to work with people who want their work and being keen to win the job demonstrates that you'll fulfil it to a high standard. Really, this is just the final stage of the standard sales process - closing. Asking for the order is the thing that many people struggle with but is most likely to secure the sale. What's more, following up allows you to handle any objections or concerns about moving forward. 

Deliver on your promises.
It sounds obvious but if you don't do what you say you will, when you say you'll do it by, you'll be unlikely to secure further work. Printing.com has a fantastic guarantee - it's on time or it's on us - and boy, does it keep our service sharp. What type of guarantees could you implement into your service delivery? And what processes do you need in place to ensure you stick to those guarantees? The key elements of my business are communication, project management and traceability of the order and from the feedback I receive, we don't let our clients down. This is all part of growing a trusted brand.


These things are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to growing your business but in my experience are some of the most crucial things.

Why not stand back from your business for a moment and assess whether you've got the basics in place? It could make all the difference.