147
Many communities have a “we take care of our own” men-
tality. They can help a lot more when they really know you.
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Knowing what’s going on in the communities you serve
will help you sell more. And your goal should be 100-percent
employee participation in this process. When everyone helps
you will collect more and better intelligence, and employees
will get more engaged in the company’s growth.
Routine information-gathering should include items about
all of your groups of influence, including: customers, prospects,
suppliers, employees, and the community. Here’s a starting list
of intelligence-gathering tips:
u
Ask staff to bring in clippings from newspapers
and other pubs.
u
Expect all staff to enhance customer profiles if
they learn new information.
u
Watch for personal information that may call for
a card or gift to a key contact (promotions, births,
anniversaries, and so forth).
u
If you are a one-person show consider using a
clipping service to watch for key elements of
importance.
Quick Ideas 118 to 120