How the Kitchen Sink Drains Your Repeat Business

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Copyright © 2007-2008 Mark Silver


Okay, here comes someone who takes you up on one of your offers. And they come back again, and again, and again. They buy everything you're offering, as quickly as you can offer it.

They don't even want to read your sales copy- they just say, "Yes, please, may I have some more?"

It's more than a nice dream. If your business is developed well, this repeat business is where your profitability comes from.

The Foundation of Profitability

Repeat business is so sweet because you've actually built up enough trust with a particular client that they want to continue the relationship. They want more, and you can pour your attention and energy into giving to that person as much as you can, and they keep drinking it up.

And they keep paying for it, too, quite happily. But, why -do- clients come back?

The real reason they keep coming back.

Sure, they like you. Sure, they get results out of whatever service or product you're providing. But that's not why they come back.

They come back because they actually used what you offered them. And it's gone. They ate it all up, and they want more.

The Garbage Disposal Disaster

Some years ago we had good friends staying with us. And they brought a juicer, which is a fine thing. And then they put the juice pulp, a lot of it, down the garbage disposal.

That's right- the pipes backed up. It was just too much pulp at once.

The drain in our kitchen sink could take no more down it for several days until we got a plumber to cut out and replace the pipes from our kitchen down into our basement, and clean out that pulp.

Oops.

How many CDs are you stuffing down your customer's drain?

Let's say that, in the interest of wanting them to get everything they need, you've given them 27 CDs and three books worth of information. But, after two months, they've only gotten through two CDs and half a book. No matter how valuable what they've gotten is, they won't purchase your next offer.

Why not? Because they'll see the 25 CDs and 2.5 books collecting dust on their shelf and tell themselves, "I'll get what's next when I'm done with these." Except that they will never be "done with these."

It's about honor and respect.

It's taken you a long time to get where you are, in terms of expertise. I don't care if you're relatively new, you've still gone through a training program, and/or life experience, to get to where you are. And if you are verging on mastery in your field, it's probably taken you decades.

Please honor all that time you've spent.

And honor your customers. What seems like a little bite to you, can be a big drain full of pulp to them. If you give too much to your customers, you'll clog them up. And ruin your chance at repeat business.

So, what do you do? The same thing we did with our kitchen sink? No, it doesn't involve cutting their pipes out.

Keys to Repeat Business

* Start with your offer.

What is it you want for your clients? What's the destination you want them to get to? Sketch it out, write it down, from both your head and your heart.

Now, ask yourself- seriously, how long did it take you to get to the point you want them to achieve? And pick as your starting place where your typical client starts out. Take time to remember what it was like for you to be in their shoes. How long did it take?

* Check in with your client.

Here's a spiritual exercise. Take some time in your own heart, and ask to be shown what happens for your clients when you give them the whole enchilada you were imagining for them. Do they choke? Do they run screaming? Trust your heart- it's telling you the truth.

Now, ask a different question. In your heart, ask to be shown how much your client can truly take in. In other words, if you were to segment, or break-up your offer into pieces, how small does the piece have to be in order for your client's heart to be happy taking it all in, and applying it?

* Now, create the path.

Now that you have the first bite-sized offer laid out, repeat the steps to see what the next offer could be. And the next. And the next. You may find yourself with a whole series of offers that your client can naturally progress along.

You may notice that once your client has eaten and digested the first couple of offers, their capacity increases, and you can offer them more at a time.

Yes, you do want to give your clients the whole world. And, they do indeed want it. Just cut it up into pieces and space it out, and you'll find your clients coming back again and again for a long time to come.

The best to you and your business,

Mark Silver


About the Author:
Mark Silver is the author of Unveiling the Heart of Your Business: How Money, Marketing and Sales can Deepen Your Heart, Heal the World, and Still Add to Your Bottom Line. He has helped hundreds of small business owners around the globe succeed in business without losing their hearts. Get three free chapters of the book online: http://www.heartofbusiness.com