There isn't any magic bullet in what you're about to read, but there are always things that you can do that without a doubt will increase your sales. There are three things that will increase your business if you do them and work at it. No matter if you pick one or all of them, doing them only once in a while won't have a huge impact. Consistency is the key. Not doing these simple things is the equivalent of waiting until the end of the month before realizing that you haven't made any sales.



1) Increase New Business Generation Activities. This one is easy to ignore, since even good sales people often consider this part of the job unpleasant. To begin you have to dedicate more time to Prospecting. Prospecting for every person varies. It doesn't matter if you are cold calling, dropping in to see new prospects or working referrals. Pick your method, make your plan and then go after them. Prospecting and lead generation does not have to take a huge amount of time, but the time you spend focused on it needs to be effective and productive. When it comes to finding new business leads, remember that no one you call is going to say yes the first time. Have a planned series of messages and offer for your prospects until you get a dialogue going. The fatal mistake most sales people make is saying, “I called that guy once or twice and it never went anywhere.”

2) Increase your offers to existing customers. How many things do you sell? Great! Now that you know the number, how many of them are complimentary to what your customers are already buying? Things that go nicely with your core offers. In many industries these are the most profitable parts of the sale. If you're not getting that piece of the business, then not only is there money being left on the table but you're also letting the competition in the door. If you do this right, then there's no downside to this. If they buy mops from you but don't buy buckets, cleaning supplies and whatever else would go with it, then it's your own fault if you are not asking. Along those lines, don't assume they know or remember everything you do sell. Tell your customers, them remind them regularly and see the next point.

3) Actually follow up. Ok, now that you're done calling me an assumptive jerk, let's get down to business. Most sales people take down information during a sales call and then focus on the major points. What if you resolved the hot issues first because that is what any smart sales person is going to do and then kept coming back with all the little things that weren't on fire. Things like “remember when you asked about _____”, then give them the answer of what it can and can't do. No need to lie or embellish anything. Stick to the facts. If it's a fit…great! If not, I'm certain you've thought of something that can help them or a work around concept.

Nothing listed above is brain surgery. Chances are nothing you've read here today is all that new to you. Which means, if you have all the business you can or want to handle then odds are you're doing these things in only one way, shape, or form. If you don't then either you're not doing them often enough or without the right message, intent and purpose. If that‘s the case then it's time for you to start religiously committing yourself to new business development and lead generation. Increasing your customer wallet share by telling customers about your products and services over and over again in a way that rings a bell, but isn't repetitive. And you must follow up. Following up alone is a gold mine, since so few people really take the time to do it.