| For all of us who have our own businesses, or who | | | | 5. Know where the money is by tracking and |
| have a vested interest in building a successful and | | | | measuring daily actions. If you are not measuring |
| prosperous business, increasing sales each year is vital | | | | results how can you manage results? You know that |
| for business growth. It is now the time of year when | | | | if you are not measuring the results from marketing |
| we review what we have achieved and look ahead to | | | | and advertising efforts you are flying blind with |
| what we want to develop and build. With planning and | | | | knowing where to best spend you budget. The same |
| attention we can figure out what needs improving and | | | | goes for the sales team. Track so you can measure |
| how to do it. So here are seven tips to get your sales | | | | sales, number of sale leads, customer calls, |
| increasing in 2008: | | | | appointments, meetings and contacts like newsletters, |
| 1. Define your business and sales goals. The only way | | | | cards and emails. |
| you are going to get where you need to be is to | | | | An email newsletter going out to key segments of |
| identify where that is and what it is. Then you need to | | | | your customer database has a greater sales impact |
| write it down and communicate it with your | | | | than calling one small customer, so assign weightings to |
| management and administration groups and sales | | | | efforts and look to have regular actions from across |
| team. By committing your goals to writing you are | | | | the spectrum in your weekly reports. The repeated |
| creating a stronger physical focus for yourself. When | | | | small actions of adding customers to the email |
| your team sees the goals written down they take the | | | | newsletter database make the sending of newsletters |
| goals more seriously and believe in your commitment | | | | valuable so make sure you count the small actions as |
| to achieving them. This sets your team onto the same | | | | well as the big actions. |
| target and improve the success results. | | | | 6. Look after your customers with a Customer |
| 2. Once your business and sales goals are set you are | | | | Relationship Management (CRM) system and you will |
| well on track to having the basics of the strategic plan | | | | increase sales. A good CRM system will let you know |
| defined. A strategic plan gives direction for all aspects | | | | really useful information about individual customers as |
| of it and is especially important for having the | | | | well as reporting on customer segments. It will also |
| marketing and advertising messages being consistent | | | | empower you to promote a consistent and |
| throughout the entire business. This empowers the | | | | professional message to your customers with every |
| sales team to increase sale income. | | | | contact they have with the business so credibility and |
| 3. Set the strategic goals alongside sales goals and | | | | trust is built. Part of a CRM system is also keeping |
| share this with the management and sales teams. The | | | | track of privacy requirements and lets you stay within |
| vision of the entrepreneur needs to be made into | | | | the law while presenting an ethical business that is |
| concrete examples for the managers and sales team | | | | valuable to the customer. |
| to take specific actions against so the strategic goals | | | | Systems are empowering because they make it |
| can be met. This will keep everyone working for the | | | | easier to keep it going in the same direction and |
| same goals and going in the same direction. It helps | | | | promoting a consistent message for both marketing |
| individuals in the team make daily decisions against a | | | | and business values. |
| known set of criteria and goals so they can make the | | | | 7. Review your sales training approach. Has the sales |
| right choices. | | | | approach been getting you the results that you want? |
| 4. Give everyone in the business who answers | | | | The traditional approach of closing sales is generally |
| phones sales scripts. I have worked with businesses | | | | aggressive whereas the selling method that wants |
| where someone in administration accidentally gets a | | | | long term relationships with customers, listens to |
| customer enquiry and have no idea how to | | | | customer needs carefully so the best solution can be |
| appropriately talk with the customer about the | | | | offered and where customers bring business to you |
| business only to harm the customer relationship. With | | | | can radically increase the profits of the bottom line. |
| all staff being trained how to talk with customers and | | | | Looking at your sales team's approach, methods and |
| direct them to the best person to help them, | | | | tools can let you achieve changes that increase your |
| customers are well cared for and the reputation is | | | | sales significantly. |
| enhanced rather than harmed. Sales scripts for the | | | | With these 7 foundation tips for increasing sales so |
| sales team helps individuals get over objections and | | | | from here you can set the ground for exponential |
| keeps a consistent marketing message being | | | | growth for 2008. |
| communicated about them. | | | | |