25 Proven Ways To Increase Sales Now!
25 Proven Ways To Increase Sales Now
1. Create A 15 Second Commercial About What You Do. This commercial focuses on the benefits that you bring to a prospect. It clearly communicates your service and what your client can expect. Script it out word for word, test it and do not be afraid to make changes to fine-tune it. This is what I say: I'm Chris Randolph and I'm the president of Sales Edge International. We conduct workshops, seminars and coaching sessions that help sales professionals master what to say, how to say it, when to say it, who to say it to, and we help them identify why they want to become more successful. Your commercial is simply an introduction of yourself and it is designed to cause someone to say, "Tell me more"?. A successful sales professional will share what they do with any and everyone that they come into contact with. Also, make sure that all of your friends, neighbors and relatives know exactly what you do. You never know who your friends or relatives know or may come across.
2. Write Out Your Goals (Only The Ones You Want To Achieve). You need to identify and write out your goals to give them life. You must review them every day. Create different categories of goals. They could be career, financial, personal, and even relationship goals. A 4-step structure for setting your goals looks like this: 1. Identify the reason for why you want to achieve this goal 2. Be specific, write your goal down and put a date for completion
3. Create an action plan 4. Implementation In fact, if you want to have all of your goals achieved, you must use the GIAP process; the 11-step goal setting and achieving process that virtually guarantees you will achieve any goal that you set. 3. Write In A Journal. Have you ever written down a great idea on a scrap of paper and then could not find it or remember it? Keep all your thoughts, ideas and goals in a journal. This will create a permanent record that you can always refer back to. Never lose that one great idea that might change the rest of your life because you misplaced the scrap of paper you wrote it on. Writing in a journal also helps you clarify your thoughts and make them clearer. Then when you have written that thought down, you can go back over it and decide the next step; refinement or implementation.
4. Create A Testimonial Book People buy from people that they like and trust. They also tend to ask for references. Create a binder that showcases you and the quality of work and service you provide. Put picture of yourself and your family as well as thank you letters, testimonials and feedback forms. Start gathering these things now. It is an invaluable tool. Carry this binder wherever you go. It shows prospects and clients that you are a real person. Try to use a nice leather binder and place all of these documents in clear plastic sheets. Use high quality sheet protectors to place all of these documents.
5. Always Be On Time. Showing up on time is a reflection on your character. Never make a prospect wait for you. You must allow for things that can delay you, like traffic. Plan out your time in getting there. Do things like put gas in your car after work or on the weekends. This will save you time if you are on the way to an appointment and the gauge is on empty. One of the best tools that I use to help get me to my appointments on time is my navigation system. It shows me (and talks to me, too!) how to get to where I need to and how long it is going to take me to get there. If I miss a turn, it gets me back on the right track.
6. Plan Your Day Everyday There are 144,000 minutes in a day. Most experts, including myself, prescribe using 1% of the day to plan the other 99%. This works out to 14 minutes a day. By planning your day, you will have steps that you can follow and keep yourself on track. Your daily plan is the road map to your success. Do the most important things on your list first. Get them knocked out of the way. You should also tackle the unpleasant tasks as soon as possible.
7. Dress For Success Wear the best that you can afford. You do not have to buy a lot of it. Just enough that will give the impression of success. You should always look the part of the knowledgeable and confident professional. What's more important is that your clothes are clean and look sharp. It is also the way you carry yourself. And for men, make sure your shoes are clean and shined.
8. Carry Cologne And Mouthwash With You. Also, always use a deodorant. An offensive odor will always turn a prospect off. You should always smell your best. Use at least the mouthwash before you walk into a prospect's office. And do not overdo the cologne or perfume.
9. Send Out 5 E-Mails A Day. Imagine if you were to send out 5 e-mails a day to potential clients. These e-mails would be follow-up e-mails and/or info e-mails. An E-mail can be as good as a phone call, sometimes better. If you send out 5 e-mails a day, you would make 25 contacts a week, 100 a month, and 1200 a year. It is another form of keeping in touch. When is the last time you contacted or stayed in touch with 1200 people a year?
10. Create An E-Mail Newsletter An E-mail newsletter is a highly efficient method to keep your name in front of your prospects and clients. Your newsletter should have useful information and the latest news about you, your company or your industry. Send out a newsletter that reminds your clients and prospects who you are and what you can do for them. For a great resource, check out http://www.constantcontact.com for creating and maintaining your newsletter.
11. Hire An Assistant. Figure out what you are worth an hour. To do this, take your annual gross and divide it by 12 months, and then divide that by 160 hours. The answer will give you your hourly wage. If you come up with anything higher than $30 an hour, you need to hire an assistant. Your new assistant can handle all of your paperwork and administrative details so you can spend your time selling and concentrating on generating business.
12. Exercise Before You Start The Workday. Exercise for at least 15 to 30 minutes before you start your day. It can be as strenuous or as easygoing as you like. Besides the obvious health and weight benefits, you get substantial mental benefits too, you will be more alert and your level of concentration will be higher. It gets your blood pumping, it wakes you up quicker and your mind will come online quicker. You can also use this time to go over your day.
13. Use A Prospect Management System. Nothing loses you more money than misplacing a prospect's number, or forgetting to call a prospect back. Track your prospects with a system. You can use index cards in conjunction with a recipe box. There are also computer software systems that will do the job. It can range from something as simple as Microsoft Outlook to programs like Act or Goldmine. Whatever you use, make sure you use something that will track and remind you of your phone calls and appointments. It is well worth the investment of time and money.
14. Send Thank You Cards. I send every prospect I visit a thank you? card. You can buy postcards with the postage already on them from the post office. Everyday, when I get back to the office, I pull out my appointments from the previous day. I send everyone that I met a post card with a short, personalized handwritten message. It gives a great impression, sets you apart from everyone else and gives you the opportunity to reiterate key points from your meeting that you would like to stress again.
15. Use A Telephone Headset. If you are a sales professional, you must invest in a telephone headset for yourself. This tool is an absolute must for every sales professional. It keeps your hands free so you can write and take good notes comfortably. You can buy them for as little as about $20 for a simple setup to $200 with all the bells and whistles. It all depends on your budget, how much time you spend on the phone, and how comfortable you want to be.
16. Ask For Referrals. It is largely agreed among sales people that a referral is an easier sale to close. But why do salespeople hesitate to ask for referrals? We do this because we are afraid to ask and we are afraid of rejection. This is because salespeople usually ask in a manner that causes them to say no. Typical salespeople usually say, If you know anyone who can use my service, please have them give me a call. This is what I say, I'm growing my business in Southern California. As you know, I work heavily with referrals. A good referral for me is a business owner, sales manager or network-marketing leader with 6 or more people on their team that wants to increase their production. Think about companies that you have worked for in the past, companies that you do business with or would like to do business with. Can you think of anyone that fits this description?
17. Hand Out Your Business Card To 5 People A Day. A business card is inexpensive but can have great value. Your card should describe what you do. If you hand out a card to 5 people a day, that is 25 a week, 100 a month, 1200 people a year that would have your card. This is over and above what you are already doing. If you handed out your card to 1200 people every year, by how much would your business increase? By the way, when you give out your card, make it your goal to get theirs back in return.
18. 4-4-4 Formula This formula is deceptively simple. It asks you to do three things 4 times a year, once every quarter. The top professionals do these activities. They know that sometimes it is harder to stay at the top than it is to get there. They realize that they must find ways to keep the edge and stay sharp in their game.
1. Purchase at least 4 books on selling, personal development, motivation or business a year and read them at least once a quarter.
2. Purchase at least 4 audio programs on selling, personal development, motivation, or business a year and listen to them in your car as often as you can, for example everyday!
3. Attend 4 live seminars on selling, personal development, motivation or business a year. Do these every year and your results will improve year after year.
19. Hire A Sales And Success Coach A coach will help you identify and fine-tune your goals, create an action plan for you to achieve them and hold you accountable for the fulfillment of them. A coach will help you move along the path to a greater level of achievement and success. We believe so strongly in the power of coaching that The Sales Edge offers an introductory session, valued at $200, absolutely free. This allows you to experience the power of coaching for yourself. Simply send me an email with Coaching? in the subject line. We will hone you skills, help you improve you performance, achieve balance and you will build a thriving book of business.
20. Believe In Your Product/Service/Company For you to sell your product, you have to sell yourself on it first. This is much easier if you represent a solid product at a fair price, backed by a reputable company. The company does not have to be big to be reputable. A good company would treat employees and clients like the valuable resources that they are. If you currently do not work for such a company, find another one. You will sell better when you do.
21. Spend Time With Your Family. If you are too busy to spend time with family and friends, something is not right. Our work gives us rewards. One of these should be spending quality time with our family. It makes the hard work that we put in justifiable.
22. Make One More Call Before You Walk Out The Door. Making that last call before you leave can bring dividends many times over. You could leave a message or your prospect could even be there! Imagine if you did this everyday. You would make an extra 5 calls a week, 20 a month, 240 extra calls a year! If you make an extra 240 calls this year, how much would your business grow?
23. Model Top Producers In Your Industry. Find out what the top producers in your company and your industry are doing to get those fantastic results and do the same thing. If you can model what they are doing, you will get a similar result.
24. Identify Your Industry Buying Cycle. The buying cycle is a period of time before a client needs to replace their product because of technological advances, desires or other reasons. For example, in California, the average person replaces their vehicles every 3 to 4 years. If you worked at an auto dealership, my first suggestion would be to contact customers from 3 to 5 years ago and talk to them about replacing their current automobiles. If you contacted 5 customers a day, that is 25 a week, 100 a month, and 1200 a year. How much do you think you will increase your income if you contacted 1200 previous customers a year?
25. Sell Benefits Not Features. Features are the characteristics of a product or service. The benefit is what a client gets out of using the product or service. People buy because of what a product will do for them and nothing else. Make a list of all the possible benefits your client will get if they purchase your product. When you have done this, tell your prospect about them. People buy benefits.
1. Create A 15 Second Commercial About What You Do. This commercial focuses on the benefits that you bring to a prospect. It clearly communicates your service and what your client can expect. Script it out word for word, test it and do not be afraid to make changes to fine-tune it. This is what I say: I'm Chris Randolph and I'm the president of Sales Edge International. We conduct workshops, seminars and coaching sessions that help sales professionals master what to say, how to say it, when to say it, who to say it to, and we help them identify why they want to become more successful. Your commercial is simply an introduction of yourself and it is designed to cause someone to say, "Tell me more"?. A successful sales professional will share what they do with any and everyone that they come into contact with. Also, make sure that all of your friends, neighbors and relatives know exactly what you do. You never know who your friends or relatives know or may come across.
2. Write Out Your Goals (Only The Ones You Want To Achieve). You need to identify and write out your goals to give them life. You must review them every day. Create different categories of goals. They could be career, financial, personal, and even relationship goals. A 4-step structure for setting your goals looks like this: 1. Identify the reason for why you want to achieve this goal 2. Be specific, write your goal down and put a date for completion
3. Create an action plan 4. Implementation In fact, if you want to have all of your goals achieved, you must use the GIAP process; the 11-step goal setting and achieving process that virtually guarantees you will achieve any goal that you set. 3. Write In A Journal. Have you ever written down a great idea on a scrap of paper and then could not find it or remember it? Keep all your thoughts, ideas and goals in a journal. This will create a permanent record that you can always refer back to. Never lose that one great idea that might change the rest of your life because you misplaced the scrap of paper you wrote it on. Writing in a journal also helps you clarify your thoughts and make them clearer. Then when you have written that thought down, you can go back over it and decide the next step; refinement or implementation.
4. Create A Testimonial Book People buy from people that they like and trust. They also tend to ask for references. Create a binder that showcases you and the quality of work and service you provide. Put picture of yourself and your family as well as thank you letters, testimonials and feedback forms. Start gathering these things now. It is an invaluable tool. Carry this binder wherever you go. It shows prospects and clients that you are a real person. Try to use a nice leather binder and place all of these documents in clear plastic sheets. Use high quality sheet protectors to place all of these documents.
5. Always Be On Time. Showing up on time is a reflection on your character. Never make a prospect wait for you. You must allow for things that can delay you, like traffic. Plan out your time in getting there. Do things like put gas in your car after work or on the weekends. This will save you time if you are on the way to an appointment and the gauge is on empty. One of the best tools that I use to help get me to my appointments on time is my navigation system. It shows me (and talks to me, too!) how to get to where I need to and how long it is going to take me to get there. If I miss a turn, it gets me back on the right track.
6. Plan Your Day Everyday There are 144,000 minutes in a day. Most experts, including myself, prescribe using 1% of the day to plan the other 99%. This works out to 14 minutes a day. By planning your day, you will have steps that you can follow and keep yourself on track. Your daily plan is the road map to your success. Do the most important things on your list first. Get them knocked out of the way. You should also tackle the unpleasant tasks as soon as possible.
7. Dress For Success Wear the best that you can afford. You do not have to buy a lot of it. Just enough that will give the impression of success. You should always look the part of the knowledgeable and confident professional. What's more important is that your clothes are clean and look sharp. It is also the way you carry yourself. And for men, make sure your shoes are clean and shined.
8. Carry Cologne And Mouthwash With You. Also, always use a deodorant. An offensive odor will always turn a prospect off. You should always smell your best. Use at least the mouthwash before you walk into a prospect's office. And do not overdo the cologne or perfume.
9. Send Out 5 E-Mails A Day. Imagine if you were to send out 5 e-mails a day to potential clients. These e-mails would be follow-up e-mails and/or info e-mails. An E-mail can be as good as a phone call, sometimes better. If you send out 5 e-mails a day, you would make 25 contacts a week, 100 a month, and 1200 a year. It is another form of keeping in touch. When is the last time you contacted or stayed in touch with 1200 people a year?
10. Create An E-Mail Newsletter An E-mail newsletter is a highly efficient method to keep your name in front of your prospects and clients. Your newsletter should have useful information and the latest news about you, your company or your industry. Send out a newsletter that reminds your clients and prospects who you are and what you can do for them. For a great resource, check out http://www.constantcontact.com for creating and maintaining your newsletter.
11. Hire An Assistant. Figure out what you are worth an hour. To do this, take your annual gross and divide it by 12 months, and then divide that by 160 hours. The answer will give you your hourly wage. If you come up with anything higher than $30 an hour, you need to hire an assistant. Your new assistant can handle all of your paperwork and administrative details so you can spend your time selling and concentrating on generating business.
12. Exercise Before You Start The Workday. Exercise for at least 15 to 30 minutes before you start your day. It can be as strenuous or as easygoing as you like. Besides the obvious health and weight benefits, you get substantial mental benefits too, you will be more alert and your level of concentration will be higher. It gets your blood pumping, it wakes you up quicker and your mind will come online quicker. You can also use this time to go over your day.
13. Use A Prospect Management System. Nothing loses you more money than misplacing a prospect's number, or forgetting to call a prospect back. Track your prospects with a system. You can use index cards in conjunction with a recipe box. There are also computer software systems that will do the job. It can range from something as simple as Microsoft Outlook to programs like Act or Goldmine. Whatever you use, make sure you use something that will track and remind you of your phone calls and appointments. It is well worth the investment of time and money.
14. Send Thank You Cards. I send every prospect I visit a thank you? card. You can buy postcards with the postage already on them from the post office. Everyday, when I get back to the office, I pull out my appointments from the previous day. I send everyone that I met a post card with a short, personalized handwritten message. It gives a great impression, sets you apart from everyone else and gives you the opportunity to reiterate key points from your meeting that you would like to stress again.
15. Use A Telephone Headset. If you are a sales professional, you must invest in a telephone headset for yourself. This tool is an absolute must for every sales professional. It keeps your hands free so you can write and take good notes comfortably. You can buy them for as little as about $20 for a simple setup to $200 with all the bells and whistles. It all depends on your budget, how much time you spend on the phone, and how comfortable you want to be.
16. Ask For Referrals. It is largely agreed among sales people that a referral is an easier sale to close. But why do salespeople hesitate to ask for referrals? We do this because we are afraid to ask and we are afraid of rejection. This is because salespeople usually ask in a manner that causes them to say no. Typical salespeople usually say, If you know anyone who can use my service, please have them give me a call. This is what I say, I'm growing my business in Southern California. As you know, I work heavily with referrals. A good referral for me is a business owner, sales manager or network-marketing leader with 6 or more people on their team that wants to increase their production. Think about companies that you have worked for in the past, companies that you do business with or would like to do business with. Can you think of anyone that fits this description?
17. Hand Out Your Business Card To 5 People A Day. A business card is inexpensive but can have great value. Your card should describe what you do. If you hand out a card to 5 people a day, that is 25 a week, 100 a month, 1200 people a year that would have your card. This is over and above what you are already doing. If you handed out your card to 1200 people every year, by how much would your business increase? By the way, when you give out your card, make it your goal to get theirs back in return.
18. 4-4-4 Formula This formula is deceptively simple. It asks you to do three things 4 times a year, once every quarter. The top professionals do these activities. They know that sometimes it is harder to stay at the top than it is to get there. They realize that they must find ways to keep the edge and stay sharp in their game.
1. Purchase at least 4 books on selling, personal development, motivation or business a year and read them at least once a quarter.
2. Purchase at least 4 audio programs on selling, personal development, motivation, or business a year and listen to them in your car as often as you can, for example everyday!
3. Attend 4 live seminars on selling, personal development, motivation or business a year. Do these every year and your results will improve year after year.
19. Hire A Sales And Success Coach A coach will help you identify and fine-tune your goals, create an action plan for you to achieve them and hold you accountable for the fulfillment of them. A coach will help you move along the path to a greater level of achievement and success. We believe so strongly in the power of coaching that The Sales Edge offers an introductory session, valued at $200, absolutely free. This allows you to experience the power of coaching for yourself. Simply send me an email with Coaching? in the subject line. We will hone you skills, help you improve you performance, achieve balance and you will build a thriving book of business.
20. Believe In Your Product/Service/Company For you to sell your product, you have to sell yourself on it first. This is much easier if you represent a solid product at a fair price, backed by a reputable company. The company does not have to be big to be reputable. A good company would treat employees and clients like the valuable resources that they are. If you currently do not work for such a company, find another one. You will sell better when you do.
21. Spend Time With Your Family. If you are too busy to spend time with family and friends, something is not right. Our work gives us rewards. One of these should be spending quality time with our family. It makes the hard work that we put in justifiable.
22. Make One More Call Before You Walk Out The Door. Making that last call before you leave can bring dividends many times over. You could leave a message or your prospect could even be there! Imagine if you did this everyday. You would make an extra 5 calls a week, 20 a month, 240 extra calls a year! If you make an extra 240 calls this year, how much would your business grow?
23. Model Top Producers In Your Industry. Find out what the top producers in your company and your industry are doing to get those fantastic results and do the same thing. If you can model what they are doing, you will get a similar result.
24. Identify Your Industry Buying Cycle. The buying cycle is a period of time before a client needs to replace their product because of technological advances, desires or other reasons. For example, in California, the average person replaces their vehicles every 3 to 4 years. If you worked at an auto dealership, my first suggestion would be to contact customers from 3 to 5 years ago and talk to them about replacing their current automobiles. If you contacted 5 customers a day, that is 25 a week, 100 a month, and 1200 a year. How much do you think you will increase your income if you contacted 1200 previous customers a year?
25. Sell Benefits Not Features. Features are the characteristics of a product or service. The benefit is what a client gets out of using the product or service. People buy because of what a product will do for them and nothing else. Make a list of all the possible benefits your client will get if they purchase your product. When you have done this, tell your prospect about them. People buy benefits.
