How Does Your Garden Grow? Cultivate new business by tending to your customers.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
In the South, the month of May means serious gardening. SergioZyman, former Coca-Cola chief marketing officer and co-author ofRenovate Before You Innovate, believescompanies must cultivate better relationships and renovate theroles they play in their customers' growth. In gardening terms:Grow your customer's business, and your own garden willgrow.
To help your customers grow, become a catalyzing agent. Shareleads, forge profitable partnerships among them, and activelydemonstrate concern for their interests. Here are three tips foraspiring customer-horticulturists:
1. Read Selling Is Dead, a manifesto forreinventing sales by Marc Miller and Jason Sinkovitz, set to bepublished this month. Growth-motivated companies must change toremain competitive.
2. Aerate your sales-lead generation and remove weeds.Sell, tell and qualify less--and customize your interactions anddialogue. Zapdata.com's prospect lists help you focus on thetypes of businesses that buy your products and services and cateryour approach to their needs.
3. Try out LexisNexis AlaCarte, a new service expressly forsmall-business owners that offers business insight and industryanalysis.
Kirsten Osolind is CEO and founder of re:inventioninc., a Chicago-based marketing consulting company.
