Short term view - long term fail

Well it's been a fun week hasn't it? Especially if you're one of those unlucky people "stranded" on holiday in Barbados. I mean I suppose I have a small degree of sympathy for you - maxing out your credit cards in expensive hotels is not fun but, on the other hand, just how bad is it to be stuck on holiday?

I want to talk this week about something that really bothered me in light of this international disaster. Now most people were pretty reasonable - nobody told us off for failing to deliver their merchandise if it was being flown in, and everyone has actually been quite good humoured about the whole thing.

The people that weren't however, were the people that played by the traditional rules of supply and demand. The guilty party in this case were the ferry and tunnel operators. With people in dire need of transportation, with their credits cards stretched to cover additional hotel charges and travel costs, the ferries and tunnels put their prices UP.

"Of course they did!" you cry, and from a traditional and commercial perspective, you'd be right. On the other hand, I think that what they did was wrong. For a start they are blatantly kicking a lot of people when they're down. Now I am a fan of capitalism - it's hard to be a salesman and not be - but it does strike me that when extraordinary things like this happen, that companies could stand to be a little bit more helpful and, dare I say it, charitable.

But let's put the tree hugging argument to one side for the moment and look at a different implication. Now a lot of people may well have never used the Eurotunnel or ferry service before. They may always fly somewhere, believing it to be the most efficient and pleasant way to travel.

Now is it possible - even just a little bit - that some people forced to travel on the Eurostar may have found themselves thinking "Hey, you know this really isn't all that bad. We really must do this again some time"? Sure it's possible, but how likely is it that this very same passenger would be thinking that when they are simultaneously spitting at the thought of having to pay extra just because some volcano in Iceland decided to kick off?

Exactly. The tunnels and ferries had the most fantastic opportunity to create a new base of customers. They could have converted hundreds of air travellers and all they had to do was.....nothing at all. They could react by laying on more trains - which they did, but if they just left their prices alone then nobody would have thought worse of them. Here's a wacky idea - what if they'd actually discounted their prices to help more people get home? Chances are they would have actually generated even more interest, actually enticing people to use them as opposed to feeling that they had no other choice.

The problem with an economy in downturn is that it forces short term thinking. Sales people ring up prospective clients and unless they're looking to order immediately, feel slightly less enthused and move on. The closer to the end of the month, the worse that gets too, and the disappointment just grows and grows until we find ourselves in a panic.

It's just not necessary, and it can be very costly too. So what if a client is not ready to order this week? As long as, when they're ready to order, they order from you, everybody wins. Of course you could phone them once a week to see how they're getting on, but are you really adding any value in doing so?

"Hi, I just wondered if you'd made a decision yet," yawn yawn yawn. No. You need to be adding some value, each and every time you call. How about sending them a video of someone using the product, or an article where their name came up and you thought it would be of interest.

Or the Zeuss of sales ideas - letting them know that you've thought of a product which would go really well with the thing they're thinking about and getting them to buy both!

A good piece of promotional merchandise can really help you here. Keeping your name and contact details in front of the prospect will help to reinforce your sales message - you're not pestering for a sale, more so you are providing a service, or helping them to solve a problem.

Salespeople bring negative connotations with them, yet problem solvers are our heroes.

So how do you know which piece of merchandise will work for you? Well you don't, but if you take the time to look at your own sales messages and all of the features and benefits of your own products, some ideas will become obvious. The good news is that you don't need to do any of that - you just need to get in touch with me and I'll do it all for you.

And did I mention that I would do it all for free?

So take a long term view. After all, you didn't get into business just to see how well you'd be doing in three or six months did you? If you want to make a quick buck, there are hundreds of ways to do it, and most of them require very little effort. If you want to grow a business for the long haul, relax - take your time and HELP your customers.

Right - who's up for a last minute flight to Iceland?