147

Many communities have a “we take care of our own” men-

tality. They can help a lot more when they really know you.

Epilogue

Epilogue

Epilogue

Epilogue

Epilogue

120

100 Percent Participation in

Intelligence-Gathering

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