6 Sales Tips to Give Your Business a Head Start in The New Year
It’s human nature, most of us—consciously or not—“kick back” a little in December, enjoying family, the holiday atmosphere, and a more laid-back vibe at the office. A few decorations and the occasional plate of cookies “someone brought in” contributes to the mood.
But as a businessperson, it’s in your nature to constantly think about making your business more successful. When that glittering ball descends in Times Square on New Year’s Eve, it’s more than a signal to celebrate. It’s like the colored lights at a drag race telling your business it’s time to “Go!” and I hope these sales tips will give you a head start.
Sales Tips Make for Helpful Holiday Reading
I’m guessing that you might have an extra minute or two for a little reading as you sip your peppermint-chip mocha during the holidays. So scratching that business “itch” I’ve put together a few sales tips. It’s not exactly the “Twelve Days of Christmas” but you can think of it as “The Six Ways to Make Next Year Your Best Year.”
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Utilize Consultative Selling
This is important for any sales-based organization. Put simply, it means to have an open conversation with your prospect to determine what the real need is, and to help find a solution for it. Note: this is not just a tricky way to get past his or her defenses and sell your product. It’s a genuine attempt to be as helpful as you can.
The hard (and hopeful) truth is that once you’ve listened and helped provide a real solution—even if it doesn’t include your product—you’ve made a valuable friend and ally who might lead you to dozens of contacts and customers down the road.
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Use Sales Enablement Tools
As your sales force becomes more attuned to consultative selling, you can offer them plenty of back-up through sales enablement solutions that support them and help them convert leads into sales. Database management helps them with timely information to maximize their time management. Marketing analytics help them determine the prospects most likely to benefit from the promoted offerings. Lead generation and nurturing helps ensure proper management of the consultative process to best result in a sale.
Specialized technologies like Superior’s GoToPrint.co permits quick generation of customer documents, proposals and presentations, brochures, sell sheets and other materials to help explain the solution and close the deal. Superior’s sales enablement tools make a salesperson’s life more pleasant, organized and profitable.
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Use Marketing Enablement Tools
Find practical ways to build and nurture the customer relationship. If you’re using cold calls, you’re not trying hard enough—and probably not getting enough successful results. A meaningful one-to-one dialogue with a potential customer can spring from a wide range of vehicles that can be successfully integrated with your marketing efforts.
Print, digital, and social media communications can be great sales-starters. We can show you a variety of marketing enablement tools that permit you to customize messaging to and for each prospect or group of prospects efficiently, along with technologies that make them simple and even more cost-effective.
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Use Promotional Items Wisely
The role of promotional items has changed a great deal since the “trinkets and freebies” mindset once prevalent in business circles. Today, they play an increasingly vital role in establishing a bond with customers and prospects. Studies have shown that promotional items are actually the most effective forms of advertising, remembered and appreciated far longer by recipients than any other vehicle.
Promotional gifts are used most effectively as part of a well-thought-out marketing plan, and not simply tossed into the mix on a whim. The key is in choosing items that are relevant and appropriate for your target audience, and getting them from quality sources in a timely manner. Superior’s extensive experience in promotional items can help guide you towards best practices in order to make them meaningful for your business. A Promotional Product Review is free, and a great way to start the new year. Just call us!
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Put Print Management to Work in Your Company
From the simplest, most frequently used business forms to full-color brochures, print projects are extremely important to your business—too important to handle in any other way than an organized print management system. Our print e-procurement technologies allow you to streamline the order and reorder of printed forms, reports, brochures and more. That results in guaranteed quality, predictable costs and reliable delivery; and you can designate any employee(s) you like in any parts of your enterprise to do the ordering from among choices pre-approved by you.
In addition, our centralized e-sourcing print purchasing platform allows us to use our extensive experience, coupled with the current supply-and-demand situation, to bid and source your more complex print projects to the most talented and dependable in our unmatched network of pre-qualified vendors. With our print management capabilities in your corner, your print projects will deliver maximum impact with a minimum of stress.
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Appreciate Your Employees
Planning ahead for your business certainly ought to include the people who play such a large part in making your business successful. It’s both good business and good citizenship. After all, you wouldn’t expect your customers to show loyalty if you merely sent them a holiday card each year and didn’t work at the relationship. Same with employees—and it’s true even if you will be handing out holiday bonuses one day soon.
Think about how you will show employees more consideration in the new year. Perhaps it’s an added employee benefit like schedule flexibility or an incentive program. Maybe it’s just a monthly potluck lunch, or a new Keurig or microwave in the breakroom. Or maybe it’s just your own resolution to gather them together every Friday to express thanks to individuals for their hard work each week. But make a conscious effort; they deserve it.
Improve Your Sales in 2017
So while you’re soaking up the holiday atmosphere, think about those 365 days coming up in 2017 and what you can do to improve your business; both inside and outside the company. If you’re interested, why not contact us for a free 30 minute sales and marketing enablement consultation? After almost 100 years in business, we know a thing or two about helping clients increase sales and save time and money. Happy Holidays!
