Tag: Zig Ziglar

Methods to create leads for your business

Posted on by Sanlam
By Jannie Rossouw

Head: Sanlam Business Market

The pipeline of any business needs to be continuously filled with new client prospects. Options are a dime a dozen – the real challenge is to find the ones which lead to the best business outcomes for your type of business.

It is of paramount importance to track and measure the outcomes and success of every marketing element you apply in your business. In this way you can determine what works and then redirect marketing spend to these marketing elements.

Here are 5 lead generation options to consider for your business:

1. School newsletter advertisements

Most schools have more than 1 000 children in attendance. Schools normally publish a quarterly newsletter to keep parents informed about school activities. Most of them also make use of advertisers to co-sponsor the cost of the newsletter. It is a very inexpensive way to promote your business if your product/service is focused on a retail customer base. You can ‘sweeten’ the deal by offering a discount or upsell option when parents provide you with a copy of the advertisement. The cost for an advertisement or A5 insert is mostly a couple of hundred rand per newsletter batch.

2. Business branding (building and vehicles)

A well-branded building, office or business vehicle goes far in making your business visible in the area in which you operate. Most of us can cite examples where we needed a service and whilst on the road saw a vehicle or a building/office which does exactly what we require. If the contact number and website details are clearly visible, it makes it easy for people to write it down or take a picture.

3. In shopping centre signage

Use an A-frame stand with a catchy heading or offer and with an arrow pointing in the direction of your shop. This is useful when your shop is situated in a place with less passing feet. You do, however, need the permission of the centre/mall management.

4. Stickers and fridge magnets

I first saw this tactic after a local electrician completed electrical work at my home. He stuck a sticker with their contact details on the electricity supply board. Now I knew where to get hold of them the next time I needed the services of an electrician. You can also apply this option by writing a brief note to introduce your business to potential clients and adding a sticker/fridge magnet to the note. Use the services of a graphic designer to develop an enticing sticker or fridge magnet.

5. Mutually beneficial campaigns

You already know of businesses that do not compete with yours, but service clients in your target market. You can develop a proposal, which can be mutually beneficial, by offering to pay the other business to e-mail your offer to their clients, to share a referral fee with them on all concluded new business on the back of their mail-out and even offer to do the same for them on your client base. The premise is that client information is recorded.

“You are out of business if you don’t have a prospect!” – Zig Ziglar, American author, salesman, and motivational speaker

To support business owners with the important task of business planning, Sanlam gives you free access to the book Your Annual Business Game Plan for Success, which provides an easy and straightforward framework needed to draft a well-crafted game plan that will create the positive change and growth necessary for business success.

Go to www.sanlamgameplan.co.za to download your free copy.

Tips for small business owners to keep their employees motivated

Posted on by Business Partners Limited
By Ben Bierman

Managing Director at Business Partners Limited

Zig Ziglar, renowned American author and motivational speaker said: You don’t build a business. You build people and people build the business. As a small business owner, the up-keep of staff morale is vital to keep employees motivated so that they can contribute towards building and growing your business.

Employee motivation is based on providing an appropriate blend of rewards such as recognition, remuneration, relationships, security, and challenges of new projects and a sense of doing something worthwhile. Addressing these different aspects of employee motivation, makes employees aware of the opportunities available to them in the business and in the process they feel that they can influence results by their actions and follow their ambition.

Another way to successfully motivate employees is for small business owners provide clarity regarding the goals for the business and what is expected from their employees. The goals set for the company need to be turned into achievable goals for the people working in it. If employees can see how their success contributes to the big picture, they will feel motivated and part of the team.

With this in mind, it is important to give everyone a chance at success. For example, a bookkeeper is more likely to stop debtors taking liberties if they know why this matters so much and are responsible for bringing the figures down.. If employees understand problems, they often come up with solutions themselves.

When it comes to praise and criticism, it is imperative to let employees know when they are doing well and when they are doing badly. Remember, feedback is given to improve performance, provide lessons and build employees’ motivation and confidence in their capabilities.

In order to be clear, business owners should say exactly why they are congratulating an employee or wanting to help them improve. However, it is imperative to avoid getting personal. Describe the negative consequences of an action, rather than criticizing and then encourage the employee to brainstorm how better results could be achieved.

Small business owners should identify which employees have the capacity to learn new skills, and increase the variety of tasks to make the work more stimulating. Giving employees the chance to shoulder more responsibility increases their sense of involvement. This is to avoid losing talented employees due to them being under-utilised, frustrated or bored. In order to know which individual employees are ambitious and which are content to stay in the same jobs ask employees the key question: ‘If you could improve just one thing about your work situation, what would it be?’

The attitude of the business owners towards their employees is key when it comes to motivating employees. Below are additional pointers for small business owners to consider:

1. Treat employees as partners in the business

Keep them informed about business performance and management decisions and ask them for their input on decisions that affect them. Create a good working environment and provide training and resources for their job.

2. Build an atmosphere of trust and teamwork

A company run on defensiveness and fear is an unpleasant place to work. Employees will avoid making decisions in case they are wrong, so accept that mistakes are an inevitable part of the learning process and encourage people to ask for help when problems arise.

3. Keep communication open and honest

Schedule regular appraisals to review progress, problems and plans. Encourage employees to do most of the talking during these sessions, by using open questions like: ‘How well do you feel you are doing?’

4. Take an interest in employees’ lives

Without interfering, be prepared to discuss things your employees are interested in. Listen actively, and be consistent and fair in your approach.

5. Build team spirit with regular briefings

Hold daily or weekly meetings to plan work, establish goals and discuss any special events and deadlines. Share any news and problems and give employees credit for their contributions and achievements.

The importance of motivated and inspired employees is crucial to the success of any business. As such, small business owners should make sure to continue to build on the employee management approach in order to retain great employees and for the business to survive and thrive.

Client knowledge can improve sales

Posted on by Sanlam
By Jannie Rossouw

Head: Sanlam Business Market

What was first – the chicken or the egg? In some way we are faced by the same challenge in business. Should you endeavour to develop a new product or service before finding a market for it, or first choose a target market and then align your products and/or services to meet the needs of the identified market?

The identification of a niche market for your product and/or service helps you to see the trees (your niche market) from the wood (spectrum of all consumers). Some of the benefits of this approach are that your marketing and sales endeavours will be more profitable, because you have a better understanding of the needs of your niche market, making it possible to customise your offering to be an exact match for their needs. You can then position your business as an expert in your industry.

You can use the data of your current clients to get a better understanding of your niche market profile. The following elements may be used to develop a profile of your ideal client:

  • Income category
  • Age
  • Gender
  • Interests
  • Hobbies
  • Occupation
  • Geographical location

To know your clients, you have to spend time with them – thus creating opportunities for engagement. To add value for clients is a sure way to vest a positive affinity towards your business and brand. You can use articles to illustrate your knowledge of the industry you operate in. These articles can also be used to teach clients to use the product, or to apply the service to their best advantage, but also to introduce more products or services to them. Make a point of also notifying your existing clients of special offers. It is also good business practice to get feedback from your existing clients about your product and/or service set and service experience. Use this feedback to improve your product/service offering and service delivery. By staying in the forefront with your clients, you in effect keep the “marketing noise” of your competitors outside the hearing range of your clients.

“I don’t care how much power, brilliance or energy you have, if you don’t harness it and focus it on a specific target, and hold it there, you’re never going to accomplish as much as your ability warrants.” — Zig Ziglar was an American author, salesman, and motivational speaker.

To support business owners with the important task of business planning, Sanlam gives you free access to the book Your Annual Business Game Plan for Success, which provides an easy and straightforward framework needed to draft a well-crafted game plan that will create the positive change and growth necessary for business success. Go to www.sanlam.co.za/gameplan to download your free copy.

Good marketing leads to sales

Posted on by Sanlam

Article written by Jannie Rossouw, Head: Sanlam Business Market

In order to properly address this subject, we first need to understand the difference between marketing and sales.

Marketing drives the demand for a product or service; Sales fulfil the demand and create relationships with clients.

The recommended basic elements of every marketing mix are as follows:

  • A brochure (electronic and/or print)
  • Website (do search engine optimisation, apply Google Ads and doing search word campaigns)
  • Advertising (using the most suitable media options)
  • Public relations plan
  • Sponsorships that are suited to your target market

Here are a few alternative marketing elements to consider:

  • Vehicle advertisements
  • Marketing non-competitive products and services to your client base in collaboration with other businesses (while they do the same for you)
  • Thank clients for business (email, phone calls, discount on next transaction)
  • Do after-sales service assessments, at the same time asking for referrals
  • Give away samples to introduce clients to your product/service

Your marketing mix should deliver the following results:

  • Creating awareness of your product/service and business
  • Creating a 24/7 presence of your business
  • Educating your clients on your product/service
  • Creating credibility and giving clients peace of mind that your business will deliver on promises made
  • Showing that you understand the needs and requirements of your target market
  • Creating qualified referrals (in most cases this is a by-product, but you can launch campaigns primarily aimed at lead generation)

The well-known American writer and speaker Zig Ziglar once said: “Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust.” These obstacles can be removed only if the marketing and sales functions are working together.

To support business owners with the important task of business planning, Sanlam gives you free access to the book Your Annual Business Game Plan for Success, which provides an easy and straightforward framework needed to draft a well-crafted game plan that will create the positive change and growth necessary for business success. Go to www.sanlam.co.za/gameplan to download your free copy.

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