Be different. Be innovative.
Separate yourself from your competition and the major players. Businesses are much more aware of how Groupon works than they were a year or two ago. They are also aware of the risks associated with running a deal, most notably the possibility to lose money. Use this knowledge to your advantage. You are not Groupon. You are not Living Social. Don’t try to be. Use your smaller than 100 million person user base to your advantage.
Proper Preparation is Key.
Know your mission statement and basic pitch as if it were second nature, but remember to treat each individual business you speak with as just that… unique and individual. The needs of one business are not the same needs of the next business. The pricing that one business can run, probably won’t make sense for the next business. Be clear in your communication and truly discover what this business needs. Proper discovery can help you offer additional value add services. Have a solid understanding of your technology, systems, and potential conversion numbers that the business might be able to expect.
Only Work with the Best
Be mindful of the types of businesses you approach to run a deal on your site. Certain businesses are just not suited to feature one of their promotions on your site so don’t try and make it happen. Your job is to connect your audience with a great product / service at a great discount. Before speaking with a business, know as much info as you can gather from the web and with whom you will need to speak with.
Urgency, Scarcity, and Interactivity
Deal sites by their very nature incorporate urgency, scarcity, and many times interactivity. Use these same traits to close the deal with your merchants. Get this business listed before their competitor lists the deal, your calendar should be filling up, and finally interact with the merchant to help answer any questions, or offer counters to objections or hesitations, ensuring to always be transparent and honest. Enticing them to run a promotion should not be that difficult when you are offering one of the most risk free forms of advertising for them… when done properly that is.
Close the deal.
Get contracts signed, figure out pricing, dates arranged, and photos taken.
Analyze Results
Once the deal has been offered, analyze and provide results to the merchant. Continue following up with them to ensure they are fulfilling their side of the deal with excellence. If everything goes as planned, you should be able to continue working with this merchant.
Marc D. Horne
Phone – 800-794-7192 | Email – support@hcdesk.com
Article originally released on DailyDealMedia.com.
