You never know when chance encounters can bring you face-to-face with prospective customers. New clients can be found in unusual places: on a plane, at the train station and even the ballpark.

April 2008 -
Outside-the-Box Customer Opportunities

Hopefully you know by now that Grow Sales, Inc. is completely dedicated to helping graphic arts companies grow. In our history, we’ve had three – count them 1-2-3 – non-graphic arts clients.

Each happened in unusual ways.

1) Five years ago, our team leader T.J. Tedesco, attended a highly numbered college reunion (rhymes with plenty) and shared a meal with a
floor-mate from his freshman year. Their conversation went something like this:

Mick:   What have you been up to?
T.J.:   Family’s good, still huffing and puffing on the ice rink, swinging at fastballs, strumming a guitar and running my marketing/PR company.
Mick:   I need one of those.
T.J.:     You can’t have my family.
Mick:   No, you dunderhead. I need a marketing/PR company.
T.J.:      What do you do for a living Mick?
Mick:   I’m with a head & spine neurology center.
T.J.:      What do you do for them? Billing?
Mick:   Uhhh … I’m a neurosurgeon.
T.J.:      You?  The easiest guy to pull pranks on in Read Hall?

Much to his surprise, T.J.’s old friend Mick was indeed a brain surgeon and he did hire GSI for a multi-year deal to help promote his five-partner practice and get the word out about the great things they did. We. fully disclosed that GSI had never strayed from the graphic arts industry and struck a deal nonetheless. We enjoyed a great business relationship together and T.J. and Mick remain in touch to this day.

2) About two years ago, we was returning from a presentation in San Francisco. Sitting next to us on the plane was a chatty doctor who ran a Silicon Valley medical software company. The conversation turned to business and shortly thereafter, GSI had its second medically related client. This has been a wonderful business relationship and GSI right now is in the process of helping them complete a major book project. If you’re interested in seeing the result, visit www.fatalcare.com.

3) GSI has an extra office unit that we lease out. Our former tenant, a government contracting engineering company, moved out last November. Although we were literally next to each other, we never talked about business until the last month of their lease. On the very day they moved, GSI landed a new client with the mission of helping them develop more commercial work. Again, we fully disclosed that our core competency is the graphic arts industry, but we felt we could do the job. Our business relationship with our former tenant is strong nearly a half year into our engagement.

What You Can Do
Sales reps and their employers can find themselves stuck in the same old groove when pursuing new customers. It takes more than direct mail and advertising campaigns. Sometimes it’s looking at opportunities right under your nose. Think outside of the box. Go beyond the traditional avenues by looking for clients in unusual places, especially when they fall in your lap. A caveat though: If you stray from your comfort zone, do two things:

1. Fully disclose that you’re in new territory, but feel confident of success.
2. Ensure your new “stretch” clients don’t jeopardize your core business.

Any business that wants to grow can’t remain stuck in neutral. Growth is all about expanding your reach to bring more customers to your door.

Whether it’s at the shopping mall, a baseball game, riding the commuter train or dining at your favorite restaurant, chance encounters can bring you face-to-face with prospective customers. This doesn’t mean you have to spring into your sales mode right after you introduce yourself. Keep things relaxed, make mental notes and get the prospect’s business card so you can follow-up with them later.

Stop trying to land new customers with the same old approach. The emphasis here is on “new” so develop a different way of thinking about adding more clients. Maybe it’s time to join a local networking group, civic organization or social club. Meeting new people, making new friends and developing new business contacts could result in new clients.

What Can Grow Sales, Inc. Do for You?
At Grow Sales, Inc., we specialize in finding the right marketing mix for each client, and making sure the plan is properly executed. Since 1996, we have provided marketing, public relations, web and graphic design and sales support to graphic arts clients nationwide. Think of us as your outsourced sales growth department. With our help, this could be a banner year for you and your company.

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