Where were you when JFK died? Which summer was your happiest?
The first stands out alone, while the second is a choice among options. You can group every upcoming activity or appointment into two categories – event or anniversary
Events are one-time occurrences — a weekend trip, the birth of a child, a marriage, baptism. Anniversaries are recurring activities that follow an event, such as a birthday, wedding or the celebration of Passover.
Events and anniversaries can teach a lot about selling to customers and growing your businesses. Every business can be broken down into events and anniversaries. This month, we’ll look at event-driven businesses, next month at anniversary-driven businesses.
You know you’re in an event-driven business when your customers buy only after a random occurrence in their world provokes them to commit to taking action. This could be a window replacement, building construction or the hiring of a trial lawyer. You must build awareness among those who might need your products or services some day, and be accessible to anyone who needs you today.
To grow your event-driven business, define the event that drives your sale and educate your marketplace to look for it. If you are a manufacturer with strong R & D, remind customers about new product development. If you’re a real estate appraiser, remind prospects about buying or selling their buildings.
Articulate the consequence of the event on your customer’s business. If you are in the windshield replacement business, describe how hard it is to see oncoming cars around cracks.
Link your solution to the consequence of the event. Tell customers how you will eliminate their pain or assure their opportunity. If you are a reseller of telecom or servers, tell growing companies you can assure they receive and process all the new calls and orders they get.
If your customers are event-driven, work to capture and communicate with 100 percent of your prospects who might need you one day. Pounce on anyone who signals interest. Track your success with every prospect whose event date you knew and determine why you may have won or lost each case.
The fact that most businesses are either anniversary- or event-driven is obvious, and knowing which business you are in is just a start. Learning how to take full advantage of it is the true key to success. Andrew J. Birol ([email protected]) is president of Birol Growth Consulting. He helps owners grow their businesses by growing their best and highest use. Reach him at (440) 349-1970 or at www.andybirol.com.
