Okay Steppers, you asked for it, you got it. “How can I generate short term cash in an existing business?”

Actually, this is the easiest thing to do– make money in a short period of time– because in an existing business, you already have the most valuable asset a business owner can have…a list of existing customers!

These folks know where you are located… have bought from you in the past… and are more likely to buy from you in the future. All you have to do is give them a reason to.

Here are the Top Ten quick ways to generate quick cash:

10. SURVEY Yes, a survey generates cash. Why? Top of Mind Awareness. See, when you ask your present customers what they think of you, what you might improve, and what you can offer them in the future… not only do you gain valuable information about how to treat them and what to offer them in the future… you also put yourself in your customer’s minds right now. If they weren’t a-hankerin’ for what you supply right then, you can bet they will be now!

9. NEW PRODUCT OR SERVICE The best part about the survey above is that it may give you ideas, right from your customer’s very heart, about what else you may offer them now or in the future… that you haven’t yet. And you can bet they will buy right now because of your heartfelt and immediate response.

8. REPACKAGE Have anything in inventory that hasn’t moved in a while? Consider contacting your customers and giving that item away free or at a very low price along with the purchase of something else that you know moves like hotcakes. Or sell the item you are trying to move and include a cute little bonus that doesn’t cost you very much, but that you know customers would like as a ‘side benefit’ to what you are selling. Would you like fries with that?

7. ONE DAY FIRE SALE Let everyone know you are making room for something new that you know everyone will want… but have to clear the shelves. There’s a time limit so order now. You may or may not need to offer a discount; consider the ‘repackage’ idea above and get your inventory off the shelf! Use time limits on your offer of a special event, special price, or special product to create urgency. You can use this idea with service businesses too. Example: “Miss Sheri can only accept eleven more dance students for private lessons at this price, after 7:00 pm tonight she will not be accepting any new clients”.

6. SCRATCH AND DENT SALE I have an information business associate that never offers a “discount”. He correctly believes that discounts often downgrade the value that clients put on items he sells. However, once he wanted to clear his storage unit of his ‘old’ real estate investment home study courses to make way for a new program. I remember him dumping a box on the floor and having a ‘scratch and dent sale’… pretty sneaky I guess, but it let him maintain his ‘no discount’ policy and still make a mint from folks that had been on the fence about buying his course and were just slightly priced out. What did he do when he received more orders than he had damaged merchandise? Print up more three ring binders and burn more CDs, whaddya think?

5. CUSTOMER APPRECIATION EVENT Some folks call this a ‘sale’. But who do you know in business that’s not having a ‘sale’? Stand out and be different. How about inviting your customers to come to your establishment, your web page, or whereever you do business… and invite them to partake of free food and drink, a show, receive a valuable gift… oh, and when they get there, you are still open for business and have items out with or without discounts? You bet yer sweet tushie that reaching your existing customers and appreciating them like this will cost less than trying to reach new customers… and that the event will instill long lasting goodwill from and for those people that you and your business value most.

4. FACEBOOK/TWITTER BLAST Not ‘spam’… but just a couple of well-placed trivia contests, interactive sorts of questions, viral kind of jokes or videos… followed by an offer or announcement of one of the above events. Example: I once took a pic of my favorite cold drink at Starbucks in their clear containers. I said, “The elixir of life! First person to correctly identify my Starbucks drink wins a free private (martial arts) lesson for themselves or a loved one.” I got 52 comments in the next two hours. That ‘picture trivia’ generated a boatload of buzz about Starbucks, my studio… and gave me leads to call later about private lessons. “Hi, Rick? You took a guess on that pic, thanks. Was it because you were interested in lessons for yourself or a friend?”

3. SAY “THANKS” As a window cleaning business owner, I sent thank-you cards at a time that it was not expected. There was no agenda, no discount, special offer, no prompt like “if you ever need window cleaning again, please call me” or “the best compliment you can give me is a referral to your family and friends…” There was nothing to these cards except thank you for letting me clean your windows. Now, saying thank you is something that you should do whether or not you receive something for remembering to do so.

But… Guess what? Without any advertising or special discount offers, no urgency or bribes of any kind… After sending out about 110 handwritten thank you’s on postcards, I got ten phone calls saying “Thank you for your nice card!” and SEVEN of those callers set appointments to have their windows done within the next two weeks. It actually created scheduling problems to have  $2500 of new business drop in my lap at once, added to the jobs I already had scheduled. Good problem to have 😉

2. SEQUENCED MAILING One of the most amazing things I ever saw in business was how effective ‘dunning’ letters were. This is the hardest sale to make: getting a customer to pay for a product or service that he’s ALREADY gotten. But dunning letters work… first you get the notice. Then, the second notice. Finally, a FINAL NOTICE. The implication is that if you don’t take action now, something big is going to happen.

Well, unless you actually are in collections,  your marketing message should probably lean more toward the benefits of acting now… rather than the consequences of failing to act… but you get the picture. A sequence of messages communicates stability and persistence. It promotes top of mind awareness. And coupled with one or more of the above strategies, it can pack a one-two knockout power punch that doubles the new business you are signing.

1. SAY A PRAYER The most effective thing I ever did for my business was to go to some One infinitely wiser… and with infinitely more resources than me… and say, “Please.” I encourage you to do the same. Believe like I do or don’t, but prayer works.

Okay, Steppers! I’m looking forward to hearing what things you picked from the above list to make extra money RIGHT NOW for your business. Take a minute and gimme your two cents below, wouldja?

Keep Stepping,

Kurt