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* Offer a trendy new service. What unmet needs of existing clients could you satisfy? Invent new services or shift sideways to parallel services you might not otherwise bother with. The billing company, which normally concentrated on insurance reimbursements, now said it would also collect overdue balances from individuals who had promised to pay out of pocket.
* Telemarket to new prospects with an irresistible offer. Bend over backwards to prove yourself to people who have never done business with you. Your offer needs high appeal, a low introductory price, and a guarantee that removes all or most of their risk in trying you. For
billing company, inducement was first quarter of service for half price, and no charge at all if at end of 30 days new client wasn't 100 percent convinced that change simplified their office routines.
* Sell your white elephants. Do you have inventory collecting dust in a storeroom -- or property that you could quickly convert into salable items? The training firm had proprietary manuals for each of its courses that it could sell as add-ons for its other classes or consulting. It could also license them to other training firms that hadn't gotten around to creating their own products. Indeed, even if you're doing fine, you might have wares you haven't bothered to sell in a while. Through online auctioner eBay and its competitors, you might be able to turn your white elephants into cash -- fast.
Marcia Yudkin creates cost-effective, creative marketing plans for clients all over the world. You can learn more about her reputation-enhancing marketing plan service at http://www.yudkin.com/marketingplan.htm and view excerpts from a sample plan at http://www.yudkin.com/sampleplan.htm
