Sixteen Ways to Increase Your Sales

"No one can be everywhere at once." Wrong! The job today is to be in
front of the customer when the need arises.

Here are practical, put-'em-to-work-now ideas for building sales:

1. Keep surprising your customers. Be dramatic. For example, one insurance agency offered to buy small contractors "the biggest steak dinner" in town if its company's policies couldn't save them money on their business insurance.

2. Get to the right person. Addressing mail to "Facilities Manager" or "Office Equipment Buyer" is weak. Hitting the target is the name of today's game and the bull's-eye is coming in contact with the precise individual you want to do business with. Also remember that you may only be selling to one individual today, but others in the same firm may be prospective users or buyers.

3. Be creative. Just getting the mail to the mailroom isn't the goal! Will anyone be intrigued enough to read your mailer or newsletter before tossing it in the wastebasket? Today, it takes a highly creative approach to be distinctive and compelling. Yes, creativity costs money. But if people read your ad, your newsletter and your mailer, you have a much better chance to do business with them.

4. Focus on what your customers care about. No one cares about pictures of your staff or that you think you're the best, the oldest or the biggest. Figuring out precisely what works. When this is your message, your product or service will be in demand.

5. Let people know what they should think of your company. They draw conclusions by making comparisons. Ratings make a big difference to consumers. After several life insurance companies fell by the wayside, customers began asking about "company strength." The J.D. Powers' customer satisfaction surveys of cars and personal computers influence buying behavior. Wise companies spend time and effort consciously influencing the way they are perceived by customers and prospects (and stockholders, too).

6. Make your offer a good one. Customers are cautious. They don't like being put on the spot, because no one wants to make a mistake. This is why offers are so important. "Try it out. There's no obligation." "Use it for 30 days." "Your satisfaction guaranteed." "We'll buy you the biggest steak dinner in town if we don't save you money on your insurance." "Use it risk-free." Pull the customer to you. All this is another way to extend your hand, put people at ease and create confidence in your company and your product.