Generating New Business in a Down Economy

With the housing market continuing to suffer, financial institutions struggling to stay solvent, and a deficit expanding, the outlook for new business appears bleak to many. As the success in the household moving and storage industry remains tied to the housing market, company owners are asking themselves, “How can we grow our business when the market is shrinking?” Pockets of stronger real estate markets exist throughout the country. According to a recent article in BusinessWeek, Spartanburg, SC has had an increase in home values of 1.81% in 2009, Binghamton, NY is up 4.45%, and Champaign-Urbana, IL is one of the top thirty housing markets in the country.
Boeing and Microsoft have laid off thousands of workers in 2009. Other companies have cut employee pay and benefits as a way to reduce overall costs. Streamlining expenses is important and necessary, but not the only way to make it through the tough times. Finding new revenue streams is key to a company’s long term success. A stool with one leg will not stand for very long. Similarly, a company will not last very long with one source of income. Adding more revenue streams will help your organization stand strong during lean times.

Here are four ways to increase and diversify revenue while the market recovers:

1. Treat real estate agents like national accounts-Who knows about moves or potential move before they even end up in the MLS? Real estate agents, of course. The average homeowner that lists their home for sale receives between 10 and 20 pieces of direct mail from moving and storage companies. When moving and storage sales representatives strengthen relationships with real estate agents, referrals are more likely to flow. Referral fees for booked moves can also have a positive impact on the amount of referrals. Inviting agents to tour your company facilities or observe the care that the crew takes on a move are additional ways to create confidence in your organization.
2. Turn all of your employees into salespeople-The saying goes “There are two types of people in this world: those that know that they are in sales and those that don’t.” Everyone is in sales. Do your crew members and office staff generate new business? Do they have an incentive to help grow your business? Many movers have programs in place that split the commission for a move between the sales representative that actually books the move and the employee that referred the new customer. Make sure that everyone in your organization realizes the impact that a referral has to the company. If you employ 20 people that each refer one move that averages $5,000, that is an additional $100,000 of revenue to your organization.
3. New furniture delivery-The slow time in the industry is typically October to April. Most retail businesses, including furniture stores, have their peak business in the fourth quarter. Assign a salesperson to seek out retail delivery business. Many furniture stores contract their deliveries out already. They do not want to make deliveries, they want to sell furniture. Show them the benefits of outsourcing this function of their business.
4. Disaster restoration-Frozen pipes and house fires are terrible situations that homeowners sometimes have to deal with. Aligning your company with service providers such as ServiceMaster, Servpro, and similar companies can provide additional business for your slower season. Most disaster restoration companies have limited warehousing space and personnel available to pick up and store damaged goods so that they can be cleaned and restored. This business is typically short-notice, but can fill the empty spaces on your dispatch board. One east coast moving company had their best year in the company’s history as they worked through the aftermath of cleanup and restoration from a hurricane that damaged many local hotels.

Persistence and patience in developing new business will pay off for your organization. Strengthening your sales efforts in a tough economy will make your company even more profitable as business recovers to pre-recession levels. Your team will maintain the additional business that they created during the slow times and will continue to seek out new opportunities for growth.