Choose your business partners with great care


Bringing in business yourself is usually satisfying - but how much better would it be if other people brought business to you? Choosing the correct partner organizations can make a dramatic difference to you - the right partner can do most of your selling for you personally, and will be more than happy to do so if it benefits their own business. If the businesses are suitably complementary, it may be feasible for you personally to pass business back their way - benefiting both of you even further.

Swansea Sport Flying is an ultralight flying school operating out of Swansea Airport, on the Gower Peninsula in South Wales. The Gower is an region of outstanding natural beauty, with many hotels and guest houses that are thronged with visitors each summer.

Swansea Sport Flying does a roaring trade in trial lessons during the summer time, when tourists take the chance to see the Gower from the air and also have a go at flying an ultralight (with an instructor on board, of course).

To promote trial flights, the school has an arrangement with most of the guest houses, hotels, and pubs on the Gower. The guest home has trial-flight vouchers to sell, for which they take a 10 percent deposit to firm up the booking.

The consumer pays the remaining fee when he or she arrives to take the flight: the guest house keeps the deposit as its commission on the deal. This keeps the bookkeeping easy, and provided the guest houses have a good supply of vouchers it's clearly in their interests to sell flights - after all, the sale of a flight is simply additional money for them, for no extra outlay.

It also adds another service to their existing business, with no effort or outlay. In some cases, guest house owners have had trial lessons themselves, which of course makes them both more convincing and more enthusiastic when recommending the experience to guests.

From the viewpoint of the flying school, the trial lessons are just an extra income, for the effort of delivering blank vouchers towards the guest houses, something that can easily be done on days when the climate is bad and there is no flying.

In return, the flying school keeps a list of recommended guest houses. This really is accessible for student pilots who reside far enough away from the school to make it worth while booking into a guest house - often a useful thing to complete in the winter, when flying may be cancelled due to the climate and some days might only be suitable for a few hours early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Visiting pilots often also need someplace to remain.

Attempt to find a partner with a complementary business. Keep any cash exchanges easy - letting them maintain the deposits is a easy way of sharing the wealth. Stay in touch with your partners, so they keep in mind to push your business. Maintain partners informed about any changes that may affect the way you operate together. If feasible, let your partners try your service.

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Note: This article was sent to us by: Craig Morris at 01202011

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