A large number of expats in Bali run their own businesses
so I thought for this issue I would forget about the global
financial markets (which have been a bit depressing of late
anyway) and look at ways of making a business more profitable.
Even if you do not run a business some of the tips below will
help you in your job or profession. They certainly apply to
mine.
The challenge is, we want our businesses to grow and become
more profitable. So what tools do we have at our disposal?
1. Cold calling
It can be hard work and thoroughly miserable unless you get
a masochistic enjoyment out of annoying people and getting
rudely rejected. For some businesses however, it does work,
especially where you are offering a service such as club memberships,
credit cards or life insurance. It is a fact that people are
not proactive in buying life insurance. It has to be sold!
People don’t wake up and say ‘It’s a nice
day today; I think I will go out and buy some life insurance.’
They are far more likely to buy life insurance if a salesman
or financial adviser has pestered them and convinced them
how necessary it is. At the end of the day of course they
will have something that is of benefit to their family and
the salesman will have earned some commission. But there are
better ways to reach customers than cold calling.
2. Advertising
It certainly pays to advertise and at the same time it can
be quite costly. But where would the big brand names like
Coca Cola, McDonalds and such like be without advertising?
In the Bali scale of things if you have a small business it
is important to get its name in front of the public eye. A
product or service that is regularly advertised also gives
the customer a degree of comfort; it is clear that the business
owner is active and is looking for customers. Advertising
also has a subliminal effect; you may not be consciously reading
the advert but your brain has registered it and when you need
a product or service the name that you have seen, albeit subconsciously,
will come to the forefront when you are choosing a brand.
3. Public relations
This is an area where you seek to project and improve the
image of your business. It may take time and effort in the
form of producing material that might be of interest to a
newspaper or magazine or it may take money in the form of
sponsorship. Putting your company’s name on the side
of a car competing in Formula One may be beyond the budget
of the average Bali business but there are many opportunities
to sponsor football teams, Hash chapters etc. by providing
T-shirts or similar. Sponsorship of charities is another excellent
way of not only getting the name of your business seen widely
but you will also be making a useful contribution to the community.
4. Provide a first class service
This above all perhaps is the one area which will make your
business shine above others in the long term. Look after your
customers and they will not only come back but they will recommend
you to their friends. One of the most successful salesmen
in history was Joe Girard who made it to the Guinness Book
of Records. He sold cars to the public, not fleet sales but
individual sales. In 1973 he sold 1,425 cars, averaging six
or more per day. He did it by letting his customers know they
were buying not just a car; they were buying him. If a customer
had a problem he would drop everything to solve it before
thinking about selling another car. No matter how well you
run your business things can sometimes go wrong. You will
get complaints. Don’t see this negatively; turn it around;
a complaint can be an opportunity to show how much you care.
Put it right; compensate with a free meal or whatever it takes.
Not only will you have resolved the complaint; you will have
retained a customer and probably generated referrals.
5. Keep investing in your business
When the profits start to roll in don’t start splashing
them on luxury cars and exotic holidays, not at first anyway.
Keep investing in the business, make sure you have the best
furniture, machinery, IT equipment, whatever your business
needs to run efficiently and make it look good. How many times
over the years have you watched a restaurant or other business
gradually run down until it eventually fades away or is rudely
nudged out of existence by a new and smarter looking competitor?
Businesses constantly need updating, modernising or reinventing.
You are climbing an escalator that is going down. If you stop,
you will actually go backwards until you reach the bottom.
To reach the top you have to put in that extra effort because
you are always fighting an uphill battle.
6. Networking
This is a cost effective way to get your message around. It
means you have to get out of your cave and join professional
organisations where people can find out what you do and how
well you do it. The people you mix with will not necessarily
be your customers but they will recommend you to others when
your line of business comes into a conversation. To be successful
at this you must reciprocate. You can network informally through
clubs such as Rotaries or join formal networking groups. Some
cost nothing while other highly professional ones charge a
fee.
At the end of the day there is no single guaranteed way to
build up a business. It has to be a combination of the techniques
described above. You also need to work out the right balance
and the cost effectiveness of each. Oh yes, and there is one
more item that is indispensable – hard work!
Colin Bloodworth is a senior adviser with Financial Partners
International. The views expressed are his own. If you have
any questions you may contact him at 021 520 8099 or colin.bloodworth@financial-partners.biz
