increase sales

5 Ways To Grow Your Business Despite The Economic Crisis

Elaine Pofeldt — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 22:12:29 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/articles/5-ways-to-grow-your-business-despite-the-econo...

Looking at the gridlock in Washington, it’s easy to get discouraged about the future of your business. But entrepreneurs have a long history of tunneling under, over and around obstacles—and finding new opportunities on the other side. You can do the same, even if the obstacle is as daunting as the current economic uncertainty we all face.

Here are some strategies to us to grow your business, despite today’s political climate.

Seek more business from highly profitable clients.

“It takes the same amount of time to get a so-so client as it does to get a really good client,” says Bert Martinez, CEO of sales and marketing consultancy Bert Martinez Communications, based in Phoenix and Houston. Do careful market research, and focus on the small percentage of customers in your niche who can realistically help you double your sales profitably, he advises. “Contact them every two weeks,” he suggests. Alternate your means of communication from phone to mail to email—and then repeat the cycle until you are able to set up an appointment to meet them or talk by phone, he advises.

Remember: An ambitious goal like doubling your sales isn’t achievable in a month. But if you start working on building your relationship with prize clients now, you’ll be in much better shape than you would be if you keep doing the same old, same old.

Try education-based marketing.

One of the best ways to reach busy prospects is to offer them information that will help them to do their jobs better, says Martinez. That can be as simple as calling them to share some new data you’ve gathered at your business on an industry trend that may be useful to them—without trying to sell them anything. “The benefit here is that you come in as an expert,” he says. “You’re really gaining a high level of trust and rapport.” Sharing your expertise will keep you top of mind if the prospect needs your services in the future.

Use your website to capture more leads.

Offer a great white paper or something else that’s valuable to potential customers for free or a very low cost—and require people to enter their contact information to obtain it, says Kris Cavanaugh, who advises business owners on how to achieve their goals at Shift, an Atlanta firm. This will help you to build a robust contact list. Of course, you’ve eventually got to reach out to folks who share their information to sell them something. “It’s all about follow through,” she says.

Find out what matters to your prospects.

“It doesn’t matter what the economy does—people will buy what they are connected to,” says Cavanaugh. When talking with current and potential customers, make sure you are able to make a clear connection between the product or service you’re selling and what they are going to get from it, she advises. “Do some extra questioning,” she suggests. “If you ask the right questions, you’re going to get to the deeper reasons someone wants something and close the deal earlier.”

Invest in your business.

Even if your budget is tight, it’s important to make strategic investments that will keep your company moving forward, such bringing your website up to date, says Cavanaugh. “All day, we, as small business owners, ask our prospects to take a risk and hire us,” she says. “If you’re not doing it for yourself, you’re not standing on a strong enough foundation to get other people to do it for themselves.”

This article is from Elaine Pofeldt of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

7 Easy Ways to Sell More

Heather Allard — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 18:37:01 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/articles/7-easy-ways-to-sell-more

When you’re in business, your main goal is to sell, sell, sell. Sometimes sales may seem more like your nemesis than the lifeblood of your business. Product sales ebb and flow and can be difficult to predict. Keeping the sales momentum going, and growing, can be easier (and less frustrating) if you follow these seven steps.

1. Get Your Product into Celebrity Hands

Celebrity endorsements go a long way. Just ask any small business owner whose products have been spotted on the hottest celebs in Hollywood. Gossip television shows and tabloids are perfect for showcasing celebrities sporting the latest and greatest.

The result? Every star-obsessed consumer simply must have whatever their favorite celebrity wears, eats, and uses. If said celebrity is wearing, eating, or using your product – bingo – more sales for you!

How exactly do you get your product into celebrity hands? It's easy with services like Jordan McAuley's Contact Any Celebrity and Sarah Shaw's Instantly Famous Products.

You might also consider being part of a celebrity gifting suite in which celebrities receive gift bags or baskets full of hot new products. You may be able to land a spot in a gifting opportunity at a star-studded event like an awards show, or as part of a celebrity new-mom baby gifting. Be sure to connect with the pros like Jordan or Sarah to learn how it’s done.

2. Get Famous

Publicity is crème de la crème exposure for your business because, and, unlike paid advertising, it is unbiased.

Now, to get publicity, you can hire a publicist who does all the work...and usually costs thousands of dollars to generate fame for you.

Or, if your budget is a little more modest and you’re not afraid to get your hands dirty, you can start drumming up fame all by yourself.

There are so many free ways to gain your own publicity; a little DIY can launch you into the big-time without spending big bucks.

3. Real World Testimonials

Let’s face it. No one is really comfortable making a purchase from a business they aren’t already familiar with. People like to be reassured that they can trust you.

Referrals equal reassurance.

Your customers are your most valuable asset. Gather up their positive testimonials and place them front and center where potential customers can see. Make space on your website’s homepage for real-life testimonials about your product. Don’t have testimonials yet? Don’t be shy about contacting past clients and asking.

4. Location, location, location

Realtors swear by this for a good reason. If you don’t know where your customers are, how are you going to market to them?

Know where your clients hang-out, both online and in real life. What blogs does your target market visit? What online forums are they likely to read? What real-life events are they likely to attend?

Once you’ve done your research, start getting noticed. Write guest posts for blogs, purchase advertisements, or drum up some media coverage in those locations.

5. Take Seasonal Advantage

Don’t overlook the cycle of the seasons. Holidays, changes in the seasons, and tax time are great marketing times. Consumers are shopping these times of the year – make sure they spend some money with you!

Consider hosting sales, offering free shipping, or other incentives during these times to generate more interest and sales.

6. Use Video

Creating fun, informative videos is a great way to stand out and gain attention from both retail and wholesale customers. Video lets you display the benefits of your product in way that makes you and your product more real and tangible.

Grab a video camera – point and shoot! Record how your product is used and talk about its features and benefits. Upload your completed video to YouTube.com as an instant marketing tool. Email a link to your video to your wholesale contact list, along with wholesale pricing, availability, and an order form.

Don’t forget to post your video on your Facebook page and website, too. If you’re offering a “sneak-peak” product, showcase the video now and offer an incentive, like free shipping, for your fans and customers to buy when the product is available.

7. Offer Incentives

Everyone loves a good deal. Why not make it more enticing to buy something by giving your customers a little nudge? Two-for-one deals, free shipping, coupon codes, and free gifts are all dangling carrots you can use to make the sale. Make sure the incentives are clearly displayed on your website, Facebook fan page, or other social site, so everyone knows you’re dishing out goodies!

This article is from Heather Allard of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

5 Ways to Turn Every Employee into a Rainmaker

Elaine Pofeldt — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 23:30:03 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/managing/article/5-ways-to-turn-every-e...

Are your sales people the only employees at your company besides you who think about selling every day? If so, your business could be at a big disadvantage.

Every member of your team can help you improve your revenues if you set the right tone, says Alan Siege, founder of Small Business Management Consulting in Brooklyn, N.Y. “Every employee or independent contractor has to appreciate the fact that they represent the brand,” he says. “The more polite, efficient and effective they are, the more likely the business will attract and keep customers.”

How do you turn every employee – from your receptionist to your office cleaner – into a rainmaker? Try these strategies.

Know when to disconnect from technology

If you run a service business and have been short staffed, it may seem convenient to let calls go to voice mail during busy periods. Big mistake. Make sure that customers can reach a live person on the phone during the hours you are open, so they don’t get frustrated and give up on doing business with you. “You have to be really careful about where you utilize technology,” says Siege, who is an instructor in the Kauffman FastTrac program, an educational program for entrepreneurs. An employee who listens well to customers and makes an effort to accommodate them can work wonders in helping you to build a loyal client base, he says.

Explain the selling process

“In every business, everyone to some degree can be a rainmaker if they understand how leads are produced,” says Siege. If, for instance, you get most of your new clients from word of mouth referrals, share that with your employees. You’ll want every member of your team to focus on delivering a level of service that makes customers want to tell their friends to use your business.

Appeal to employees’ self interest

Sometimes, staffers may not recognize that if, say, they take a personal call on their mobile phone while a hurried customer is waiting for help, they may drive that patron elsewhere, hurting the business. To make sure all employees understand their role in selling your product or service, share with them how the business is doing and explain how their efforts fit into the big picture. Tell them, “The better we do, the more secure your job is,” Siege advises.

Reward innovation and problem solving

Front line workers who deal directly with customers can be a good source of ideas on new products and services you can provide to keep your customers coming back. But you may have to prompt them to share their ideas. Hold contests to encourage your team to come up with more ways to sell – and award an appealing prize to the winner. “That way, you’ll motivate people,” he says.

Get tough

What if you’ve made hiring mistakes and some members of your team don’t seem motivated to keep customers happy? Maybe they’re even rude. While you may be able to correct such problems with proper training, you may not reach everyone. “It’s a little hard to motivate people who don’t inherently care about something,” says Siege. Let employees know that anyone who doesn’t treat customers well over a period of time will be out of a job, he says. It may seem drastic, but no business can afford to drive away existing customers. You’re better off looking for new employees who really do care about helping you grow.

This article is from Elaine Pofeldt of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

59 Ways To Get A Bright Idea

Julie Rains — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 19:04:12 +0000

Looking for a creativity boost? Here are 59 ways to get inspired and generate ideas that can help you gain a fresh perspective, solve a problem, present information, increase profits, and more --- TODAY.

Start with clearing your mind:
1) Take a walk, hike, or bicycle ride
2) Read a romance or mystery novel
3) Visit a playground and swing

4) Indulge yourself with something new: try a new flavor at Baskin-Robbins, a new pastry at the bakery, or a new tea at the tearoom
5) Go to a toy store

Start with clearing your mind:
1) Take a walk, hike, or bicycle ride
2) Read a romance or mystery novel
3) Visit a playground and swing

4) Indulge yourself with something new: try a new flavor at Baskin-Robbins, a new pastry at the bakery, or a new tea at the tearoom
5) Go to a toy store

Reconsider your problem or opportunity:
6) Restate your problem until you get to its simplest form (example: “I need to money for a car” becomes “I need transportation” becomes “I need a way to get to work” or “I need a way to get groceries”) and then consider your options
7) Define, then challenge assumptions and consider new possibilities for solving problems (problem: “I want to share photos”; assumption: “I need to buy double photo prints in order to give photos to a friend” becomes “I can take digital images and email images to my friend” or “I can take digital images, upload them to a photo-sharing site, and invite my friend to view the photos”)
8) Reverse assumptions (“I can generate income on photos from my friends” perhaps by receiving royalty payments on images that my friends download and/or print)
9) Consider what the problem looks like from your co-workers', shareholders', customers’, and/or vendors’ perspectives.
10) Reread the rules (does it really say you can’t do <insert your idea here> ?)

Think of ways to make more money for your company:
11) Sell a complementary service if you sell products only now
12) Sell a complementary product if you sell services only now
13) Transform byproducts (waste) into a product or service (my municipality is selling organic pellets from a wastewater treatment plant, which will generate $30,000 in annual sales but will save $800,000 in waste-disposal costs)

14) Find a new market for an existing product or technology (GPS moves from military applications to car navigation and fitness tracking)
15) Join forces with a business partner for special projects
16) Simplify your pricing
17) Bundle products (generate a higher dollar amount per transaction, increase total sales)
18) Un-bundle products (sell products separately with lower dollar amount per transaction, generate higher profit margins)
19) Restrict supply to increase demand and produce higher profit margins
20) Increase supply to generate higher sales

Get someone else’s perspective for a specific problem or dilemma, ask for advice from a(n):
21) Friend
22) Child
23) Customer
24) Vendor
25) Someone from a different culture
26) Person over 65 years old
27) Expert
28) Stakeholder
29) Someone who (previously) knows or cares nothing about your problem

Discover new ways to
attract people to a business, civic club, professional association, etc.:
30) Listen to a new radio station
31) Visit a new website
32) Try a new restaurant
33) See a new movie

present information by going to a(n):
34) Art exhibit
35) Concert
36) Speaker program
37) Craft fair

38) Worship service (contemporary or traditional)
39) Museum with multimedia exhibits (such as the International Spy Museum)
40) Community event
41) Trade show

package products:
42) Make the product easier to ship, hold, or store
43) Create packaging that has a use after the product is opened (Lego Bionicles come with packaging that can store pieces or serve as a stand for completed sets)

make a product more effective, more versatile, less expensive, and/or more environmentally friendly:
44) Add a feature(s) that makes the product easier to use or expands its capabilities
45) Identify new uses for existing products (See Myscha's posts on canning jars)
46) Eliminate a component
47) Substitute a part
48) Make it easier to replace parts (shoes with replaceable parts)
49) Change materials
50) Modify the product for a new application
51) Combine it with another product (phone+camera = camera phone)
52) Eliminate a function
53) Add functions that are related (electricity + blanket = electric blanket)
54) Add functions that are unrelated to original purpose (Smart Shirt invented by researchers at Georgia Tech enables detection of wearers' vital signs with applications for healthcare, fitness, and more)

Test new methods to spark ideas for becoming more efficient:
55) Eliminate a step and see if the result is the same
56) Do a process in reverse
57) Change the schedule (See Greg's discussion on the 28-hour day schedule in the forums)

58) Try out ideas you had already considered but were afraid to try
59) Reintroduce an old business model with your own twist (In the 80s, you could rent movie videos at the grocery store, then came free-standing video rental stores, then mail-order services; once again, you can find rental movies at the grocery store via redbox)

Ways of generating ideas were inspired by the book Thinkertoys and my experiences as an Odyssey of the Mind coach. Share your techniques for encouraging innovation.

Like This Article? Pin it!

This article is from Julie Rains of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: