Contingency Plans

EDITOR'S NOTE: You can make more money, increase your business and build longevity in your relationships with your customers if you take them hunting and fishing with you. Many companies overlook this critical key in this day of bean counters, bottom lines and high-pressure sales. The better you know your customers, and more importantly, the better your customers know you, the more business each of you will do with the other and the better you can serve that customer. This week, we're looking at the reasons you should take your clients hunting and fishing, as well as ways to make your hunting and fishing trips more effective.

If you plan to take your customers on the fishing trip of a lifetime, you must have a contingency plan for what to do if the fish don't bite. Your customer needs to catch more or bigger fish than he ever has caught in his life.

* Bass Fishing Trip - Talk with your bass-fishing guide before you and your customer arrive at the lake. Ask the guide to tell you what you'll fish for on your day at the lake if the bass don't bite. I've seen many planned bass-fishing trips develop into the greatest crappie, catfish, white bass, saltwater striped bass or walleye trips of a lifetime, when the bass don't bite.

* Saltwater Fishing Trip - Spending the day out on the ocean or in the Gulf of Mexico with your customer strengthens your bond with that customer. Discuss with your captain well in advance of your trip that you want your customer to catch the biggest fish he's ever caught in his life. Make sure that your captain plans to target more than one species of fish during the day of fishing.

Also, ask your captain to help you develop a backup plan if you find the water too rough for fishing. Learn whether your captain will have inshore guides on stand-by if the area has rough seas on the day you plan to fish.

Hunting trips can fall through as well if you aren't prepared with a plan for rainy weather. Regardless of how well you plan for a corporate trip, sooner or later, rainy weather will come your way. Know where you can go and what you can do if the area has inclement weather. Include some type of memorable activity in your rainy-day plan that gets you and your customer out of the hotel or away from the lodge. Too, you can take exciting hunting videos with you to show on the big-screen TV at the lodge or hotel.

Tomorrow: The Place for Some Action