11/2 Moreno Valley- FREE Rock Your Holiday Email Marketing Plan

Join our FREE Marketing Workshop on Wed, 11/02 Learn how to use Email Templates, Social Media and Holiday Deadlines to Grow Your Business at the Moreno Valley Conference Center 9-11am. Register:http://bit.ly/112email

5 Tips To Close More Business & Grow Your 2015 Sales

 

5 Tips to Close More Business In 2015

Increase Your Sales by Improving Your Lead Follow Up

It starts with setting a goal. Like any other thing you decide to accomplish, the chances of you succeeding in growing your business is automatically increased when you put it down on paper and commit to achieving something more grand. Just like that 10 pounds you want to lose in time for the holidays, the more people who know what you are trying to do, the more people who will be encouraging you to get there. If you keep your sales goal to yourself, you will likely not achieve it. So here are some tips to grow your business by setting new goals and achieving them.

1. Review your lists. Sales starts with connections and you need to start from somewhere. First review your customer list and see when you were last in touch. Then review your lead list and see if you followed up. Then lo0k at your family friends list and consider this, no one sells you better than your family and friends. This is why social media helps businesses.  Fact: A kind word from those who are your raving fans goes a long way.  Also add lists of professionals and past work connections who can testify to your integrity and help to connect you with others. Don’t forget your clubs,  professional affiliation or religious organizations who can also give you and your company some growth.
2. Put your list to work.  These days in addition to having a contact, it really helps to have their email address. With that you can start to reach out to them in Email Marketing, Social Media platforms, you can even get them to see your ads regularly on social media where you can upload their emails and make sure when they login, they see you.  In addition, at the cost of a postage stamp, Email contacts is much more cost effective and immediate. Consider using online tools that provide stats and show you who is interested like an online toolkit. Contact liz@adteamla.com for a list of tools.
3. Create a communication strategy.  The average person needs to see your company or your business 7-9 times in order to overcome the hurdle of trust, which is the first step to hiring you or trying your product. What is your plan to reach them this many times? If they come into your store and then you follow-up with an Email, you still have to reach them a whole lot more to get an action.  That is why we suggest media mixing your traditional media and ads with online social media tools and Email Marketing—it keeps you on top of their thoughts.
4. Check in with your sales team. Some of the best ideas on growing your business will come from those that are fighting to get you sales. They already know your company’s strengths & weaknesses. So why should they discuss this with you? Because you can learn from them and help them be more successful selling. Or  you can create an environment where your customers and your sales team are afraid to let you know when your services are less than promised. Create an environment that is helpful for your team to talk to you. Make individual appointments with them to discuss their most current prospects and what is standing in the way of a sales. Give them tools to help close those deals. Also use surveys and polls to see how customers see your business before and after a sale. They may help you see other opportunities for more business in the process. At the least they will help you keep your reputation strong so your shortcomings won’t be found on an internet review.
5. Review your profitability.  Sometimes the problem with your sales is your price. It can be too high or too low, but it also must be profitable. If you have not factored in sales costs, material charges, shipping, tax, overhead, rent, you may find that you need to raise your price in order to make money. Remember that your clients want you to be around, so do what you have to do to be profitable. It ensures your employees an income and if your product is good quality, the customers will pay a fair price for it. You can also package the product with something else to make the price increase seem like a better value.

Want to learn more? Schedule an appointment to review your marketing or sales strategy with Liz Harsch for a 2.5 hour consultation to review your strategy and get some tips on what to do next to grow your sales. You can also attend one of her workshops or classes on marketing strategies for small businesses and network with other business owners while you are there. Visit her website at http://tailormadeadvertising.com.

Liz Harsch, has been helping small and medium sized businesses make the most of their marketing investments since 1988.  Her company, Tailor-Made Advertising, is an Authorized SCORE & SBDC workshop presenter and an awarded Constant Contact Email Marketer and Authorized Local Expert presenting Workshops for Constant Contact, SCORE, SBDC, Metropolitan Water District, multiple Chambers of Commerce, The City of Los Angeles and other Organizations. If you are interested in getting help for your marketing plan or your marketing projects, Email us at tmade.mkt@verizon.net.  

For more information about Liz or Tailor-Made Advertising, visit tailormadeadvertising.com. To schedule Liz Harsch as a speaker on Traditional and Online Marketing, Social Media, Analytics or Email Marketing for your organization, Email us at tmade.mkt@verizon.net or call us at 310-791-6300.

4th Quarter Sales Strategies 9/2014

Let’s begin with the fact that September has started. There are many traditional sales events that take place in this next quarter and you need to organize to actualize those sales and fundraising goals you dreamed about last year. The reality is that the economy is back, jobs and spending are on the rise. So how do you get a piece of that pie for your business? And let’s not forget that non-profit high season is about to start as people and organizations think about who they are going to support before the end of the year.

• So start with setting a fourth quarter sales or fundraising goal that you can achieve and be optimistic as that is the economy we embrace today.  If you don’t believe me, just look at the stock market. Write down the average you have made monthly over the last 8 months and then optimistically add 20% per month and use that as a minimum. Or use your annual projection from 2014, add the percent you hoped to gain and then deduct your funds to date to determine what funds you need to raise in the last four months of this year to realize your goal. It is all numbers, so do the math.
• Plan and use the sales events that the American Public celebrates and knows and make sure your messaging takes advantage of those events to maximize your own efforts. Create a calendar and check out my holiday hashtags article to include the tweeting public by adding event hashtags to social media posts.
• Here is a recap of the most celebrated sale dates to come this year:

Grandparents Day: September 7, 2014

Patriot Day: September 11, 2014

Columbus Day: October 13, 2014

Halloween: October 31,2014

Veterans Day: November 11, 2014

Thanksgiving Day: November 27, 2014 (Some sales started last Thanksgiving Day).

Black Friday: The Friday after Thanksgiving- November 28,2014

Small Business Saturday : The Saturday After Thanksgiving : November 29, 2014. Tie in with American Express marketing if you do this event. https://www.americanexpress.com/us/content/small-business/shop-small/about/

Cyber Monday: The Monday after Thanksgiving (some people have one per week to the holidays).

Hanukkah: December 16, 2014

Christmas: December 24, 2014 (remember the countdown and day before sales)

Day After Christmas Sales: December 26, 2014

New Years Eve Sale: December 31, 2014

New Years Day Sale: January 1, 2015

For a list of more holidays and special events click here (http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/)

• Check in with your industry for any special promotional events, conventions, or fundraisers that you can tie into in order to create your own event. These are events like: Home Improvement Month, Breast Cancer Awareness Month and any other organizations or non-profits you can use to benefit the organization and your own company at the same time.
• Consider a Cross Promotion with another company or organization that reaches out to the same target market (potential consumers or members) that your organization tries to target. Consider a cross promotion newsletter or sales event (% of proceeds this month only goes to _____). You can expand your Email Marketing list by sharing their news with your customers and having them do the same and cross promoting your events together to save advertising dollars.

Want to learn more? Come to my FREE  Upcoming Marketing Classes or contact me at 310-791-6300 for private help implementing your 4th Quarter Sales Strategy to achieve your goals.  Whatever your organization is trying to achieve, we can find a way to help you accomplish your goals.

Liz Harsch, has been helping small and medium sized businesses make the most of their marketing investments since 1988. Her company, Tailor-Made Advertising is an Authorized SCORE workshop presenter and an awarded Constant Contact Email Marketer and Authorized Local Expert presenting Workshops for Constant Contact, SCORE, SBDC, Metropolitan Water District, multiple Chambers of Commerce, The City of Los Angeles and other Organizations. If you are interested in a quote or more information on a mobile website email us at tmade.mkt@verizon.net.  For more information about Liz or Tailor-Made Advertising, visit tailormadeadvertising.com. To schedule Liz Harsch as a speaker on Traditional and Online Marketing, Social Media, Analytics or Email Marketing for your organization, contact Liz at 310-791-6300 or Email tmade.mkt@verizon.net.

5 Tips on Increasing Your Sales

The only difference between leads and customers is “yes”. However the key for today’s businesses is are you asking the right questions to achieve the “yes” to convert a lead into a sale? Here are a few tips on how to achieve the conversions from potential customer to a paying customer:

Step 1 – Ask the Right Question

Increase Your Sales by Improving Your Lead Follow Up

Don’t assume that the questions you have asked potential customers in the past are the right questions today. Example: Are you ready to buy our one year package? May work better today as “Would you like to purchase our one year package or would you prefer trying it first on a month-to-month lease?” Today’s customers like having choices and they don’t like to feel cornered, so offering them a choice can make them feel heard better and also give them an incentive to make a longer commitment on their own terms.

Write down the questions you ask potential customers today and try mixing it up a bit with an approach including alternatives. Then measure your success.

Step 2 – Review Your Past Prospects and Learn Something About Your Company

While it is important to determine your closing ratio (leads to solds) it is equally important to review who you sold to last month and the month before and compare who they were and what product or service they bought. Then compare them to previous customers to see if their priorities or needs have changed. One of the advantages of being a small business is you are able to move your strategies quickly when you see a trend change. However if you are too busy to review who is buying from you lately, you may miss an important trend that can propel your company over your competition. Take the time to review your current customers and their buying trends this year over the past.

Take a minute to jot down who you thing your primary customers are and what you think they buy the most and why? Then compile the actual statistics from your sales and a customer description. Do your expectations match the results or is there any trend you may have missed? If so, consider if there is a product or service that would help your business grow or  improve customer satisfaction?

Step 3 –How are you reaching your new leads 7-9 times to gain their trust?

Did you know that it takes 7-9 impressions with your brand in order for potential leads to trust you enough to become a customer? Write down on a piece of paper a trail from your brand’s first contact with a lead to how you would reach them 7-9 times using Email, Social Media, Traditional or Online advertising. How much time does that take you? Then reduce the time from first contact to 7-9 touches.

Step 4 – Don’t Skip the Phone Call or Phone Number

When you send out information to a potential customer make sure your phone number is there. Also make sure a personal call or Email is part of the plan in Step 3. Remember the goal is trust and in order to trust you, I need to feel like you personally reached out to me (even in an E-Mail). By creating an outbound calling follow up, you will achieve more trust than sending out another Email or ad. If your target market prefers texts, make that part of your follow up.

Step 5 – Track Your Successes

Don’t forget this step, track your leads and when they close. Record the steps in between and you will find a winning formula for now. Always be open to changing your program but note when it works well and as your ratio of leads to solds increases recognize that your planning led to the difference.  Then stay open to observing the next trend in three months, go through this again and see how your sales process has changed

Final Step – Come to my next Workshop and Learn More.

Liz Harsch has been helping small and medium sized businesses make the most of their marketing investments since 1988. Her company, Tailor-Made Advertising is an Authorized SCORE workshop presenter and an awarded Constant Contact Email Marketer and Authorized Local Expert presenting Workshops for Constant Contact, SCORE, SBDC, Metropolitan Water District, multiple Chambers of Commerce, the City of Los Angeles and other Organizations. For more information about her company and to learn about her FREE Workshops and Paid laptop bootcamps like facebook (next one 5/30 in Torrance), twitter, linkedin and analytics, visit tailormadeadvertising.com. To schedule her as a speaker for your organization, association or department, email her to request a date at tmade.mkt@verizon.net.