One of the great things about having a small, home-based business is that we can be incredibly flexible in how we work and interact with our clients and customers. Since we don’t have a retail establishment to manage or set business hours to keep, we can adjust our sales tactics to really personalize our communication and service delivery. One way to create intimate opportunities for prospects is to offer previews and special showings of products or services.
I know someone who is an artist and while he works part-time as curator of an art gallery, most of his time is spent on his art in a studio he has attached to his home. Periodically, he arranges special showings of his art in his own home for just a few people. The showings are intimate and personal and always result in sales. People respond to the specialness and the intimacy and have time to really explore the paintings with other friends and enthusiasts. If you are in direct sales or provide a product or service to individuals, you can take advantage of this sales process or technique. It doesn’t have to be in your home, it can be in the customer’s home, at a party, or another arranged special event.
Previews are another good way to create that “insider” feeling with customers. If you will be adding a new product or product line, or have some other new feature to your business, providing individuals with the opportunity to “preview” makes them feel special and generates early interest in the changes. You can do it up fancy with invitations and a special preview by private invitation, or you can just preview the upcoming changes during your regular interactions with clients and customers.
The outcome of previews and special showings is generally to cultivate a stronger connection with prospects and customers—even writers will preview chapters of an upcoming book on their web sites now—this generates attachment and excitement for your business offerings.
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