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85) Rekindle Former Customers - In addition to customers that procrastinate, there will always be customers, for one reason or another, that no longer purchase from a business. Perhaps they’ve moved out of the area. They may no longer have a need for your product/service (i.e. baby clothes...the baby eventually grows up). They may have passed away. There are lots of reasons why. And then there are those customers who are dissatisfied.
You want to target most of them. For those that are dissatisfied, you want to offer them an opportunity to make things right, to give them a special deal if they agree to give you another try.
For the others, they are most likely satisfied former customers. For whatever reason, though, they are no longer part of the target market. The best way to capitalize on that situation is to get them to refer business to you. If they are satisfied, they may respond favorably to a gift certificate that they can pass onto a friend or relative who IS still part of the target market.
Either way, it’s “found” business, and you stand to profit from it.
Let’s say you want to target chiropractors. You can locate a bunch of authors who are reputable and recognized by chiropractors, contact them, and tell them what you’re doing. Ask to buy a bunch of copies of their book at a discount if they would be willing to send a letter to these chiropractors along with their book (at your expense). The letter would say something like, “Hi, this is John Smith here. You probably know me through my book, ‘17 Ways to Grow Your Chiropractor Business Today.’ It’s been reviewed in Health Economics, and I’m sending you a copy of my book with my compliments and introducing you to Jane Doe, because she’s got a great way to reactivate your no longer active patients. I’ve asked her to email you in about a week.”
86) JV With an Agent to Bring in “Found” Business - If you want to focus on your core business, like the dentist example I mentioned about (i.e. let’s say that you’re the dentist), and you’re not sure how to go about bringing in this “found” business, there are experienced marketers out there who could handle the nuts and bolts of the campaign. In other words, this would be the reverse of the previous two examples, where you are the professional, and a deal with a marketer would yield you additional business, but without the marketing headaches. At the very least you could pay someone to teach you how its done, or learn by example in observing their methods and asking questions.
87) JV a Consulting Back-End With a Static Product Seller - Let’s say that you are a consultant specializing in doing creative real estate deals. You could find someone who sells a static book or course on the subject, then partner with them to offer your coaching or consulting services on the back-end for those that want to go beyond the book or course. You could offer your own course, seminars, coaching programs, whatever.
88) JV a Static Product With a Consulting Back-End - And the opposite is also true. If you sell a static information product, why not seek out an expert on the subject that you can partner with and endorse for additional training for your customers. Everybody wins!
89) Tie Up the Rights to Real Estate - I don’t mean real estate in the traditional sense. I mean space. Using the chiropractor example, what if you opened a satellite office that’s manned once or twice a week in a health club or health food store? You could put lots of things in those places. Acupuncture, Shiatsu, massage therapy, weight-loss clinics, exercise products, the list goes on.
Instead of an office, you could tie up the rights to a display space or an impulse buy counter near the register. How about a segment of the store, the rear section of a store, or the front corner where merchandise or services can be placed? Banks now put branches in grocery stores. So do flower shops. Sears put Allstate Insurance in their stores and created a billion dollar business. Designer shampoos have space in salons.
If you tie up the space first, then you can go out and find inventory that you will in essence consign to the space. Anywhere there is foot traffic is really fair game. Just be sure to find a product or service that is a match to the foot traffic’s preferences (i.e. the target market).
There are lots of one or two-person companies who manufacture their own jewelry, or candy, or cookies, or toys, or crafts. Maybe a local hotdog joint doesn’t have cookies on their menu. Put them together and take a cut. How about craft supplies and raw materials at a craft show? A service in a hotel that perhaps that hotel doesn’t offer? Maybe free wireless Internet access in exchange for their contact info. The nice thing is you don’t have to put up any inventory.
Vacant lots are great to put in cars for sale. Or organize your own flea market or craft show. A haunted house around Halloween, sponsored by the local costume shop. A golfing goods tent that coincides with the timing of the US Open.
I’ve mentioned some of these ideas already, but this example is about tying up the rights to space. Get the rights first, then looks for ways to fill it.
90) JV With Those Who Already Have Business Relationships - I mentioned at the start of this section that some of the best companies to JV with are those whom you already have a preexisting relationship with. What if you don’t have any?
You can JV with those people who do! Put an ad in your local paper. Go online and network with people who do have these relationships. Then cut them in on the deal and let them introduce you. It’s the difference between a cold intro and a warm or hot one.
91) Start Small - Do you have a big idea for a deal but no relationship with the potential partner company? You can always start out small, with a test to validate your experience and the results before moving onto the big deal you had in mind. By the time your small deal is validated, you know have that relationship to move to the next level.
