The envelope thudded on the front door mat and I eagerly opened it to discover the seed packets inside. I could already see the abundance of colour in the garden and the taste of the freshly picked vegetables.
I turned over the packets to read the instructions (yes I do read them!) and discovered that one type of seed would take between 1 and 3 months to germinate and another between 5 and 10 days. Wow what a difference!
“I’d better sow the 1 – 3 month seeds straight away otherwise they would not produce any flowers this summer”, I thought. I then also realised that the shorter germinating seeds should be sown before the end of March so they needed to be sown straight away too!
So there I was in my greenhouse opening the packets and sprinkling them in the seed trays as it was getting dark that evening. Once again I was reminded of the similarities between growing plants from seed and growing new clients and customers.
- Allow time for your seeds to germinate – rarely do contacts become clients immediately especially in a B2B marketplace.
- Different seeds take different lengths of time to germinate – there is no standard timescale for converting a contact into a client.
- Plan ahead – my planning started with considering how I want my garden to be this year, choosing the seeds, ordering them and now sowing them. In business this is about developing your annual sales and marketing plan in line with your strategy, being clear on your target market, generating leads and contacts and following them through.
- Regular activity – sowing seeds regularly, especially vegetable seeds ensures a long harvest over many months. Sales and marketing activity needs to be consistent to ensure a consistent flow of new business.
- Tailor your activity to the individual. Pay attention to the instructions on the packet – different seeds need different conditions. Find out about your buyer and discover how they like to be sold to.
- Look after them – you can’t just sow the seeds and forget about them. They need constant care and attention to grow into healthy and long-living plants. Potential clients need to be nurtured and to feel cared for while they are deciding whether to buy from you.
Follow these tips and you will have a great harvest. If you need a bit more of a helping hand to develop your green fingers contact me via email at j.harris@auricresults.co.uk or on 01189690783.