The thing to remember is that selling isn't a magic bullet but, rather, a process. That means you need to put in planning and effort in order to improve your efficiency. It isn't about putting more pressure on clients or customers to get the sale. Instead, you need to be more customer-centric and offer them a solution to their problem and a real return on their investment. In a tight market it is critical to listen to your customers - if you talk twice as much as them, you will probably lose the sale. This is because selling is not a one-way but a two-way process: you need to go round to the customer's side of the table and see things from their point of view. One of the ways to take pressure off the sale is to make sure that you have enough leads in the first place. If you don't have enough leads, you will be tempted to push, but if you have 10 leads then it is not such a big deal. You shouldn't care about any one particular deal but about your overall targets and you should care about the client and about being professional. One piece of advice I'd give you would be to try to make selling a habit so that you create a continual stream of leads and sales activity. Otherwise, you could be drawn into a boom and bust sales cycle. That leads to businesses being forced to discount to win business at any cost and customers, sensing your desperation, fishing for further discounts. Another thing to do is to diversify your sales strategy. Just relying on cold calls, advertising or the Yellow Pages is dangerous. Finally, before you rush off to secure dozens of meetings with potential customers, it is worth remembering that your current customers are likely to turn out to be your most profitable customers. Not only might you be able to sell more to them - but also they might well be able to introduce you to other sales opportunities. Anyway, here are my top tips: A lot of companies are scared of investing or making moves into a new market, in case it backfires. But if you are bold and invest in your marketing and promotion then you will,Cheap Rodgers-Cromartie Jersey, I believe, see the rewards. But, even if you are committed to your sales program, what is the best way to sell in today's climate? Once we have made our plan and started to implement it,Cheap Haloti Ngata Jersey, we need to make sure that it is working and that it can be improved as necessary. To do this properly, we need to 'track the response', keep records and evaluate the effectiveness of what we are doing. Do these things and you will remain in control. o Objective: To generate 'store traffic' (potential customers) for your antiques market/gallery/boutique. o Strategy: To encourage people to 'sample' what you have to offer - getting them through the door the first time is the key, and if they like what they find they will come back. o Tactics: A complimentary glass of champagne during your opening few days, and generous discounts during the first week or month of opening. News of your opening/discount offer can be promoted via the local papers (which are usually very happy to run this kind of story, especially if there is a special discount for the paper's readers) and via leaflets put through letterboxes in the surrounding area. It is very tempting when things appear gloomy to feel that there is nothing much one can do. Since Christmas, I have been giving seminars up and down the country to the owners of small- and medium-size businesses who want to boost their sales and marketing. The first point I always make is that in these testing times it is important to stay positive and focus on your customers and selling techniques. I also urge them to increase rather than cut their marketing spend. The credit crunch and the recession have created an opportunity. But remember that, whatever activity you undertake, be it advertising and marketing or making a sales call, it will work best when it is part of a properly developed and cost plan - you should not think about it in isolation. You need to have well-defined objectives, a realistic strategy for achieving them and a sensible number of 'tactical campaign activities'. Let's take an example: o Start with your own attitude: believe in your abilities and believe in your product or service. o Make sure you are well educated not only about your own product but also about your competitors' products. o Up-sell or cross-sell to your existing customers first and ask them for referrals. o Then, check your customer database for lapsed customers and get in touch with them. o Start contacting potential customers in your market only when you have optimized the sales value of your existing customers. o Measure your sales efforts, so you can see what is working and what isn't. o Be proactive. Follow up leaflets and mailings with phone calls,Cheap Fran Tarkenton Jersey, meetings and then an email. o Understand your customers' problems. Only then can you give them a compelling reason to buy from you.