My discovery of just how powerful tactical loitering can be happened a few years ago when I was an executive for Geeks On Call, a national computer services company. I happened to be traveling and popped into a Starbucks for a much needed caffeine fix and to use their wifi connection to do some work. The only seat available was in the highest traffic area of the shop where people waited to pick up their $5 beverage so I set up camp and started working. Over the next hour and a half I got very little work done but my visit to Starbucks was incredibly productive. Keep reading to find out just how productive!

As I drove away from Starbucks and my caffeine buzz wearing off , it became apparent that I was on to something huge. Loitering when done with a purpose could be used to grow your business. For me it took a laptop, my company name and logo on my shirt, a pile of business cards and a smile or hello to those nearby. The rest was easy as potential customers approached me with their technology questions or problems.

How is tactical loitering used in other businesses? 1800GotJunk is a great example of how to use tactical loitering to drive brand awareness and new revenue opportunities. 1800GotJunk is an international junk hauler (think Sanford and Son with nicer trucks) uses tactical loitering via waves where employees dress up in blue wigs and position themselves in high traffic roads with great visibility. Another method used by Got Junk is to tactically park their junk trucks in high traffic areas during down times, again creating brand awareness and delivering new service opportunities. If you have to park your company vehicle plastered with logos, why not pick a spot where thousands of people can see it.

Coming back to my experience at Starbucks with Geeks On Call, I accomplished the following via tactical loitering:

• I spoke to over a dozen potential customers in 90 minutes all of whom approached me
• I booked 5 appointments for our technicians that resulted in over $1,000 in immediate revenue
• I handed out over 20 business cards that I have no doubt generated additional new business
• One of the new customers, who happened to own a small business, used Geeks On Call to support his office computers spending over $4,500 with our company during the next 12 months

At Geeks On Call, we trained our employees how to use tactical loitering as part of our field marketing program. While tactical loitering did not replace our more structured customer acquisition strategies, it was a nice addition that delivered hundreds of thousands of dollars of new revenue to our business each year.

Tactical Loitering Basics

Tactical loitering isn’t an exact science but there are some basics for it to be effective. I’ve outlined a few of those below.

• Wear your brand! If you have to wear clothes (and who doesn’t), why not wear something with your brand logo and name? At Geeks On Call I wore our company shirt all the time. Our shirts helped to improve brand recognition while I was out of the office at restaurants, stores or business meetings where the shirt would always result in a potential customer asking about my business. By wearing a branded shirt, I literally educated thousands of people personally about our brand by wearing the logo.
• Position yourself where your customers are. For a computer repair company, hanging out at Starbucks was a perfect location since that is where our target customer frequents. For your business, it might be a different location. I know of several home repair services that position employees in Home Depot and Lowes to acquire new customers.
• Be ready with a quick pitch on your business. When someone approaches and asks about your business, be ready with a 5 – 10 word pitch of what you do. For me it was “we provide quality on-site computer solutions for home users and businesses”.
• Establish credibility before trying to close the sale. When someone approaches you or vice versa, you have very little credibility. Take this time to create a rapport and to share your knowledge and expertise. This shows a potential customer that you are an expert in the field.
• Have business cards and marketing information readily available. Always carry business cards to hand out when you are approached. It’s unprofessional to have to write down this information on a napkin or coffee cup.
• Be ready to close the sale. After you have established a rapport and provided some value, ask for the business. I physically called a customer service representative to personally book 5 appointments during my initial Starbucks visit all because I asked for the sale and made it easy for the customer to use our service. Depending upon your business, be able to book an order or service call immediately and make it easy for the customer. Service starts with your first meeting with a customer.
• Don’t get kicked out or scare anyone. Most people don’t like to be approached by a salesperson, especially in a location where they don’t expect it like Starbucks. Let customers come to you when you are loitering. Failure to do so could have a negative outcome and could get you kicked out of your favorite loitering location.
• Smile, be approachable and have fun. This is common sense but don’t be buried in a newspaper, laptop or face the corner. Pick the best location to bump into the most people possible, make eye contact and say hello. If you approach tactical loitering with the right attitude and have a little fun with it, you will grow your business and increase revenue.

Please share your stories and ideas about tactical loitering including the successes, failures and especially the funny incidents.

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