THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX

"It’s easiest to keep doing what you’ve been doing. It’s no effort at all to keep looking at the same metrics, make the same moves, do the same thing with a new name, even. Your customers are good enough. Why prospect for more? The way you tell your product’s story is excellent. It’s worked for several years. Why change it?"

I read this today on Chris Brogan's Blog. (Click here to read the complete post) It made me think about what one of the sharpeners I know is doing to help increase sales. He's raffling off chances to win a Kenchii Matrix shear and donating all the proceeds of the raffle to his local food bank. He's been surprised by the the number of customers that have bought tickets because it's for a good cause, but he's also been surprised by how it's helped his sales. When he makes the offer, the stylists always ask to see the shear they'll have a chance to win, and once they see the Matrix, they want to see more. Just today he called and told me he made a sale during a cold call because of the raffle, and after that, one of the local TV stations found out about what he was doing and ask if he'd be willing to talk about it on their morning program. Not bad for an off the cuff idea! He'll be doing a write up in On The Edge about the ins-and-outs of the promotion next month, or the month after.

I know the economy is bad, but if you work on thinking outside the box, you'd be surprised what you can do too! Don't keep doing the same old thing. Try something new.

Image: jamesjordan