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!