Big Fish
If you’re in business for yourself, your dreams are probably big. You want to do the best business, create the biggest rep in town, and, above all, score the best financial rewards for yourself that you can. Your friends and family might label you a “dreamer” and scoff endlessly. But you know that without big dreams, big realizations can’t happen. You have to have aspirations, plain and simple, to catch the big fish.
With product fulfillment, your big dreams can be realized. In fact, they might even be realized with easier processes than in other businesses out there, and one of the best ways to do that is to score another business as a client and supply to them on a regular basis.
The regular comfort zone for product fulfillment is to just service individual clients. This is fine, but it can be problematic. For one, it’s a ton of work to attend to each client and then when they leave, you have to work hard to find a replacement. If you get the chance to service a business regularly, then you can rely on a regular income from each regular service provision.
The field of B2B direct marketing is a bit tough to get going though. You have to do a lot of work to attract and secure businesses as clients. But once you work through the fires of this process, you’ll find yourself off and running, creating a good business relationship between two parties.
Close Ties
Attracting businesses via B2B direct marketing can be approached the same way you would with the best direct marketing to regular individual clients. You might have to apply some newer tactics, but it’s more or less the same.
Canvassing directly to companies that would be interested in purchasing from you is necessary. This is similar to cold calling except that you can use direct mail packages with catalogs, order forms, and brochures as your charm tools. Also, contacting their marketing departments to follow up with them can help. If you get the chance for a lunch date, take it. You might walk away with a solid partnership after talking over surf and turf.
When it comes to agreements and contracts, it doesn’t hurt to be formal at all. Start with a short-term agreement and fulfill their requests until the agreed date. Work your tail off in that time, and when the contract expiry comes up—move in for a renewal negotiation.
It should also be noted who B2B direct marketing includes. It’s not just other businesses: it’s government agencies, product suppliers, and even other product fulfillment pros. Don’t neglect these folks as possible clients. If there’s a chance that you can get to a convention to network and make connections with other potential clients, again, use that chance. You might have to pound the pavement and shell out for a hotel, but the opportunities you will have to market your business can lead to growth.
Making it Easier
Obviously, you’ll be looking to make the relationships between you and your bigger business clients easier all of the time. If you haven’t done so already, make sure you adopt digital processes. Since most other businesses are as busy as you are, they need easy methods to access you and get what they need, when they need it. Having a good e-commerce fulfillment department in place with a call center, online order fulfillment, and digital shopping processes on hand is something that will make their lives easier—and yours more profitable.
When it comes to B2B direct marketing, you really are creating a strong relationship between two professional bodies. It’s a big deal if there ever was one. If you approach it with some professionalism, tact, and hard work, you can create strong business bonds in product fulfillment that will last.
Need solutions to your product fulfillment problems? APS Fulfillment, Inc has the knowledge and services to make your direct mail and product fulfillment ventures more successful. Contact APS Fulfillment, Inc by e-mail at [email protected], visit its web site at www.apsfulfillment.com, or call (954) 582-7450.
