What would you give in order to generate more sales?

In my first week of working alongside the current set of business owners in the Fishbowl it is very clear that many are facing up to the challenge of converting their leads into new customers.

In any business climate learning to master sales can be tough, in these challenging times building up the right relationships and having the ability to win new business is vital for any business owner looking to grow.

Think about the current climate. The money is still around, and while certain sectors have been hit very badly, there are many others that are still doing OK. What has happened is that everybody is now more cautious about spending what they have. So if we increase our lead generation what do we get?

That’s right, more prospects who want to think about it!

So how do we go about creating the disciplines and the processes to become more successful in improving our conversion rate. I have highlighted five different strategies below that I work on with ally my clients to help them to improve this part of their business:

1. Follow up – It is amazing how such a simple strategy can be so effective. Every quote, introduction, tender you do is just the start of your conversion process. So many businesses spend hundreds of pounds getting a lead, many hours preparing a quote and then, if they don’t hear back, just say “oh well,” and move onto the next lead. This is such a waste of time, effort and money that anybody doing it should be ashamed.

Just think of how many times you have been offered something and then life has got in the way so you did not get around to ordering it. How pleasant would it have been if somebody had reminded you and helped you complete the purchase? Also remember if you do not follow up, your competition will!

2. Unique Selling Proposition (USP) – Why should somebody buy from you rather than your competition? When times get tough you may find more people in your sector trying to compete on price. Educating your prospects about your uniqueness and how you add value is the only way to ensure you get the business and still make a good margin. If you can communicate with your prospect all the benefits they will get by buying from you, why would they go anywhere else?

3. Guarantee – One of the main reasons people don’t buy is that they have a fear they will be let down at some point in the process. It is your job to identify in what areas these fears may lie and then to guarantee that by buying from you they will not be let down. Just look to the big companies like M&S, Domino Pizza and DHL for great examples of this.

4. Benefits and testimonials – Another great way to alleviate people’s fears of buying from you is to show them what benefits your existing customers have received by buying from you by getting written testimonials from them. These should include real benefits to them, not just “they are great people to buy from.” If your customers do not know what to say then there is no harm in preparing a testimonial for them to sign.

5. Measure it – It has been proven that just by regularly measuring your results, they will improve by upto 5%. This works because by monitoring your results you are setting your subconscious brain to look for ways to improve that factor.

Just by working on these strategies you can make an amazing difference to your revenues and it need not cost you a penny. So go on, take action and increase your conversion rate NOW!

It is fair to say that creating a successful social media campaign is not easy or are we just technophobes? The concept of networking and relationship based activity is almost as old as the hills. For most the problems start with the pace of change and the time to learn it yet alone do it successfully. The tools are evolving all the time and in pretty exciting ways. Many of which are free such as Facebook.com, Linkedin.com and Twitter.com have proved themselves useful as social network services as has Wordpress.com, Typepad.com and Tumblr.com for publishing all the way to Hootsuite.com, Ping.fm and Tweetdeck.com for message management and even Gist.com for Social CRM (Client Relationship Management). Have I lost you yet? No, good.

So what can we do to make it work for us? Here are some ideas to consider before you get too deep in the techie stuff:

1. Develop a simple digital marketing strategy and identify target market profiles you hope to attract.

2. Create micro promotional campaigns that have a limited shelf life that are packed full of benefits to the target audience. Then rotate campaigns to keep it fresh.

3. Understand the nature of the selected social media services and limit yourself to the ones most commonly used by the target audience per micro campaign (no more than four at any one time).

4. Provide Clear and Relevant “calls to action” in your promotions or posts and keep the message simple.

5. Be invitational in your communication style and allow people to contribute to your agenda.

6. Commit at least six hours per week to your social media activity.

7. Be patient, it takes time to see a return on investment from your social media efforts but it’s worth it.

8. If budget allows seek professional support to aid you in the basic initial setup and establish a sound foundation and design quality.

Please excuse the headline pun ladies but I couldn't resist!

You see, this is how the press works - they want your attention so that they can sell their papers. Headlines are designed to do just that.

This is what is happening with regards to the recent "scaremongering" you describe over the HPA findings.

Just to recap, some sections of the press seized upon the recent findings of the HPA and used them to question the safety of ALL fish spas. That negativity could affect numerous spas across the UK and perhaps even yours at Fresh Feet.

Now, the press isn't going to pick over the details and explain which spas are good, which are bad, which need to improve etc. That will bore the pants off the readership and they don't have the time or resource anyway. So, your mission (if you choose to accept it) is to do it for them.

I am encouraged to see you have already brought this potential PR crisis into the light by blogging about it on here and providing information on your website. That is a great start. In a crisis, hiding and hoping it will all go away just isn't going to work, which again is why I am very pleased to hear that you have already opened dialogue with Peak FM - your local broadcaster.

If you can be the business that provides the clear message and explains the facts, reassuring the market whilst at the same time sneaking in references to how well managed your own offering is, you may even find that you could benefit from all of this. You have the safeguards in place, you understand and welcome the legislation - the report even. In short, you are the experts.

This way, you get to jump into the story and make your own mark - telling your side. Journalists want balance. If you can provide it, you can turn this crisis around for Fresh Feet and those in the industry that adhere to the same quality standards that you do.

You have already taken a step back and begun to produce an information guide - this is great stuff. It may even double as a useful flyer for your other marketing efforts. It may not seem it right now but handled well, this could be a blessing in disguise. So many times I hear from people that cannot get editorial coverage for their business and time after time it comes down to one simple thing...

It isn't news!

However, this situation has brought the news agenda right to your door.

Answer it politely and you may find that this unwelcome visitor turns out to be your best salesman.

You can read more about how to handle a crisis on my blog here

Hello George - OK, red pen poised (joking!).

Firstly, what you have written is pretty good - in fact it is almost too good. Why? Well, the biggest thing that jumps out at me is that is reads like it has been written by the Own Art scheme or a government PR department rather than you. Where is George in all this? Donde esta Cuadros?

Basically, the media craves people stories. Even when the story itself is about a business, the spotlight tends to focus on the person at the front of the stage, the owner. A common mistake for many when writing a press release is to effectively regurgitate a sales brochure and then try and sneak in a news hook. You have actually gone the other way but perhaps a few steps too far. You need to bring the focus back onto you and Cuadros and away from the scheme.

Impact

The scheme is great and it answers one of the classic questions that press releases must - "how?" (the others are Who? What? Where? When, Why? and So what next?) see my post on how to write an effective press release - but you don't need so much detail on the scheme at the expense of information on Cuadros and the IMPACT your accreditation to the scheme now has on your business (the "so what?").

The media, like many of us, aren't that bothered about how something works, it is what it does, what it means and the impact on you/a business/person that matters. Throw in government initiatives and (whilst in many cases very worthy - especially here) you are lobbing your press release onto the pile of other government initiatives/schemes press releases that land in an inbox every day.

Get more selfish

Now, don't get me wrong, you need to clarify and explain the process, indeed it is essential, as it shows that your story and business has gravitas but you don't need to play the hand so hard. I would keep the nuts and bolts of the scheme in terms of how it works but file away the background and goals of the scheme under notes to editors to be picked up if further clarification is needed. Use the rest of the piece to elaborate on You You You! What happens now? Have you had more customers in? Perhaps use one as a case study to add more people-power to your story "Look, John/Joan Smith can afford quality art - they never knew until now and it is all thanks to Cuadros and the Own Art scheme"

I like the quote you included but again, too selfless. What you say is great but it makes you sound more like a government minister - don't be afraid to be yourself George. Inject your personality! You can make the points about the local economy which is great and shows that you are thinking outside of your business but I want more on Cuadros, MORE I tell you (bangs fist on desk).

Bring out the big guns

Finally, take a look at your opening paragraph. You have to read to the final sentence to find the hook. Will the journalist? Put that statement up front bold as brass and then fill in the background to help the journalist from there. One other thing, did you include a photo? Visuals are your biggest weapon George, bring out the big guns!

Branding can be immensely important. The value of the ‘brand’ of household names such as Hoover and Mars, is put at multi millions, forgetting the products behind them.