The Best Source for New Business

When business is booming, a lot of business owners won't spend money on marketing. They assume that since they're getting the referrals and business is good, it doesn't make sense to spend money on marketing.

Once business begins to slow down, they go through a "fire drill" in an attempt to bring in new business. They may start advertising or sending out mailers, and then complain they are getting little to no business from their marketing. Why is this the case? Because they haven't created brand awareness through a consistent marketing program.

If you are currently in this boat, you may be looking for creative ways to bring in new business. It will take some time before advertisements will begin to perform well. In the meantime, the best source for new business is your existing customer database. Take a good look at your database. How many customers no longer come to you? Are your active customers sending you referrals?

Once you go through and separate your database into categories, develop a program to reach out to each one. You may want to send a letter to inactive customers and give them an offer if they try your business again. For active customers, ask for a referral. There are a lot of ways to reach out and re-initiate contact. The key to making this work is to be consistent and frequent in your contact.

Eagle Soars will be authorized to deliver Situational Leadership II training

Eagle Soars Consulting will be signing a Consulting Agreement with The Ken Blanchard Companies that will authorize us to deliver Situational Leadership II and Introduction to Situational Leadership II training programs. This training program develops competence and commitment in your team so you are able to retain talented individuals and your company will excel in your area of expertise.

This training program provides your leaders with the tools for developing open communication skills so they can better manage their teams. The whole premise behind Situational Leadership is to increase the frequency and quality of conversations leaders have with their team members so everyone is performing their best. Once they learn and implement these tools, they are better able to set goals and track performance. The end result for the entire organization is less absenteeism and increased job satisfaction and morale.

To view a video with Ken and Scott Blanchard, click HERE.

Eagle Soars Consulting provides a number of different instructor-led training programs for sales and management level staff. Click here to learn about our various training programs.

Pricing Policies and the Integrity of Your Business

When you think of the pricing policies you've set for your company, would you say they are fair and consistent? Today, bartering or haggling on prices is common practice so it's often quite typical for a prospect to ask if you are able to do better on your pricing once you've given a quote. Many times the business owner is tempted to give in to lowering their quoted price to get the project. But, is this really a good policy for your business and your prospects/clients?

Let's look at an example. Say you purchased a new furnace for your home, and after much negotiating and haggling, you were told you received the company's rock bottom price. A few days later a neighbor purchased the same exact furnace and had the same installation requirements, yet their final price was lower. Would you feel as though you had been taken? How would you view the person who sold you the furnace?

Many business owners build in a little wriggle room when they quote their prices because they know people will try to negotiate a lower price. To me, that doesn't really seem to be an honest way to approach pricing. How would I know the price I negotiated was really your final price? And if I could get you to lower the price, why didn't you just give me your best price when first quoted?

Don't get me wrong, there are times when discounting of pricing is appropriate. Volume discounts are quite common and an acceptable practice provided every customer who buys in volume is allowed to receive the same discount. Cash discounts (eg. payments received within a certain time period) and class discounts (eg. senior citizen discounts) are also acceptable provided you have established your pricing policies and the discounts are extended to anyone who qualifies.

In our company, pricing is standard and we remain firm on the price quoted. If a prospect would like to cut back on the pricing, we take a look at the scope of work and discuss how we may modify it to fit into their budget. We don't undercut pricing to get a job and then quote change order after change order. Our estimate details the scope of work, and unless our clients completely change their requirements, we don't exceed the agreed upon price. In doing so, we are being a good steward of our talents while letting the prospect know our pricing is honest from the start.

Setting pricing policies is a good business practice. Standard and fair pricing policies do show your ethics as a business owner. Remember, "A good name is to be more desired than great riches, favor is better than silver and gold." (Proverbs 22:1)

For a limited time save 15% on our web design services

If you don't have a web site, you're missing out on a lot of business. Today's consumer likes to do their research on-line before making a purchase decision. When comparing two different companies, these consumers are more likely to select the one that has a professional web site. Some of our customers have increased their business by 25%, just by creating a professional web site.

Eagle Soars Consulting offers a number of different services for web design ranging from programming a site and adding a shopping cart to writing Search Engine Optimized Text. Designing a web site is not just about making a site look really cool. It is also important to make sure it functions properly, is easy to navigate, is updated frequently, and has text that makes sense. Our web design services incorporate all these strategies into a site that is attractive and informative.

We have special web design packages for small business owners that are not only affordable, but give you a lot more than you would receive from a traditional web design firm. That's because we are not just web designers, we're marketers. For a limited time (until March 31, 2010) you save 15% on our web design services. Prices for professional web sites start at $750, and we make sure you get a lot of bang for your buck. We even offer affordable payment plans! To read more, visit our web site by clicking HERE.

Here are some of the sites we've developed:

Are You a B-Girl?
Country Road Automotive
First Kids Furniture
Fisher Automotive Transmission
NJSWEP
Pieces from the Heart
Re-Feather Your Nest Decorating

To take advantage of this offer, send an email to askus@eaglesoars.com.