1. Ask for information.
Ask your clients, your business associates and your competitors,
“What is the biggest challenge you see today in the horse
industry?” (Of course each answer will be a reflection of
the specialized interests of the respondent—stabling problems,
or owner/trainer relationships, breeding soundness, etc.)
2. Ask for business.
No matter what your business, you must ask for the sale. If you
are selling horses, ask when they want the horse delivered…if
you are in the boarding business, ask which stall they prefer….ask
for what you want.
3. Ask for endorsements.
No matter your product, nothing is better to establish its value
than an endorsement from a happy customer. When a customer says
something nice about your service or product, ask if they’ll
“put it in writing.” Tell them their opinion is important
to you; important enough you would like to share it with others.
Then use the endorsement—put it on your website, or in your
brochure, or post it in the barn aisle.
4. Ask for referrals.
There are a lot of horse businesses in which it is customary to
pay a commission. Be sure you do, and do it quickly when you make
a sale from a referral. If it is not customary, a surprise gift
for anyone referring a new customer is a great way to say, “thank
you.” The surprise gift will long be remembered.
5. Ask for more business.
No matter what your product or service, there is usually something
that compliments it and can be added to the sale. If a person
buys a horse, they may need lessons, tack, insurance, or a way
to transport the horse home. Be creative; the second sale is usually
very lucrative.
6. Ask to renegotiate.
No matter what you are buying or leasing or renting, there is
always the opportunity to “renegotiate.” You can often
get better deals when renegotiating; and if you can’t, you
can often find a better deal somewhere else. Be creative and open
minded to widen profit margins.
7. Ask for feedback.
Feedback has often been called, “the breakfast of champions.”
You can find plenty of positive ways to expand your business and
increase profit margins from the feedback offered by customers
and clients. Put the feedback to work, correcting the weaknesses
of your business and making the strengths even better. Feedback
is the quick way to becoming the best.
Don Blazer teaches the www.horsecoursesonline.com
course, The Business of Making Money With Horses for college credit
or personal enrichment.
