There are other options available when it comes to selling your product/service in addition to extra sales staff.
One is to set-up “sales alliances”. If you are wanting to boost your sales and don’t feel that an independent sales agent is for you, then it is worth investigating additional avenues that will help improve and build on sales.
Setting up a sales alliance is relatively easy. It will not cost you the earth and you will not need to alter your sales staff.
A sales alliance is where two businesses work together to each other’s benefit. This can be an effective way of reaching potential clients, while boosting referrals and in turn sales.
To create an effective sales alliance you will need to “pair” with a business or businesses that will benefit you both.
By having a win-win situation for each business there is no room for disgruntled business owners or for the alliance to favour one particular business.
Structuring a sales alliance
There are a number of ways of structuring a sales alliance.
Sharing a particular business premises or facilities is one way of creating an alliance.
This way businesses that are complementary to one another may move into the same facility. For instance, a photographer, event-coordinator, graphic designer could share the same facility. This way each businesses compliments the other and may generate spin-off sales as a result of one another’s customers.
Another option is to boost sales through “mutual benefit”. By mutual benefit we mean striking an arrangement with a complimentary business whereby each of you recommends the other to clients who may be looking for associated products or services.
For instance, a wedding dress shop may refer customers to a particular wedding photographer or florist and could even have this particular photographer’s work on display in their shop.
In turn, the wedding photographer may recommend the bridal store as part of his/her mutual benefit alliance.
While verbal referrals from other businesses are an excellent sales tool, you may decide to set-up a coupon/voucher system between you and your sales alliance partner.
Many businesses are using coupons and vouchers to attract customers. For example, they may offer them a two-for-one deal. Another example is working with a non-competitive business and offering coupons as part of a marketing partnership.
For example, a bookstore and a café may create a mutual alliance. The bookstore may offer a coupon featuring a two-for-one coffee deal at the café around the corner when a customer makes a book purchase. In return, the café may promote the bookstore’s book-of-the-week or feature flyers and promotional material. They may even have a special deal that if the customer spends over a certain amount at the café, they are entitled to a percentage off their next purchase at the bookstore.
With any sort of alliance, however, final details will need to be discussed carefully so each business is comfortable with the alliance formed.
It is also important that whichever business you form an alliance with is reputable and provides a quality product or service. After all, your business will be directly associated with this other business, so whatever your alliance partner does will reflect on you.
Using the Internet to generate additional sales
Creating a good selling strategy revolves around the customer and putting in place procedures which not only identify those customers but also create an atmosphere which makes it easier for the customer to buy.
While making sure you have an effective sales force is part of that process, so too is looking at other avenues available to you which can not only increase sales through added customer convenience but also help you with your marketing efforts.
One such avenue is the Internet. The Internet is a great platform for sales alliances, referrals, customer information, and of course, direct sales.
Getting your business online is the latest selling tool which is not only cost-effective but can also increase your sales. You can use your company Web site to sell your product and services as well as to promote your company as a whole.
If you don’t already have a Web site, it doesn’t necessarily need to be expensive, but like anything to do with business, you should plan your Web site carefully before you actually go online.
Make sure your thoroughly investigate the impact your Web site could have on your existing business prior to setting up your site. Many companies have had to close down their sites because it created an added burden on the company which it couldn’t cope with. They didn’t anticipate the volume of business nor did they cost their product or services correctly, so goods were sold at a loss or break-even online.
You will also need to investigate whether the name you want for your Web site is available. There may be many businesses with names similar to use which already have a Web site. Be aware, however, that you must be the holder of a registered business name in order to use that name for your Web site.
For instance, if your business was registered as “Bob’s International Shoes”, you could not register your Web site as “www.cheapshoes.com”. You would first need to register the business name, Cheap Shoes, before you could use that name in a Web site.
In addition to registering for a domain name, you will also need to investigate who will host your Web site. There are many Internet Service Providers (ISPs) which can help you.
Many of the ISPs also provide the option of using their Web site templates to create a Web site, if you are not able to create a site yourself or you can’t afford to hire a designer.
Once you have set-up a Web site the most effective way of getting people to your site is by listing it with major search engines such as Yahoo!, AltaVista, Google or Lycos.
EBC has created a series of Business Internet guides which take people through the step-by-step process of how to get their business online and how to create an online business.
Once you have created your Web site, you will then need to generate traffic or drive your customers to that site in order for it to be effective.This can take numerous forms such as e-mail, Web directories and coupons.
Generating sales via E-Mail
Even if you don’t have a Web site, most businesses have access to e-mail, which is an effective way of contacting existing and potential customers and keeping them informed about your business.
There are a number of ways you can get customer e-mail addresses. Firstly, you can buy an e-mail address list from a mailing list broker.
However, make sure the names on the list are from people who have identified themselves as wanting to receive e-mails regarding your industry.
Be aware that sending unsolicited e-mails can be considered “spamming” or electronic junk mail and is considered illegal.
If you plan to do street surveys as part of your market research you could ask survey participants for permission to e-mail them with information regarding your business.
You can also ask for e-mail addresses from customers to keep them informed about any new products or sales, etc. You should keep these names in a database.
If you plan to use e-mail to promote your business you must take steps to ensure customers want to hear from you, as well as make the information you send attractive and interesting.
It is also important to allow customers to easily unsubscribe from your e-mail list. This can be done by having an “unsubscribe” option as part of the e-mails you send. Make sure you take notice of those customers who wish to unsubscribe. Customers will become annoyed if they continue to receive unsolicited mail.
Selling via specialised Web directories
Even if you don’t have your own Web page, there are plenty of specialised Web directories to register with.
Some of them act as online information files. The Web directory owner will create a basic Web page for your business. There is a fee to register which is usually a one-off cost or there may be a monthly fee involved.
