WEEK 18

SEE BUSINESS WHERE IT ISN’T

If you are like most people, you have probably heard of at least a few inventors who have earned fortunes on what appear to be obvious ideas. A case in point is the Breathe Right Strip invented by chronic sinus sufferer Bruce Johnson. What could be more obvious than a device that holds your nostrils open from the outside to help you breathe?

Coming up with inventions and other innovative ideas is more challenging than it appears because they often develop in a vacuum. Before these gadgets and schemes exist, someone with an imagination needs to envision them or “pull them out of thin air.”

The same is true in business. With hindsight’s 20/20 vision, we can easily see good ideas where business already exists. One look at Starbucks coffee shops, and we immediately realize what a great idea it is to have a high-class, high-quality coffee shop where patrons always feel welcome to work, relax, and meet friends and colleagues. Before Starbucks, however, nobody really envisioned such a place existing globally. It took somebody who could see business where it isn’t.

IDENTIFY UNSERVED AND UNDERSERVED MARKETS

One way to see business where it isn’t is to look for markets that you and your competitors are not serving or fully serving. Say you are selling videoconferencing systems. Businesses and schools would probably be your most obvious clients. They have both the need and the money for these high-tech systems and can probably save enough on travel to more than cover the cost.

You and your competitors will aggressively pursue these markets, but to gain a competitive edge, you would do well to see business where it isn’t. Who could really make use of videoconferencing that neither you nor your competition is currently pursuing? These other potential markets may include the following:

• Courts of law and attorneys: Legal matters often get delayed simply because gathering all involved parties is such a hassle. Courts and attorneys could use videoconferencing to take depositions, review evidence and documents, and even hold a trial.

• Government agencies: Government agencies often have a difficult time serving outlying areas. Through videoconferencing, they could affordably extend their reach.

• Health care providers: Some of the top medical specialists may be in another state or country. With videoconferencing, physicians could consult with patients and with one another regardless of their physical location.

• Financial services: Financial analysts and advisors often meet with clients to review their financial plans and portfolios. With videoconferencing, nobody has to travel out of their way to attend a meeting.

• Energy—oil and gas: Oil and gas fields are often in remote locations. While experts must often travel to these fields, executives may not have to be physically present to know what is going on. Videoconferencing can also be used to monitor operations from remote locations.

• Engineering and construction: Large construction projects often require the collaborative efforts of engineers, contractors, and subcontractors. With videoconferencing, experts can gather in a virtual conference room to consult as a group.

• Retailers: Large retail chains spend a great deal of time and travel to make their stores consistent and convey corporate expectations. Videoconferencing can significantly improve communications throughout these organizations.

• Human resources (all sectors): Human resource (HR) departments are in charge of recruiting, screening, and hiring new applicants; managing benefits programs; and ensuring compliance. Rather than running themselves ragged trying to stay in touch with everyone, they can use videoconferencing to host meetings via virtual conference rooms.

 

Unserved and underserved markets can also consist of groups of people that you and your competition have ignored in the past—certain generations, such as teenagers or retirees; racial or ethnic groups; the opposite sex; and so on.

Customers from other cultures represent a huge market—according to some estimates, between $2 and $3 trillion a year in the United States. For more about how to sell to this market, check out Cross-Cultural Selling For Dummies, which I co-authored with cross-cultural selling expert Michael Soon Lee.

TRAIN YOUR MIND TO SPOT OPPORTUNITIES

Some people can naturally think of dozens of ways to market a product, but you don’t need to be a born visionary. You can train your mind to look for business where it’s not. Here are some suggestions that can open your mind to new sales and marketing opportunities:

• Look for problems. As explained in Week 15, every problem opens at least one and usually more business opportunities. By discovering the product or service that can solve a client’s problem, you make a sale and have the opportunity to earn a client for life.

• Talk to people. Whether you are talking shop or just socializing, tune your ear to become more sensitive to the problems that people mention. If you hear a frustrated tone of voice, you can usually follow it to the source to discover a problem. Talking to people can also open you up to partnerships that may lead to other markets.

• Read everything. Reading articles, especially articles that seem to have nothing to do with what you’re selling, can often make your mind more receptive to opportunities.

• Travel. Travel brings you in contact with people, places, products, services, and ideas that may not exist in the world in which you live. In addition, it changes your perspective, which often results in new ideas.

BUILD BUSINESS SYNERGIES

One of the best ways to come up with new ideas and tap into unserved and underserved markets is to team up with businesses and salespeople who offer complementary products and services. As a real estate agent, I have plenty of informal partnerships with title companies, mortgage brokers, attorneys, home inspectors, contractors, and others in my industry and related industries. Together, we can provide a complete menu of services to our clients.

As spokesperson for Blogging Systems (www.bloggingsystems.com), a turnkey solution for real estate agents who want a quick and easy way to establish a presence on the Internet, I am able to use my reputation and contacts to help Blogging Systems market its services while helping my colleagues discover easy ways to market themselves online.

I also reach outside my industry to build more creative business synergies. By becoming involved in Face to Face Live (a company that provides high-quality, affordable videoconferencing solutions), I have discovered remarkable new ways to streamline my own business operations and extend my market reach. At the same time, the folks at Face to Face Live are discovering new applications for their systems in the world of real estate.

Think of what you’re selling and what you can add without having to do any more work. Make sure you’re not getting yourself into a conflict-of-interest situation and that the partnership offers your clients a real value-add.

 

 

Ralph’s Rule: Expose yourself to everything. The more exposure you have to everything life has to offer, the more resources your mind acquires to come up with creative new ideas.