Successful selling strategies are more important than ever in this sluggish economy. How do you stay motivated in tough times? Start with boosting your confidence, improving your attitude, and working on your time management skills. Time is money. Then, work on outside factors such as knowing your customer, competition, and your organization. Here are some examples, or 10 tips to increase sales:
1. Talk less, listen more. Ask questions. Listen for subtle cues as to what your customer wants. For example, when they say, "What I'm looking for is..." That's a buying signal. Listen and take notes verbatim. Put quotes around what they said so that when you talk or write to them again, you can use their exact words, provided your product or service meets their need. Nothing helped me more in becoming a top sales producer than the above mentioned tip to increase sales.
2. Target people who are your best prospects. Is there a commonality among those people who have purchased from you in the past? What were their needs, similar circumstances, and greatest challenges?
3. Make yourself well-known as an expert in your field. Write articles. Post them online. Contact editors and get published in newspapers and magazines. Ask your clients for recommendation letters praising your services as a testament to your integrity, customer service and expertise. Nothing speaks louder than others singing your praises!
4. Start with selling yourself. It's a fact: people buy from people they like. People buy from people considered trustworthy, credible, and honest. Present yourself professionally. Regarding attire, remember the 3 T's: tailored, tasteful, and traditional. Practice a positive attitude. Show up on time. Further educate yourself about your product, your competition, and any possible objections.
5. Fail forward. If you don't make the sale, or you lose a valued customer, find out why. What needs to be improved? What could be done differently? If you or your company made a mistake, admit it. Learn from it. Then move forward. Don't dwell on it and dig yourself further into defeat.
6. Communicate your competitive advantage. Like it or not, your potential customer is thinking, "What's in it for me?" And, "What am I going to get out of this?" Once you know their needs, mention both the features AND the benefits to them.
7. Master and study your core competencies. You're only as strong as your weakest link. What areas do you need to improve? Do you need to improve your time management skills? Do you need to improve technical skills? And, what areas must you absolutely master? For example, maybe you need to spend more time getting to the decision maker. So, work to improve your deficiencies, and master those areas you must excel at to increase sales.
8. Ask for specific referrals. This is one of the biggest tips to increase sales. Once your client has complimented you on your product/service, ask them who else they know who could benefit. Tell them the kind of clients you're looking for and get specific names, phone numbers, and email addresses. See if they'll talk with that person or make a phone call on your behalf and introduce you.
9. Practice professionalism and integrity to increase sales. Be a problem solver. If you don't know the answer to a question, admit it. When you lie you die. Let them know when you'll get back to them with the answer and do! People will look to see if you practice what you promise.
10. Give samples. Give something away free to increase sales. Or, offer something extra as a value-added bonus. Outdistance your competitors.
Above all else, ask for the order. And incorporate silence. Practicing silence while your potential client is deciding is often when they say yes! They're uncomfortable with the silence, and often end up talking and making a decision to fill the space. This is a technique I used frequently when I was honored as the number one sales producer in the history of the company breaking all previous records in the U.S. and Canada for a major Fortune 500 company. That technique...and a lot of patience, persistence, and diligence. Good luck!
Studies have shown that attractive trophies and corporate awards are a powerful method of increasing a company's revenue and overall employee performance. No one knows exactly how much trophies and corporate awards influence a company's bottom line or how often these corporate gifts or awards should be presented. But according to statistics, we do know they work extremely well and we know why.
Abletrophies.com has a spectacular array of Fine Crystal, Marble, Jade and Glass corporate gifts and company awards as well as tasteful gifts for corporate recognition presentations. These quality trophies, paperweights, plaques, bowls and other awards may be custom etched or engraved to ensure a long term memorable experience.
How can Incentives positively influence revenue and sales performance?
Incentives, plaques, trophies and other awards are designed to motivate behavior in a way that will provide a reasonable return. It is proven that awards as incentives do work, but there is no universal agreement as to what incentives are or how often they should be presented. Most executives would agree salespeople should receive awards as frequently as would be effective. But how can the value of proper incentivisation be measured and if one plan is more successful than another, how can you determine how much better?
In terms of sales performance management, there are three groups to consider:
- Sales executives want the ability to reward performance with some measure of flexibility to overrule logic and reward perceived effort. - - Financial controllers and directors require accuracy, reliability and predictability in payments. - Recipients of incentive compensation want to maximize incentive pay with minimal wasted effort. - Valued Customers that the company wants to retain.
Sales executives introduce corporate incentives to motivate behavior. For example, a store might be offered a 10% discount by a manufacturer if it sells 100 units within 30 days. The Sales director could offer an engraved desk set or serving platter to members of the sales team if they sell over 100 units of the product within 30 days and still make additional revenue for each unit as opposed to no additional revenue.
The difference between company awards and business gifts
One of the biggest mistakes companies make is buying a one-size-fits-all award, and they don't take into consideration the gender, age or interests of the recipients. Planners can avoid this company gift-giving dilemma by taking into consideration such elements as demographics, budget, goals and timelines as well as customization, fulfillment and delivery. After all, the award is meaningless to the recipient if it's inappropriate to them. When it's tailored to the recipient, the more meaningful the award becomes, therefore the more value it will have. Business gifts are unique in that they aren't identified with the mark of the giver, whereas an incentive award is identified with performance. Therefore it's important to select an award that is meaningful yet relative to your overall goals.
Companies must ask what type of person is the gift intended for? Is it for men, women, doctors or a chairman of the board? What is the budget? How many awards need to be purchased? How will they be sent? Is it a symbolic award? Branded merchandise? A consumer product award? Answers to these and other questions allow the buyer to select an assortment of gifts, awards and trophies that best suits your company's needs.
What type of corporate gifts are in?
In the not-so-distant past, money was no object and high-tech flash ruled corporate gift giving. Now value is the new keyword and basics are back. The winning strategy right now for buyers is useful chic. Despite the new practicality, however, corporate gifts, awards and trophies must still shine.
By following three key strategies, buyers can ensure that their corporate gifts and trophies are memorable for recipients and a smart investment for their company.
- Make sure that your company's name and logo are displayed prominently. - Stay abreast of trends to add style. - Be sure your corporate gifts offer traditional quality and value.
How to express your corporate image.
The business world changes day-to-day, even hour-to-hour. Companies merge, acquire other companies, restructure, reappear, get gobbled up forever. Therefore, there's an even greater need to define a corporate image and keep it clear in people's minds. Showcasing logos, particularly changing logos, is key.
Logos are increasingly streamlined and angular. Gifts need to be similarly designed to showcase a sleek logo. Waste is out. Gifts need to be functional, not just decorative.
But value-packed classics have come back in style in a big way. Be mindful of environmental issues. A particular wood, such as teak, might make beautiful boxes or picture frames, but your corporate image will be seriously damaged if it turns out to be harvested from imperiled rain forests. Glass and fine crystal will always be a safe corporate gift, even for trophies.
Stay current
The products themselves must also be up-to-date. Stay abreast of changing tastes.
Think Globally
The business world is global and becoming more so every day. Desk clocks are popular for corporate gifts and company awards, but even more useful when they display two or more time zones. Think symbols in addition to 'words. Be aware of how people live in other countries. Sleek coffee mugs that fit in car cup holders may be welcome in American suburbs but useless for Japanese subway commuters or even New York City straphangers.
Baby Boomers and beyond generation X, Y.
Although hiring may be down and layoffs on the rise, there is a still sizeable recruiting and retention market geared toward younger people. Corporate gifts and company awards that might appeal to the younger crowd go beyond T-shirts. Younger people (and techies of all ages) love gadgets. Selecting useful, stylish and value-packed company gifts is a science as well as an art. To guarantee success, keep company image and identity at the forefront and remember that high-impact corporate gifts and trophies can be a winning formula for corporate gift giving programs.
Both Colleen Kettenhofen & Alex Gwen Thomson are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Colleen Kettenhofen has sinced written about articles on various topics from Fitness, Difficult people and Leadership. Colleen Kettenhofen is a motivational keynote speaker, author, and former top sales producer on leadership, life balance, difficult people and presentation skills. Using humor, high energy, and real-world examples, Colleen has spoken before thousands in 4. Colleen Kettenhofen's top article generates over 90500 views. to your Favourites.
Alex Gwen Thomson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home Management, Income Tax Return and Wrinkles. Able Trophies is a leader in online awards including and employee recognition gifts. Visit us online at. Alex Gwen Thomson's top article generates over 673000 views. to your Favourites.