Any company lives or dies on its ability to bring in new business. Having loyal and long-serving customers or clients is obviously important, but you should always try and get a good pipeline of new deals. Sometimes companies can become stale, and one of the best ways to avoid or cure this is to have new business coming in. Not only will this put a greater emphasis on going out there and finding deals, but it makes everybody raise their game. It's easy to become complacent when you know you have a certain number of guaranteed clients – but when new ones come in, your staff know they have to go that extra mile and impress them.
Keeping that steady flow of contracts coming through the door certainly isn't easy and there is no magic formula. However I believe there are certain things that any organisation can do to improve their chances.
Use your team
Although there are certain people within the organisation who are tasked with winning business, everybody can make a contribution. Make sure everyone in the company is aware of what exactly you look for in a client, so that if an opportunity arises, they can pass it on. You'll be amazed at how many deals have been kickstarted with a simple conversation that a receptionist has had. This also means that people who aren't involved with the deal making on a daily basis can add another layer to their skill set and feel valued within the business.
Build your reputation
When it comes to doing business, reputation counts for everything and you have to work really hard to build up a great one. It is always worth remembering that it is much harder to build up a good reputation than it is to earn a bad one. Months of hard work can be ruined within a matter of days by poor performance or service. I expect all of my businesses and employees to treat every customer or client in exactly the same way and give them the best level of service that they possibly can. There can be no room for complacency or bad attitudes.
Learn how to pitch
Standing up in front of a group of people to sell yourself and your company is one of the hardest things you will have to do in business. Anyone who has seen Dragons’ Den will know pitching can be really tough but practice does make perfect and the more you do something the better you will get at doing it. The key to a winning pitch is a mixture of doing your homework, being as sincere as possible and having great presentation skills. One trick I always tell people to use is visualising success they may have had in a similar scenario. It doesn't always have to be business related; you may have once given a great speech in front of hundreds of people at a wedding. But having that prior success in your head automatically gives you that extra self belief, and can make a huge difference to the pitch.
Use the personal touch
Although the Internet has led to enormous change when it comes to the world of work, there is still no real replacement for pure networking. Everyone prefers to work with people who they know and feel comfortable with which means having good contacts is vital if you want to be successful. Look to build up a good rapport with companies and key people within them. The key is to constantly stay in touch with them and build up that personalised relationship.
To find out more about about the investment opportunity I am offering, visit the HB Human Capital Website
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