Five Tips to Generate Short-term, Long-term Sales

A reader writes:

Q: My sales were down in my small company last year and so far  sales are flat, too. Help? What can I do?

A: You can do plenty. Before you get hung up on social media and viral marketing, decide priorities. It takes time to tweet and blog. If you have to decide whether to see people in person or do the Internet thing, go personal during the daytime. Spend your evenings strategizing about the Internet. Go back to the basics.

Organization. What does your desk and car look like? Start and maintain a master to-do list and put papers away in a logical order. Calendars are great; otherwise use your list and update it everyday. Projects left undone should be moved to the following day.

Starting on Monday, you should review your day before shutting down each night. That means assess your performance at the end of each day and evaluate what you did well and what you could have done better. Then, review your plans for Tuesday. Follow this procedure each day.

By Thursday, you should develop an overview for the following week. On Friday, finalize your plans for Monday and so forth.

Regarding clutter, if you haven’t used a piece of paper for six months, ask yourself when you will need to do so. Get rid of unnecessary papers and post-it notes. Keep receipts for tax-filing purposes.

Never handle the same piece of paper twice, and prioritize. Handle all important tasks, and answer e-mails and letters promptly. Some details interfere with more pressing deadlines; put such reminders of those tasks in a “Priority B in-box”. Deal with those at the end of the day or schedule them for processing at a specific later time.

Avoid deadlines; they’re a huge time-waster.

The first hour of every day should be spent on tasks that you dread. If you handle unpleasant tasks first, the rest of the day will be a breeze.

Don’t let people randomize you. If they don’t consider your time and energy important, make sure they don’t. Don’t react to annoying people. First decide whether you need them to operate your business successfully. If you do, remember this mantra: “No matter what there are no big deals.”  Save your energy to enthusiastically serve your customers. And remember it’s never okay to get angry in business.

My important vendors who perform inadequately get a copy of my firm’s 60 ground rules for client service, 60 Ground Rules for Effective Client Service. I tell such people that I value them, but I inform them what I expect in the way of good customer service. If not, I quietly give others my business and I treat good vendors as though they’re valued customers or strategic partners.

Use filters in your e-mail so that they land in your e-mail in an organized fashion. If you’re a sole proprietor home-based business, beware: only use the automatic reply “out of office” if you don’t care if people know you’re away on vacation or out-of-town on business.

Exercise regularly. Even just taking walks will clear your brain and refresh you.

Set sales priorities. Review your branding slogan. Do you use a phrase of three to five words that tell your story? Mine as a business-performance consultant and columnist is, for example: “Proven Solutions for Maximum Profits.”

Develop benefit statements that best describe your features.

Devote at least 20 percent of your time each day to making sales calls on ideal prospects. If they’re busy, try again in a week. To lay a long-term foundation for growth, devote another 10 percent each day to marketing, networking or shameless self-promotion. In that way, you’ll be sure to line up business as projects expire.

Look for opportunities to express an attitude of gratitude and an attitude of service.

Without disrupting your profit margins, give customers unexpected 10 percent in added value. Regularly thank your customers in your routine e-mails and faxes, and send hand-written thank you notes via snail mail.

Prevent buyers’ remorse. A statement I use to prevent buyers’ remorse: “You’ll be very pleased with the strong results.”

If you make a mistake, flaunt it. It doesn’t hurt to use self-effacing comments that demonstrate humility. But avoid asking for forgiveness. You’ll find customers will laugh off your mistakes, especially if you are organized and efficient 99 percent of the time.

In a subtle manner, solicit compliments. When you receive a compliment, get referrals: “What are the names of two people just like you who would benefit from this product (or service)?” Don’t merely ask: “Can you refer a customer to me?”

Personal and business marketing. If you don’t have time to write a business or vision plan, set short-term and long-term goals after taking inventory. On a piece of paper, take an hour or two to list your strengths and weaknesses. Remember that every strength can be a weakness and that every weakness can be a strength.

For example, are you known for being assertive or do you occasionally go overboard in being aggressive? The ideal is become assertive. Think about what you say before you say it. Think about what to do before taking action. Remember the ramifications of each if you don’t.

Hone your strengths and alleviate your weaknesses.

Entertaining clients and customers. Pay for at least half the lunches. When the customer or vendor pays, be mindful of her/his budget and don’t order the most expensive meal.

Receivables. Send out invoices right away. If you bill by retainer, present them in-person to your clients each month.

Do customers take you for granted? If so, develop a strategy to inspire their confidence in you and your business. If that fails, start looking for prospects to replace them. If customers suffer from poor cash flow make certain they pay your bills before they pay others. Treat every communication as though it’s an event. Dress professionally and be on time. Make sure they know you appreciate the opportunity serve them.

Treat your bills to them and their funds as investments in their business. Keep all commitments. Prevent your customers from suffering negative surprises.

Remember, about 18 percent of Americans will only buy the cheapest products and services.  Such customers are not loyal and they’re prone to return products.

The other 82 percent of customers will spend more money with you and pay on time when they have five positive motivating buying perceptions about you:

• What customers think of you personally – are you prompt, organized and service-oriented?
• Image of your company – does it have a professional appearance?
• Product or service utility – customers want to know how they’ll benefit from you
• Convenience – can they reach you easily or conduct business without any hassles?
• Price – are your prices reasonable?

The bottom-line: remember to practice empathy and the Golden Rule. What goes around comes around. Oh, and now’s the time to focus on the Internet thing.  Good luck!

From the Coach’s Corner, be sure also to budget time to read for business and personal pleasure.

And send articles that pertain to your customers’ businesses: “When I spotted this article, I thought about you.”

Customers appreciate well-read businesspeople. In this way, you’ll become an invaluable go-to person.

 “Timid salesmen have skinny kids.”

-Zig Ziglar

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Columnist Terry Corbell is also a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?