Comments on: What’s the real issue? http://www.yourbusinesssuccess.com.au/blog/whats-the-real-issue Business advice from Australia's best Sun, 02 Jan 2011 02:55:12 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 By: Sjorcha Daynes http://www.yourbusinesssuccess.com.au/blog/whats-the-real-issue/comment-page-1#comment-156 Sjorcha Daynes Wed, 07 Jul 2010 21:22:30 +0000 http://www.yourbusinesssuccess.com.au/blog/?p=72#comment-156 We were "first to market" with our product. Over the course of the next 6 years, we never had to canvas sales as they all come directly to us. 100% strike rate! Fantastic as it sounds, in reality it's not, it became a trap. What we didn't realise was that competitors soon started appearing on the market riding on our coat tails. We hit the 5 year business itch at the 6 year point when we failed to heed to the warning signs. Sales dropped off dramatically, and we started market research into revamping the look of the packaging, adding video instructions, revamped advertising material, but....... a lot to late. We got far to busy working in the business rather than on the business from just after the start up when we achieved success. Our wholesale pricing is very competitive, our retail price is lower than most competitors, our product is still fantastic but we are no longer the "flavour of the month" because we let our sales and marketing go because the hunger of achieving success was no longer there. We became invisible to our wholesale clients when our competitors walked in the door, greeting our clients face to face. Walking in now with revamped packaging and the added incentives, such as the included tutorial DVD's, we are met with "The product used to sell fantastically well, but now that "xxx" has come on the market, even though yours is a much better product, it has dropped off". We failed to maintain the proactive sales approach from the onset, whilst our competitors used "guerilla marketing" tactics to gain market share, backing that up with incentives to our wholesale clients such as free holidays if they achieved a sales quota. Ingenious indeed. Our saving grace is that this competitor is now getting poor reviews in the forums from consumers, whilst we have never really had that. So we now have the opportunity to resell to our older clients that have dropped off We were “first to market” with our product. Over the course of the next 6 years, we never had to canvas sales as they all come directly to us. 100% strike rate! Fantastic as it sounds, in reality it’s not, it became a trap.
What we didn’t realise was that competitors soon started appearing on the market riding on our coat tails.
We hit the 5 year business itch at the 6 year point when we failed to heed to the warning signs. Sales dropped off dramatically, and we started market research into revamping the look of the packaging, adding video instructions, revamped advertising material, but……. a lot to late.
We got far to busy working in the business rather than on the business from just after the start up when we achieved success.
Our wholesale pricing is very competitive, our retail price is lower than most competitors, our product is still fantastic but we are no longer the “flavour of the month” because we let our sales and marketing go because the hunger of achieving success was no longer there. We became invisible to our wholesale clients when our competitors walked in the door, greeting our clients face to face.
Walking in now with revamped packaging and the added incentives, such as the included tutorial DVD’s, we are met with “The product used to sell fantastically well, but now that “xxx” has come on the market, even though yours is a much better product, it has dropped off”.
We failed to maintain the proactive sales approach from the onset, whilst our competitors used “guerilla marketing” tactics to gain market share, backing that up with incentives to our wholesale clients such as free holidays if they achieved a sales quota. Ingenious indeed.
Our saving grace is that this competitor is now getting poor reviews in the forums from consumers, whilst we have never really had that.
So we now have the opportunity to resell to our older clients that have dropped off

]]> By: ross batson http://www.yourbusinesssuccess.com.au/blog/whats-the-real-issue/comment-page-1#comment-154 ross batson Tue, 06 Jul 2010 23:27:14 +0000 http://www.yourbusinesssuccess.com.au/blog/?p=72#comment-154 I agree with this concept as a builder the conversion rate on inquiriey,s at the moment is 1:16 as aposed to 2 years ago being 8:10, possibly my proactivity in the initial sale on a $200k project would be worth spending a considerable chunk of money wooing the customer as aposed to a $500 door hanging where the time to quote almost out costs the profits made. possibly meeting the clients over a light lunch or coffee to discuss the final quotation as apposed to just Emailing and posting my well prepared offer would be more effective? (in reading this back its damn obvious isn't it) I agree with this concept as a builder the conversion rate on inquiriey,s at the moment is 1:16 as aposed to 2 years ago being 8:10, possibly my proactivity in the initial sale on a $200k project would be worth spending a considerable chunk of money wooing the customer as aposed to a $500 door hanging where the time to quote almost out costs the profits made.
possibly meeting the clients over a light lunch or coffee to discuss the final quotation as apposed to just Emailing and posting my well prepared offer would be more effective?

(in reading this back its damn obvious isn’t it)

]]> By: Julianne Davies http://www.yourbusinesssuccess.com.au/blog/whats-the-real-issue/comment-page-1#comment-151 Julianne Davies Tue, 06 Jul 2010 08:44:22 +0000 http://www.yourbusinesssuccess.com.au/blog/?p=72#comment-151 This post resonates with me given my business operates in a competitive area of beauty, but I decided that I was not going to concentrate on what my competitors were doing but what I was doing to build a relationship with my client by adding value when they visit my site or receive my newsletter. When I started being proactive with my business I felt less stress about competing! This post resonates with me given my business operates in a competitive area of beauty, but I decided that I was not going to concentrate on what my competitors were doing but what I was doing to build a relationship with my client by adding value when they visit my site or receive my newsletter. When I started being proactive with my business I felt less stress about competing!

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