How to Increase Your Sales This Year

When every small business is desperate to increase sales, the thought of spending more money on advertising likely sends chills down your spine. What if you could increase your sales this year without spending an additional dime on advertising? There are many ways to increase sales. It’s a simple matter of consistency and execution.

1)  MAXIMIZE YOUR CURRENT CLIENT BASE
The easiest person to sell to is a current client. Examine each account and be sure they are taking full advantage of the products and services you offer. Ask about upgrades or different departments that may be interested in your company.
Many companies have divisions in different locations. This is another great source of new sales. These other divisions are like new accounts. Do not assume that one department is talking to the other. I have seen countless situations in which divisions of major corporations purchase the same product or service from different vendors. You can use your contacts to sell to other parts of the same company.

2)  CREATE A NEW PACKAGE
People love to buy a package. It makes it easier to purchase and the perceived value of a package is always higher. Bundle a few products or services, offer a special price, and give it a name. One of my clients created a birthday package in his stationery store that produced outstanding results. The package included a card, plush toy, candy, and telephone calling card. He is still selling them today and has added other packages for different categories.

3) UP-SELL
Every business is based on transactions. Yet there are only so many transactions you can handle per year. Your goal then is to add revenue to each sale. Before they began phasing out the “Supersize” program for other reasons, McDonald’s did an outstanding job of up-selling. They packaged items by number, which increased the base sale. Then the person behind the counter asked if you would like to supersize your order. For only 50 cents more you got a large order of fries and a large drink. It may not sound like a lot, but McDonald’s processes millions of orders per day. If 30% of the customers supersized, it represented millions of dollars per day in additional revenue. Think about your product or service and test a few up-sell ideas. Imagine adding a 20% increase to 30% of your sales. What would that do to your bottom line?

4)  WRITE DYNAMIC AD COPY
Writing good advertising copy is a skill like anything else in life. Unfortunately, I see small business owners trying to write their own copy every day. In most cases the copy is weak and does not bring the results necessary to cover the cost of the promotion.

Here are a few keys to good copy:

• Offer Multiple Benefits: Good copy revolves around benefit for the client. Tell them what you will do to make them more profitable, faster, or more efficient. People respond to things that improve their situation.

• Tell the Customer What to Do (call, email, or website): Do not assume prospects know what to do when they see your ad. Tell them exactly what to do to move the relationship forward: call, email, or go to your website.
• Close with a Strong Benefit-Driven Offer: The prospect has to be motivated to take action. You have to make a compelling offer to get your desired results. A free consultation, e-book, or CD represents some examples of strong offers.

If you are not able to do this work, it will be well worth the investment to hire a good copywriter to get the job done.

5)  USE THE INTERNET
Almost everyone has a website these days, but how many sites are generating revenue for the company? There are many Internet techniques you can use to drive sales. The first thing you have to do is capture email addresses from clients and prospects to build your database. This can be accomplished by offering a free e-book, report, or e-course with valuable information the potential client needs. 
Once you have these addresses, start sending useful information to your database on a regular basis. I would suggest a newsletter that will include special offers. Don’t make it all about selling your product or service. Give your clients some usable information and build credibility. This will help you establish a relationship with potential clients and retain visibility with current users of your product or service. You can provide this service at a very low cost by using Constant Contact (click for free trial). It provides easy-to-use templates and list-management services. It’s very easy, even if you are a not a computer wizard.

Consistency Is the Key
All of these strategies will be effective only if they are practiced on a regular basis. This must become part of your company culture. The problem is that most people wait until business slows down before they employ these strategies. Select one of the five keys and begin testing. Commit to one strategy at a time.
Once you have seen success using one of these ideas, add another, until you are using all five as part of your operation. One of the traps small business owners fall into is getting away from what made them successful.
Do not get caught in the peaks and valleys of inconsistent sales practices. Build your sales process correctly and watch your business grow.