4 Simple Things You Can Do Today to Boost Sales

Call a good customer today and tell them that you appreciate their business

How often do we get wrapped up in day to day activities or in the pursuit of new customers that we forget to appreciate our customers (or our friends and family for that matter). Sure you take them to lunch on occasion and invite them to the box suite at the ballgame, but don't let that be a substitute for a simple, "Thanks for your business."

Ask a customer what events and organizations they use as networking vehicles

If you attend an event or the monthly meeting of a trade group on the referral of a respected colleague, it's a though you have a chance to make a roomful of sales calls that are warm leads.

Invest in Sales or Communications Training for you and your employees
There's hardly anything more effective in driving sales in your organization than getting buy-in from every single employee on the importance of sales and of their value to the organization in that regard. Let them know that every time they interact with someone outside the firm is an opportunity to enhance the perception of your firm.

Write an article on your expertise

If you've been on this planet for at least 20 years, you're probably an expert at something - that's the easy part. Having the discipline to reflect on your accomplishments and to document those keys to success in such a way that the information is useful to others and can be published in a periodical, a newspaper, and Op-Ed, or an e-zine such as this - that's more difficult. Yet in the age of the savvy consumer, such exposure is significantly more effective than advertising.

Super Bowl Ads - The Winners and Why

The much anticipated and analyzed Super Bowl ads got me thinking about an age-0ld advertising question - do ads that merely entertain actually have an effect on consumer behavior. The key in my opinion is to entertain in a manner that links the entertaining material to the product. If folks enjoy the ads but don't remember the source of the frivolity, then what's the point?

I would guess that if a commercial is so overwhelmingly popular that everyone is chatting about it at the water coolers the next morning or that it spurns some sort of a new catch phrase, then the sponsor will generally benefit regardless of how strongly the material is identifiable with the product. Such a home run is rare, however.

Let's take the VONAGE commercials, for example. You know the one's that were running for some time with videos of a kid throwing a baseball bat through a window or a guy sawing a tree that smashes his car in half. The commercials were funny, but do consumers link the ads to the company in a way that is memorable or that gets people to buy their products and services? I'm not sure.

The Careerbuilder.com ads with the monkeys that began running last year were funny, and they captured office situations and a universal experience in the office place - we've all worked with problem employees at one time or another. And the commercial gives a subtle message through the humor - How much of the annoying or unproductive behavior of co-workers have you tolerated and when is it time to say enough is enough.

Given that criteria, here are a few of the commercials that I felt connected on both (entertain and identify with the product being advertised:

Budweiser

The street dog who feels like an outcast gets a mud puddle splash, giving the appearance of a Dalmation, allowing him to hitch a ride on the Clydesdale wagon as Dean Martin sings, "How lucky can one guy be." You can't go wrong with cute dogs, and the Clydesdales are such an identifiable trademark of Budweiser.

Chevrolet Singers

Celebrities try their hand at singing along with "Chevy" songs, some more comical than musical (notably Dale Ernhardt, Jr.). All of the songs refer to Chevy, some new and some classic. There are 9 brief clips of varying genres, giving the ad universal appeal. "People who love cars love Chevy." Simple and effective.

Blockbuster Total Access Mouse

A rabbit and a guinea pig try to access Blockbuster online by pressing on a live mouse, and Alec Baldwin, the best voiceover specialist going in the biz narrates, "You're just a mouse click away from a better way to rent movies." The scene of a Blockbuster store is visible from across the pet store, underscoring Blockbuster's "unique selling proposition" vs. Netflix - the ability to offer rentals through the store or via the mail.

To see the Super Bowl ads, click here.

Selling Professional Services - Responsiveness Trumps Everything

A client or prospective client calls in a panic, and you're in the middle of a call, a report, a meeting, etc. What do you do?

Only you know which priorities come first in your business. I can't tell you to walk out of the meeting with your largest client to take a phone call. Just remember, though, you don't have to solve the customer's problem right away - you just need to acknowledge it as soon as possible. When a customer leaves a message or a voice mail that's in regard to a pressing matter, the clock begins ticking. Their perception of you and your firm drops with each moment that passes before you get back to them.
A call back to say, "I received your message, and as soon as I get back in the office/get through with this meeting/or have a chance to review your files, I'll get back to you," if it's done expeditiously, can really impress a customer.

The same theory applies to e-mail. Respond to an e- mail message by acknowledging that you received the info and will address the issue as soon as it is practical.

There's a saying that, "Clients don't care how much you know 'til they know how much you care." It's not about where you rank them on your priority list, it's about whether or not they "feel" that you share their concerns. If you don't seem to find their problems important, they'll find one of your competitors who does!

Selling Professional Services - Give the Buyer Options

(This article is an excerpt from the book Selling the Fuzzy Widget: Secrets of Selling Professional Services, by Craig Cortello)

Many people say that you should put yourself in the client’s place to get a better perspective on how to proceed. Actually, you must go beyond that. You must put yourself in the place of each and every client, not just any client in general. Why? Because every client’s perception of success in terms of your project performance, level of detail, timeliness, deliverables, and autonomy is different.

Giving the buyer options is one way of catering to the client. Some clients consider an executive summary of an audit an acceptable deliverable, while others want every detail. Some have information technology staff on their payroll and can maintain a computer automation product that you provide, while others prefer to buy the maintenance contract and have nothing to do with customization or computer code.

Providing options gives you a more accurate picture of how the project will unfold, and you can plan accordingly. If a client is asking to meet a difficult deadline that will require you to shift considerable resources and perhaps disrupt the flow of work in your organization, you can provide an option in the budget for expedited service. If a client accepts, you’ll be compensated for the extra effort and will have some advance notice that will allow you to schedule your staff appropriately. If the client declines, they’re acknowledging that within reason, they will be patient with the project’s progress.

If you break a proposal out by tasks, noting which are optional, you make the client a collaborative partner prior to the project, and that’s where you want to be positioned. You’re not compromising quality of your product or service. You’re simply giving your clients what they want.

BURGERS & STEAK
For example, a restaurant will often offer everything from hamburger to a filet of the finest aged beef. While the filet has a higher profit margin than the hamburger, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take time to pick fresh lettuce, tomatoes, and onions, served in a visually pleasing manner, to the hamburger client.

Even though you will generate greater revenue and profit from the client who orders the steak, the fact is you will probably have five hamburger sales for every steak sale. The hamburger client may even order a steak the next time he or she comes into the restaurant. That one client may also tell three friends about the restaurant, and those friends may be either hamburger or steak clients.
You never know where one client’s business will lead. So serve burgers to the burger crowd, steak to the steak crowd, and value each and every client.

see http://www.fuzzy-widget.com/ for more sales resources. Happy selling!

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