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Back to the things that worked

Written by: Bob Janet

Article Overview: Is it time for you to go back to the ways you use to promote your business and sell your products and services? USA TODAY: 10/3/07 Sears Reviving holiday Wish Book Fourteen years after shelving its venerable catalogs, Sears is reviving the holiday tradition as it struggles to attract new shoppers and revive business.

Back to the things that worked

When I was growing up and even when I was raising a family I remember the day the Sears Holiday Wish Book (catalog) arrived in the mail. Oh, what excitement. Everyone in the family wanted to page through the catalog at once, picking out the things they wanted for the holidays. But then Sears must have listened to the so called experts. You know the people that tell others how to sell but never sold themselves.

I can picture now. A bunch of well educated, as they call them in some parts of the county, "book learned" experts showing Sears reports and computer grafts, facts and figures proving that the catalog was not the modern way to market. The figures proved it. I recall my father once telling me, "Figures don't lie, Liars figure. And so went the Holiday Wish Book. A profitable marketing tool put on the shelve to collect duct.

Are some of your best marketing and selling tools on the shelve collecting dust?

Is this the right time for you to go back and use the selling tools that made you money years ago? Tools like personally contacting your customers. In Person.

Tools like following up with your customers. I think one of the top mistakes most sellers make is not following up. The top sales producers start following up even before they contact the customers. They do their homework. You have a great advantage over your competition and you will save yourself a lot of time and marketing cost if you first make sure you are marketing to your perfect prospect. Your perfect prospect is the person or business you can make the most amount of money from with the least amount of work and expenses. Then find out who the real decision makers are in the business. Then learn all you can about them. Like when is the best day and time to contact them? Who are they buying the products and services you sell and why are they buying them there?

What are their satisfactions and dissatisfactions with their present supplier?

Now follow up after the offer. This is the time to reinforce the offer, increase the benefits, answer any questions, add urgency and build your relationship with them. Of course you follow up after the offer as many times as needed to make the sale.

Next follow up after the sale with your thank you telephone calls, emails and of course the best way to say thank you is your hand written thank you note.
Follow up after the sale to solve any problems, solve misunderstandings, sell add on items, and continue to build Relationship

If you sell a product or service that is not instantly delivered you must follow up during the delivery.

Continue to thank your customer, solve problems and misunderstandings, sell add on items, build the relationship, keep them informed about the time table of the delivery and make your next sales appointment.

And then follow up after the delivery.
Stay in touch with them and they will stay in touch with you when a buying decision is made.

Look at old promotions that were very successful. Look at how well you use to know your customers. How they use to view you.
If it is time to increase your sales and profits, perhaps going back to the things that worked in the past is the present way to market and sell.

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Article Tags: amount of money, best marketing, book catalog, collecting dust, decision makers, excitement, holiday wish book, holidays, homework, liars, mail, marketing cost, marketing tool, producers, profitable marketing, right time, satisfactions, sears, selling tools, shelve



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