7 SALES TRICKS THAT HAVE RESULTED IN NEW REVENUE FOR THE BUSINESS

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Finding new clients for your business can be incredibly hard. Time-consuming. Full of rejection. Soul destroying.

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A lot of entrepreneurs hide behind the u201cthe economy is strugglingu201d, u201cbusinesses arenu2019t spending any moreu201d wall of doubt and lack of confidence when it comes to selling. Let me tell you, there are plenty of prospects out there for your business u2013 youu2019re just not looking in the right places.

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I wanted to share a few sales tricks Iu2019ve used over the years to help find and persuade new clients to use our services. u00a0

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Sometimes, you have to think differently to get what you want.

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1. Do stuff for free to grab their attention

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No, I hear you cry. YES! If you are struggling for sales right now and work is a little light on the ground. Get off your backside and go find a business you want to call your client u2013 and wow them with some free stuff. If you can bespoke it to their business, even better.

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There were several businesses we wanted to work for and so I found the name of the owner and we created short animated versions of their logo u2013 for FREE. I sent it to them, letting them have unlimited use of the logo with absolutely no strings attached.

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This resulted in a few new clients!

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2. Youu2019re looking for the wrong people in the business

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Wanting to work for a big organisation? Donu2019t waste your time trying to contact the more senior members of the board or team. You wonu2019t get very far very fast.

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Instead, look for account executives, marketing executives, new employees, and other employees slightly further down the corporate food chain. Most of the time they are the ones with the most influence when it comes to looking for new suppliers. Youu2019ll stand a better chance of building strong relationships too.

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We work with lots of agencies and I will always contact an account manager or executive in the first instance u2013 theyu2019re the ones looking after their clientsu2019 projects and budgets and theyu2019ll be the ones making the decisions.

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3. Strategic partnerships

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Find other businesses that want to offer even more value to their own clients and see if thereu2019s any synergy there with what you offer. You scratch mine and Iu2019ll scratch yours type of thing.

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For example, a graphic designer might want to offer video to their clients and so theyu2019re looking for an affordable and reliable video company to take this kind of work on. Maybe they donu2019t even realise that this is a possible new revenue and value stream and they need someone like you to inform them.

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4. Donu2019t waste your time with networking events

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Controversial I know. But, Iu2019ve said it now. Iu2019ve been to countless networking events, drank countless cups of tea, exchanged (and binned) hundreds upon hundreds of business cards from lawyers, accountants, financial advisors, photographers, printers, etc., and stood in a room feeling incredibly awkward trying to muscle in on little groups of business folk chatting about, I donu2019t know what.

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Youu2019ll spend way too much time trying to find everyone else business and lose time to concentrate on your own sales pipeline.

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I get many spam emails every day for the latest, newest, biggest and best networking events (quote-unquote). Delete.

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Stop. Save your energy.

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Go to business events like exhibitions, talks, workshops, etc. Youu2019ll have more success (and fun) there.

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5. Be a thought leader and own your industry

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Stop hiding your knowledge and expertise. Itu2019s time to show the world just how much you know, how valuable your knowledge is and that you are the go-to person in your industry.

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We are living in the age of content, my friends. Itu2019s also the most powerful tool for Search Engine Optimisation.

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Write blog posts, record short videos and share on your website and social media. As much as you possibly can. Make it relevant and informative and under no circumstances try to oversell!!

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Trust me, Google (and other search engines) will love you for this.

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6. Itu2019s right under your nose

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Look at your current client list. Spend time looking at what you have done for them in the past, think back to past conversations and pick up on any issues they are having. Then figure out what else you can be doing to help them grow their business even more. u00a0

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They call it u201cup-sellingu201d, I like to say itu2019s delivering more value.

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Weu2019ve been producing videos for our clients for years and now weu2019ve started offering a wider content marketing service u2013 a) to help them get a bigger audience for their video investment and b) to help them find their ideal prospects through other online and offline channels. Giving them everything under one roof.

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This is paying off significantly for the business.

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7. Be the quickest out of the gate

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Do you receive many inbound sales inquiries? Are you tagged in many posts on LinkedIN (and other channels) for people looking for suppliers?

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Yes?

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Make sure you reply within 5 or 10 minutes! Especially for inbound emails or forms from your website. Always and forever. Youu2019ll be amazed at the results and your prospect will be VERY grateful for your quick response as their time is very precious. This is a great first impression and could be the deciding factor in you winning the world over the other handful of suppliers they have contacted.

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And hereu2019s one more as a bonus…….. u00a0

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8. Get busy on LinkedIN

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Weu2019ve had the MOST sales success via LinkedIN and I could do a whole post on the many sales tricks I use to grab the attention of prospective clients. However, I donu2019t want to give too many of my secrets away.u00a0

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I will say, direct messages or InMail on LinkedIN is a massively powerful tool for building and nurturing relationships with potential new clients and you should be focusing as much of your time on this as possible.

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Donu2019t be tight, sign up for the Premium account (itu2019s currently u00a339.99 per month) and follow these instructions:

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1.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0Make a list of the businesses you would dearly love to call a client

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2.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0Now find the desired contact at that business

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3.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0Spend at LEAST 20 minutes researching the business and that person (social media etc). This IS NOT about volume!

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4.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0Write a direct message that is at least 50% bespoke to that person and contains info about their business u2013 keep it light and personable and do not try to sell sell sell here!

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5.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0Offer them value u2013 a freebie maybe?

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6.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0Show them that you are credible, trustworthy and reliable.

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7.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0Follow them on all social media and add a few comments/likes to some of their posts (gets your name in front of them)

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8.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0Be patient and do not hound them

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Hope you find these helpful and if you have any more to add please do so in the comments below.

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Feel free to share this article with your network if you found it useful. And, email me if you think I’ve missed any essential sales tricks! You can get me directly at dannylacey@stadamedia.co.uk.

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