Think Inside the Box; Grow Your Business with what you already have

A client asked me the other day, "as a banker, what was the key advice you would give your small business clients who wanted to grow?"

I replied, "Cross sell, cross sell, cross sell..."

Cross selling is my version of thinking "inside your box." What do you already have that you're not taking advantage of? Cross-selling is simply looking at the people you've already built a relationship with (sold to) and finding something else of value to them that could further deepen that relationship. You simply sell something new to your existing clients.

In the article, You Can't Beat Habit, Neale Martin discusses cross selling by saying, "You want to grease the wheels of habit formation by getting your customers to once again get used to doing business with you. Once you have customers buying from you, you can look for ways to sell bigger and more profitably."

So when you start looking at ways to grow your business, take a look within your box. Think of your clients and the services you've offered them. Can you do better? Is there something of value that they can benefit from? I order sweets from a local sweet shop and bakery because they always send me catalogs and information on new products once I buy something. It reminds me that they exist.

Nobody wants to be a sales-pusher or be bothered by one, but everyone want to feel remembered and appreciated. I still send event invitations to clients I did business with a couple of years ago. One person called and said, "thanks for remembering me" and my response was, "thank YOU for responding and paying for this event."

Thinking inside the box means that you continue to build upon the relationship you started with people, and it means that you continue to better your services and business to fit the needs of your clients.

What ways can you find to "think inside the box?"

About the Author: Cheryl Isaac is a Start-up Business Planner & Owner of Isaac Business Services, The Business Startup Company. She is also the creator of The 12MonthBizPlan.com; an online business planning center where business owners can work with a personal advisor for a year, to plan their new business