Three
Sales and Marketing Tools to Boost Profits
By
Joel
Sussman © 2003 All Rights Reserved.
The quality of your life, whether
you're talking about your professional or personal life, is determined by
habits. Success is often the result of simply doing the right things over
and over again. In sales and marketing, consistency is one of the most important
facets of business survival, and it can make or break you, depending on the
nature and quality of your habits.
For example, do you make it a top priority to devote a portion of every day
to sales and marketing activities? If you're too caught up in "putting out
fires" or running other aspects of your operation, it may be necessary to
delegate the responsibility of sales and marketing to others or even hire
a freelancer or marketing agency. However, if sales and marketing is your
primary or only job, here are a few areas to focus on that can help you generate
much more business and bottom-line profits.
Sales letters
If you send out only ten targeted, personalized, compelling sales letters
or postcards a day, 5 days a week, you'll be reaching two or three thousand
new prospects a year, some of whom will become customers. One way to make
the task less time consuming and more productive is to use pre-written sales
letter templates. If opt-in email marketing is an avenue you're considering,
putting your sales letters on an autoresponder system is an essential way
to streamline the process, increase productivity, and save valuable time.
Referrals
Remember the old adage, "You never know unless you ask"? That principle applies
to getting sales referrals. If you're not systematically asking for referrals
from every satisfied customer, then you're ignoring an untapped source of
new business. If you don't feel comfortable directly asking customers for
contact information of friends and relatives -- or if it doesn't seem appropriate
-- you can often gain new clients by inserting a referral form, pass-along
coupons, or extra business cards in a billing statement or a satisfaction
survey. Sometimes the mere "power of suggestion" is enough to prompt clients
to give you a referral or two if they like you. Food for thought: Have you
ever worked with a real estate agent that wore a button or a heart-shaped
sticker that says "I love referrals"? I think I saw that same idea adapted
to business cards. Obviously that wouldn't be an appropriate approach for
all types of professional services and products, but the point is that --
one way or another -- you should plant the idea in your customer's mind that
you'd appreciate a referral or two. Delivering "value-added" service and
making clients feel important and listened to will put them in a receptive
frame of mind for giving you referrals.
Positive Thinking
Few people will argue that your attitudes, core beliefs, and the things you
habitually say to yourself impact the actions you take, your level of confidence,
and the results you produce. Make it a point to write down motivational quotes
or inspirational philosophies in a journal or on index cards whenever you
stumble across them. Review them a few times a week and try to incorporate
them into your own belief system. When you start perceiving your challenges
in new and inspiring ways, you're almost certain to be empowered to achieve
more, surmount obstacles, and to recognize opportunities that others will
overlook.
About the Author:
Joel Sussman is an internet marketer, a freelance writer, and president of
Optimal Marketing Communications. In 2000, he created
Marketing
Survival Kit.com to help small business owners gain a competitive edge
and thrive in a today's challenging economic climate. The site provides free
and cost-effective marketing tools, advice, newsletters, and hand-picked
downloadable marketing manuals.
© 2003 Optimal Marketing Communications
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