How do you define a happy customer? It’s usually someone who feels they haven’t been ‘sold to’ at all. They feel like they’ve received good value for money, as if they now have something they really want and that the purchasing decision was theirs alone.

Of course your customers should always feel that way when they have bought something from you, but how do you instill this ‘unsold to’ feeling when you know you have to do exactly that - sell your product or service? It’s all about selling creatively, about being a little different from your competitors and having the confidence and conviction to carry the sale through.

Reinforce your status as a specialist

People who are perceived as experts in their field are often granted automatic credibility and trust. If you have been selling your product or service for a period of time you may find that your customers will begin to recognize you as a specialist in your field. If you and your sales team are well established as specialists then make sure that your customers know it. You should emphasize it in your marketing materials and advertising. For example, you could add a tagline to your logo, (Jones Trailers – Helping people on the move for over 40 years), and mention it as a unique selling point when talking to customers.

Follow up individual sales with another offer

Recent satisfied customers will still have you top-of-mind and may be particularly open to another purchase at this time. So while your customers are still in a positive state of mind about your business it’s a great idea to offer them a deal on a complementary product or service.

Be creative with customer objections

You have probably experienced a customer responding to your sales efforts by saying they don’t have enough money, don’t need it right now, or will call again later.  You may have tried hard to change their decision and overcome these objections to still make the sale. But often it is already too late at this stage - objections need to be dealt with before you ask for the sale, not after the customer has made up their mind. The way to do this convincingly and creatively is to think about likely objections beforehand and work the answers in as part of the sales presentation.

Start by writing down a list of objections that apply to your product or service. This list could include the following:

·       “Your price is too high”

·       “I can't get budget approval”

·       “Someone else makes the decision”

·       “We always take the lowest bid”

·       “We can get it cheaper from someone else”

Then put yourself in your customer’s shoes and write down what they want, such as:

·       Added value to their business

·       No wasted follow up time sorting out problems

·       Answers to their major business issues.

Now you must merge these real customer needs into your product or service offering, which you can do by starting your sales presentation by tackling customer objections and not by simply promoting your product. You can create a dialogue with your customer that will demonstrate to them that buying from you, at your price, is what’s best for them in the long run.

Just remember that customers will never object to saving money and avoiding post sales hassles.

Remember the basics

The basics of sales - such as knowing your product and your customer - may seem commonsense, but many business owners forget to give them the attention they deserve. Make sure you know the ins and outs of the product or service that you’re selling so you can answer any questions without hesitation. Also write down personal details your customer may tell you, such as their family situation or hobbies. They’ll be delighted when you remember later on.

Be creative and win

Being creative with your selling doesn’t mean coming up with crazy promotions. It means dealing with everyday issues with flair, listening intently to your customers’ needs and applying appropriate solutions. It means thinking on your feet, relating well to the people you deal with and being passionate about your own business. Only then will your customers be sold on your business, without feeling ‘sold to’.

“We couldn’t believe it when we found out it was John. Thousands of dollars of inventory gone and he was the last person we would have suspected. He seemed so honest and reliable – we didn’t even think he needed supervision because he was so professional and diligent. We thought we could trust him. How wrong we were.”

Don’t think this could ever happen to you? Think again.

Employee theft is, unfortunately, commonplace in all too many businesses. In fact even apparently minor pilfering of office stationery and stores, making color photocopies on the office printer, and ‘borrowing’ software for home use, could be costing you real money right now or putting you at legal risk. A study by theUniversity of Florida found that almost half of all business losses are due to employee theft. Indeed, the same study estimates internal theft costs American retailers alone $15 billion a year.

These staggering figures indicate that most businesses are just not dealing with the potential for fraud and misuse of business resources effectively. All too often significant funds, assets and resources will have vanished before anyone cottons on - and the offender will often leave the company before being caught.

But it doesn’t have to be like this. A well designed loss prevention program can help identify potential fraudsters even during the hiring process and will also allow you to detect attempts at fraud or theft in your business before it gets out of hand.

Ten tips to help make your business theft proof

1.    Minimize the risk of hiring a pilferer in the first place. Do thorough background checks on new team members and ensure you speak to former employers for a character reference. Checking conviction records through a private detective agency can also be worthwhile for some particularly at risk positions, but keep in mind that there are laws governing this practice, such as anti-discrimination and privacy laws. Make sure you consult with a legal professional before you attempt any checking of records.

2.    Make sure no financial transaction is handled from beginning to end by only one person. Separate the accounts receivable and payable functions either internally or by outsourcing some of your accounting procedures.

3.    Keep your accounts up-to-date. Regular reconciliation makes it easier to detect fraud.

4.    Conduct regular physical inventories. Once a year is not enough – reconcile stock with sales at least quarterly and involve an outside auditor.  Occasionally do an unscheduled check.

5.    Limit the number of people who have the authority to sign company checks. Requiring two signatories is a real safeguard.

6.    Ask for bank statements to be sent to you personally. Check the statement for any irregularities before giving it to your internal accounts team.

7.   Watch your cash register records. An excess of no sale or void actions indicates you could have a problem.

8.    Guard your petty cash. Have a ‘no receipt, no refund policy’ for all purchases made by team members.

9.    Be suspicious if team members refuse to take a holiday. This could indicate they are worried about being caught out in their absence.

10.      Institute an anonymous, off-site theft alert program so that your team members have an avenue through which they can report suspected fraud or theft. 

Put in place these simple procedures and you’ll go a long way toward preventing fraud and pilfering in your business.

Have you ever thought about profiling your customers to assess such things as their average income level or life style? Have you ever checked your competitors’ prices and the services they offer around the sale? These things ought to be a consideration in your pricing strategy. So, next question - do you have a pricing strategy?

For many small businesses pricing products and services is more a matter of guesswork than logic. Mindful of competitor pricing they make the mistake of undercutting to win business rather than carefully working out the price they need to charge to not only cover the cost of doing business, but to make all the hard work worthwhile by turning a reasonable profit.

Straight price cutting in response to competition is a dangerous strategy, one that can ultimately cut your profits to the point where you might as well sell up. Far better to sit down and work out a pricing strategy that reflects the nature of your products and market, AND makes you money!

Covering costs

The first step in developing a pricing strategy is to work out your overheads. It’s really important to identify absolutely everything that costs you money, including rent, wages, utilities, software, and insurance. Don’t forget to include your own salary in this. Also include the cost of servicing capital assets (loan interest and depreciation charges), including any IT equipment and vehicles that you own.

Market research

Once you have identified the costs associated with running your business you can begin to think about how you want to price your services. To get a feel for the market, it’s a great idea to find out what your competitors charge, but it’s inadvisable to base your prices on this alone because they might be offering a slightly different mix of services, and their overheads are also likely to be somewhat different.

Pricing strategies

Reaction pricing - lowering your price because the person up the road just lowered theirs - is not usually a workable long term solution. A price war means no-one makes money. And if you position yourself as the lowest cost option you run the risk of customers leaving you when another, even lower priced alternative comes along. And remember that if your customers perceive your price to be too low it will make them just as wary as when they perceive your price to be too high.

Conversely, it’s important not to price yourself out of the market. So instead of just checking what price your competitors are selling at, evaluate the services they offer their customers and whether they market on the basis of their unique core differentiators. Then consider what you can offer. If you feel that what you can do is worth more than what your competitors offer, price your services accordingly. This is called a premium pricing strategy. For it to work you need to be able to demonstrate your value to your customers in a convincing way and to get the message out among them.

Be prepared to negotiate your prices to win business. Negotiation involves a little planning but is a useful business tool when used properly. To ensure you’re still making money, you need to build in a premium to the initial price quoted and also determine a price floor under which you are not prepared to go.

Another pricing strategy that’s worth considering is straight discounts for volume. Loss leaders are also an option, as are two-part pricing strategies. Peak pricing (when you charge a premium for proprietary products or for work done at the last minute) is another pricing alternative you can look at.

Price increases

Take your time to do some homework on your product offering and selling points when determining your pricing strategy because, once in place, it’s difficult to change without upsetting customers. And if you are planning on raising prices, it’s a good idea to do it incrementally, rather than wait for years and then slugging clients with a massive price hike.

The best way to start considering pricing is to first step back and get some professional advice on how you can differentiate your product, improve your marketing and deliver great customer service. Then you’ll be able to consider a premium pricing strategy that cashes in on the things that make you different, rather than fighting it out on cost alone.

How to use direct mail to speak to new customers

It’s landed in the letterbox, looks intriguing and is begging to be opened. What’s this … a four day holiday for two but only for a limited time? Sign me up!

Done well, direct mail can be one of the most targeted, cost effective and measurable ways to market your products and services. Done badly, it can be an expensive disaster. So how to ensure yours is a success?

Know what you want to achieve

Sounds obvious, but your objective for the exercise must be precise and carefully aligned with your overall marketing plan. For example, you may be facing a traditionally quiet time and want to attract new business to maintain your income stream. Your objective may be that 20 per cent of August revenue will be generated from this campaign.

Consider how to achieve it

Here are just some of the promotions your direct mail piece can deliver:

·       Introducing a new product or service

·       Announcing a discount or special sale

·       An invitation to a special event

·       A competition or give-away

·       A new incentive program.

A compelling message

A poorly written or confusing sales letter will generally not be read. Keep your piece as brief as possible using concise paragraphs, short sentences and no jargon. The message should be simple and easy to understand. Importantly, the ‘call to action’ must be easy for your customer to understand and carry out.

Tell the right individuals

The most fabulous direct marketing piece in the world is useless if sent to an inappropriate target audience. Try selling retirement homes to teenagers! The good news is that you can identify suitable customers to target if you take the time to source a good mailing list. List brokers can provide ready-made lists to rent (one use only) or buy – and can also customize a list for you.

Maintain a customer database

Now you’ve got them, keep them. Don’t record just contact details – track which sort of offer they responded to, or which sort of product, and use the information to keep them up to date on similar offers and products in future.

Measure your results

Place a unique code on your letter and ask your customers to quote it when they respond. This is an excellent way of tracking your success and helping to refine future marketing efforts. It’s also helpful for predicting the costs and likely returns of future campaigns.

A powerful tool

Direct mail is still regarded as one of the most effective marketing tools available. While unsolicited emails often go unread people are much more likely to open a personally addressed envelope. Just remember the all important combination … a Compelling Message sent in an Enticing Manner to the Right Person … and you will be on the way to a successful direct mail campaign.