on a piece of paper. However, I do advocate keeping it on a computer.)

Communicate with them on a regular basis. Call them. Send them a note. Email them. Particularly, in today's electronic world, there is no reason not to email people on an ongoing basis. And it's infinitely cheaper than sending out mailers, catalogs or brochures.

Give them a reason to do more business with you. Tell them about new products or services that might interest them. Invite them to a seminar, an expo, or to your new website. Offer them a coupon with an expiration date.

Treat them the way that you would likely to be treated. Yes, the Golden Rule is still in force.

I admit that there is nothing new or really that unique about these ideas. But as I said, most people really know how to build customer relationships because we all know why we frequent our favorite businesses and vendors. Working to "annuitize" your business takes a little more effort, but the result over time will be that you won't have to struggle and fight for each dollar of revenue. In

What's better than making a dollar in revenue today? How about making a dollar today, and then another dollar next month, another dollar the following month and so on? Smart businesses focus not on one-time sales-the transactional approach-but on building long-term customer relationships-the relationship approach. You might call this "annuitizing" your business. An annuity is "a sum of money, payable yearly, to continue for a given number of years, for life, or forever; an annual allowance." In other words, an annuity is a sum of money that you are paid on a regular and consistent basis.

Here's an example. A couple of weeks ago my husband was in Dallas for a business trip. At the end of his trip he had to stop by a gas station to fill up his "midsize" rental car-a Ford Excursion believe it or not (I would hate to see the "fullsize" car)-before he dropped the car off at the airport on his way out of town. His gas bill was about $50 but chances are he will never be back to that gas station again. So his "Lifetime Customer Value" to that business is exactly that--$50.

In comparison, there is an AM/PM station within about 5 minutes of our home that we frequent. Though we often buy gas other places, this store gets the majority of our business. When you figure that we spend perhaps $100+ there any given month, our Lifetime Customer Value to that gas station gets pretty big. For example, over just 5 years we will likely spend $6,000 there ($100/month x 60 months). As you can see, this is significantly more than the fifty dollars that my husband spent at the gas station mentioned earlier.

In many ways your business is just the same. As wonderful as it is to get business from that customer the first time, it will be better yet if that customer comes back to you on a regular, consistent basis and spends an equivalent amount of money monthly or at least several times a year. In other words, you are "annuitizing" your business and each customer is adding significantly to the value of your business. For example, let's say that the focus of your scrapbooking business is home-based retailing. When someone comes to one of your workshops or seminars and buys some scrapbooking products, do you simply say "Thank you very much" and then never contact them again? Or do you treat this as simply the first of many visits to your "store" and then go about devising ways to develop a relationship with that customer and give them reasons to come back to your "store" to spend more money? This latter approach acknowledges the long-term potential purchasing power of this single customer. And with a little more incremental effort you might yield a 10X, 40X or 100X increase in revenue from that customer over the years.

This same thing applies regardless as to the focus of your business: home-based retailer or consultant, an internet-based retailer, a developer of scrapbooking or stamping products, a company that focuses on expos or crops, and so on.

So how do you go about "annuitizing" your customer base? Amazingly, you likely know the answer to the question already. Simply think for a moment about businesses that you frequent, places where you consistently spend money on a consistent basis. Examples might include your favorite gas station, a grocery store, a favorite restaurant, your local Costco or Wal-Mart, a styling salon, or a car dealership. Now think about why you return to these businesses and keep giving them your money. As you might imagine, it's likely for one or more of the following reasons:

Convenience or location

Product selection

Pricing

Relationship

Specials

In the type of business that you run the most important single factor is your relationship. You likely spend your money at places where you're comfortable, "where everybody knows your name" (Like Norm on Cheers), and the same thing applies to your business. If you simply do the following 4 things you will see your business grow from increased business from your customers, less customer turnover and more referrals:

• Know their name. Write it down. Put it in a simple database. As they come back get to know more about them. Write that down, put that in your database. (A "database" doesn't even have to be on a computer. It could simply be notes on a piece of paper. However, I do advocate keeping it on a computer.)
• Communicate with them on a regular basis. Call them. Send them a note. Email them. Particularly, in today's electronic world, there is no reason not to email people on an ongoing basis. And it's infinitely cheaper than sending out mailers, catalogs or brochures.
• Give them a reason to do more business with you. Tell them about new products or services that might interest them. Invite them to a seminar, an expo, or to your new website. Offer them a coupon with an expiration date.
• Treat them the way that you would likely to be treated. Yes, the Golden Rule is still in force.

I admit that there is nothing new or really that unique about these ideas. But as I said, most people really know how to build customer relationships because we all know why we frequent our favorite businesses and vendors. Working to "annuitize" your business takes a little more effort, but the result over time will be that you won't have to struggle and fight for each dollar of revenue. Ins

50.

In comparison, there is an AM/PM station within about 5 minutes of our home that we frequent. Though we often buy gas other places, this store gets the majority of our business. When you figure that we spend perhaps $100+ there any given month, our Lifetime Customer Value to that gas station gets pretty big. For example, over just 5 years we will likely spend $6,000 there ($100/month x 60 months). As you can see, this is significantly more than the fifty dollars that my husband spent at the gas station mentioned earlier.

In many ways your business is just the same. As wonderful as it is to get business from that customer the first time, it will be better yet if that customer comes back to you on a regular, consistent basis and spends an equivalent amount of money monthly or at least several times a year. In other words, you are "annuitizing" your business and each customer is adding significantly to the value of your business. For example, let's say that the focus of your scrapbooking business is home-based retailing. When someone comes to one of your workshops or seminars and buys some scrapbooking products, do you simply say "Thank you very much" and then never contact them again? Or do you treat this as simply the first of many visits to your "store" and then go about devising ways to develop a relationship with that customer and give them reasons to come back to your "store" to spend more money? This latter approach acknowledges the long-term potential purchasing power of this single customer. And with a little more incremental effort you might yield a 10X, 40X or 100X increase in revenue from that customer over the years.

This same thing applies regardless as to the focus of your business: home-based retailer or consultant, an internet-based retailer, a developer of scrapbooking or stamping products, a company that focuses on expos or crops, and so on.

So how do you go about "annuitizing" your customer base? Amazingly, you likely know the answer to the question already. Simply think for a moment about businesses that you frequent, places where you consistently spend money on a consistent basis. Examples might include your favorite gas station, a grocery store, a favorite restaurant, your local Costco or Wal-Mart, a styling salon, or a car dealership. Now think about why you return to these businesses and keep giving them your money. As you might imagine, it's likely for one or more of the following reasons:

Convenience or location

Product selection

Pricing

Relationship

Specials

In the type of business that you run the most important single factor is your relationship. You likely spend your money at places where you're comfortable, "where everybody knows your name" (Like Norm on Cheers), and the same thing applies to your business. If you simply do the following 4 things you will see your business grow from increased business from your customers, less customer turnover and more referrals:

• Know their name. Write it down. Put it in a simple database. As they come back get to know more about them. Write that down, put that in your database. (A "database" doesn't even have to be on a computer. It could simply be notes on a piece of paper. However, I do advocate keeping it on a computer.)
• Communicate with them on a regular basis. Call them. Send them a note. Email them. Particularly, in today's electronic world, there is no reason not to email people on an ongoing basis. And it's infinitely cheaper than sending out mailers, catalogs or brochures.
• Give them a reason to do more business with you. Tell them about new products or services that might interest them. Invite them to a seminar, an expo, or to your new website. Offer them a coupon with an expiration date.
• Treat them the way that you would likely to be treated. Yes, the Golden Rule is still in force.

I admit that there is nothing new or really that unique about these ideas. But as I said, most people really know how to build customer relationships because we all know why we frequent our favorite businesses and vendors. Working to "annuitize" your business takes a little more effort, but the result over time will be that you won't have to struggle and fight for each dollar of revenue. In

orkshops or seminars and buys some scrapbooking products, do you simply say "Thank you very much" and then never contact them again? Or do you treat this as simply the first of many visits to your "store" and then go about devising ways to develop a relationship with that customer and give them reasons to come back to your "store" to spend more money? This latter approach acknowledges the long-term potential purchasing power of this single customer. And with a little more incremental effort you might yield a 10X, 40X or 100X increase in revenue from that customer over the years.

This same thing applies regardless as to the focus of your business: home-based retailer or consultant, an internet-based retailer, a developer of scrapbooking or stamping products, a company that focuses on expos or crops, and so on.

So how do you go about "annuitizing" your customer base? Amazingly, you likely know the answer to the question already. Simply think for a moment about businesses that you frequent, places where you consistently spend money on a consistent basis. Examples might include your favorite gas station, a grocery store, a favorite restaurant, your local Costco or Wal-Mart, a styling salon, or a car dealership. Now think about why you return to these businesses and keep giving them your money. As you might imagine, it's likely for one or more of the following reasons:

Convenience or location

Product selection

Pricing

Relationship

Specials

In the type of business that you run the most important single factor is your relationship. You likely spend your money at places where you're comfortable, "where everybody knows your name" (Like Norm on Cheers), and the same thing applies to your business. If you simply do the following 4 things you will see your business grow from increased business from your customers, less customer turnover and more referrals:

• Know their name. Write it down. Put it in a simple database. As they come back get to know more about them. Write that down, put that in your database. (A "database" doesn't even have to be on a computer. It could simply be notes on a piece of paper. However, I do advocate keeping it on a computer.)
• Communicate with them on a regular basis. Call them. Send them a note. Email them. Particularly, in today's electronic world, there is no reason not to email people on an ongoing basis. And it's infinitely cheaper than sending out mailers, catalogs or brochures.
• Give them a reason to do more business with you. Tell them about new products or services that might interest them. Invite them to a seminar, an expo, or to your new website. Offer them a coupon with an expiration date.
• Treat them the way that you would likely to be treated. Yes, the Golden Rule is still in force.

I admit that there is nothing new or really that unique about these ideas. But as I said, most people really know how to build customer relationships because we all know why we frequent our favorite businesses and vendors. Working to "annuitize" your business takes a little more effort, but the result over time will be that you won't have to struggle and fight for each dollar of revenue. In

ples might include your favorite gas station, a grocery store, a favorite restaurant, your local Costco or Wal-Mart, a styling salon, or a car dealership. Now think about why you return to these businesses and keep giving them your money. As you might imagine, it's likely for one or more of the following reasons:

Convenience or location

Product selection

Pricing

Relationship

Specials

In the type of business that you run the most important single factor is your relationship. You likely spend your money at places where you're comfortable, "where everybody knows your name" (Like Norm on Cheers), and the same thing applies to your business. If you simply do the following 4 things you will see your business grow from increased business from your customers, less customer turnover and more referrals:

• Know their name. Write it down. Put it in a simple database. As they come back get to know more about them. Write that down, put that in your database. (A "database" doesn't even have to be on a computer. It could simply be notes on a piece of paper. However, I do advocate keeping it on a computer.)
• Communicate with them on a regular basis. Call them. Send them a note. Email them. Particularly, in today's electronic world, there is no reason not to email people on an ongoing basis. And it's infinitely cheaper than sending out mailers, catalogs or brochures.
• Give them a reason to do more business with you. Tell them about new products or services that might interest them. Invite them to a seminar, an expo, or to your new website. Offer them a coupon with an expiration date.
• Treat them the way that you would likely to be treated. Yes, the Golden Rule is still in force.

I admit that there is nothing new or really that unique about these ideas. But as I said, most people really know how to build customer relationships because we all know why we frequent our favorite businesses and vendors. Working to "annuitize" your business takes a little more effort, but the result over time will be that you won't have to struggle and fight for each dollar of revenue. In

on a piece of paper. However, I do advocate keeping it on a computer.)

Communicate with them on a regular basis. Call them. Send them a note. Email them. Particularly, in today's electronic world, there is no reason not to email people on an ongoing basis. And it's infinitely cheaper than sending out mailers, catalogs or brochures.

Give them a reason to do more business with you. Tell them about new products or services that might interest them. Invite them to a seminar, an expo, or to your new website. Offer them a coupon with an expiration date.

Treat them the way that you would likely to be treated. Yes, the Golden Rule is still in force.

I admit that there is nothing new or really that unique about these ideas. But as I said, most people really know how to build customer relationships because we all know why we frequent our favorite businesses and vendors. Working to "annuitize" your business takes a little more effort, but the result over time will be that you won't have to struggle and fight for each dollar of revenue. Instead you will have a base of business that you can somewhat "count on". This gives you more flexibility to find new and creative ways to build your business further.