Sales is the cornerstone of almost every business, whether you’re selling a product or a service. But sometimes, even when sales drop, we tend to forget the simple day-to-day things we can do to bring them back up.
Some strategies may take longer than others to produce results, but there are several things you can do right now to make a difference.
Use promotional products
On your way out the door for lunch, grab that promotional pen sitting on the edge of your desk. After your meal, you can leave one on the table with your tip or even hand a few to the managers for their waitstaff.
No one will turn down a free product, especially one they can use every day. And promotional items are surprisingly effective. For one thing, most people don’t throw them away until they break or stop working.
In addition to pens, you can use mugs, shirts, notepads, bags, etc. The important thing to remember is that your products should line up with your company, or at least not deviate from it completely.
For example, a dentist wouldn’t hand out bags of candy with their logo on them. And a church might not want their name printed on flasks. Instead, you want an item that automatically makes the customer think of your brand, or at least be universal enough that it can be used by anyone.
Reach out to past customers
Depending on the product or service you offer, repeat business could be your bread and butter. This is especially true if you’ve managed to wow your prior customers with excellent service. But even if what you sell isn’t conducive to repeat business, there’s still value in those previous contacts.
Stay in touch with as many customers as you can, no matter what you sell. If you’ve neglected doing this in the past, it’s important to start now. You never know when someone who’s done business with you in the past will introduce you to a new sales lead.
And contacting them doesn’t have to feel like a sordid task. Sometimes, something as simple as a mass email can generate more interest. There are plenty of services that can take care of this type of email marketing for you, running entire campaigns if needed.
Get active on social media
Social media is one of the most effective means of advertising we have at our disposal today. And the best part is that it’s absolutely free unless you choose to purchase ads. What’s important for social media marketing is that you’re consistently active and using the right channel. This just means using the platform that works best for you and your business.
Yelp, for instance, is a public review site that a lot of people check out when traveling. It’s great for restaurants and other such businesses. And LinkedIn is more of a professional channel that attracts professionals in mostly white-collar industries. It’s a good place to connect with people in industries relating to job placement or personnel.
But Facebook is still pretty much the queen mother of social media. It’s used by almost everyone in the world and attracts almost every demographic. The key is to find one or two platforms you can effectively operate and interact with people every day.
Help someone out
According to almost any sales expert, trust is the number one key to closing sales. But don’t think this is something you can fake.
In order to do this effectively, you must be genuine in your relationships and willing to help people, even when no sales are involved. One example of a good trust-building technique is to chime in when people talk about their problems on social media. Of course, these would typically be problems your product business could solve, because that’s your expertise.
But don’t be salesy every time you comment. Offer genuine solutions that might not make you a dime. Then, when people do need your product or service, they’ll trust you enough to do business with you.
