Last time, we talked about the importance of knowing profitability by customer, but what about the products and/or services you sell? Do you know which lines of business are the most profitable and which are the least? You may think you know where your profits are coming from, but do you really? Are you sure?
Time to audit your customers?
Do you know which of your customers are profitable for you and which are not? Yeah, if you look for them, you’ll probably find a few (hopefully only a few) that really aren’t contributing anything to your bottom line. So how do you identify them? And once you identify them, what can you do about
“Know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, know when to run.”
Walking away from a sale is something that is tough for most business people to do . . . particularly in a tight economy when selling opportunities may be few and far between . . . but sometimes it’s the right move. A business is set up to effectively and efficiently serve a certain market
“Today’s decision makers are reassessing every spending and investment decision they make. They are looking for ways to reduce delay or cancel purchases and investment decisions, and they are seeking certainty that desired results will be achieved as planned.”
At a recent business meeting, one of the participants complained, “I’ve never seen so much indecision. Our customers just won’t pull the trigger. They get right up to the point of buying then back away, putting off the buying decision until next month or next quarter or longer.” That drew a lot of “me too”
“No one likes to be sold; everyone likes to buy.”
Professional sales people get a bad rap. Sales is an honorable profession, but it has been sullied by poor practitioners of the craft . . . sales people who are determined to make the sale regardless of the needs and wants of the customer. We’ve all run into pushy sales people who are clearly more
“Good enough is never good enough.”
“Good enough is never good enough.” – Jack Welch, General Electric “When you’re better than ‘good enough,’ your price is too high.” – Sam Bowers, business professor and lecturer It’s hard to argue with a business legend like Jack Welch. And he’s right. We need to continuously tweek and refine our product or service
“If you listen closely enough, your customers will explain your business to you.”
Your customers don’t have to do business with you. They have many suppliers from which to choose, but they have chosen you. Why? What is it about the product or service you offer that brings you customers and keeps them? You think you know why your customers have chosen to do business with you, but
