Cross-selling is the art of offering a complementary product or service to a customer who is in the process of purchasing a different product or service. The idea of a cross sell is to provide in additional product that complements the product they have already decided to purchase.many times the product or service that is offered any cross sell is actually very beneficial to be purchasing customer.
Read MoreSales is an essential component to any business. In fact, I would even argue that it is the most important element for a company - if you don’t have sales, you don’t have a business.
For that very reason, many companies spend thousands and thousands of dollars to provide their sales staff with skills they need to increase their productivity.
But I learned a very difficult lesson early on.
Read MoreA sales process is an intentional strategy used to convert prospects into paying customers. This is often accomplished by designing a “sales funnel” where customers are given a clear path which walks them step-by-step toward becoming an ideal customer.
But a sales process is more than just a packaged guide that points toward the cash register - it is something that is big, clunky, and complex, but still needs to be beautifully designed. To fully answer the question of what is a sales process, I would like to share with you one of my recent experiences.
I found myself somewhere I never expected to be - I was at a Taekwondo tournament watching my son compete on a regional level.
Read MoreI eat out several times a week when I travel. As I usually eat a gluten-free vegan diet, my options are fairly limited and I often find myself eating a Subway salad. I have been to literally dozens and dozens of Subway restaurants, and most often, they are very consistent in what they offer. But I have found one Subway restaurant that does one thing slightly different than all of this others.
Read MoreDeveloping a sales strategy is one of the most important things you can do to increase your profits and strengthen the health of your business. A sales strategy is a pro-active means of identifying prospects. It is a carefully designed group of products that meet the needs of customers. It is an intentional effort to usher prospective customers into paying sales. In a day of increased competition, reduced barriers of entry, and overwhelming regulatory burdens, small businesses can no longer sit back and wait for customers to come to them. They must pro-actively see out sales by developing a sales strategy.
Read MoreAs I have been recently writing on the topic of developing an effective sales process, I thought I would show a few examples of how successful sales funnels have been applied. In my post on How to Design a Service Industry Sales Workflow, I broke down the process of how to design a sales funnel for a business in the service industry. Businesses that offer a service, rather than a product, have some unique challenges over businesses that sell physical products. Martial arts marketing can be challenging on a number of levels. Therefore, I think it is worthwhile to take a close look at a business that has done a good job refining their sales funnel. This business is my son's taekwondo academy.
Read MoreEvery business should have a sales process. A sales process is a formalized plan to evolve a prospect client into an ideal customer; it is an intentional strategy designed to systemize sales so that each potential client is given an equal opportunity to become an ideal customer. Without a clearly defined process of how a customer will evolve over time, the lifetime value of a customer will not be as effective as it could be. In my recent post on How to Design a Sales Process in 3 Steps, I discussed general methods on what should be done to develop such a process. In this post, however, I am going to specifically focus on designing a sales funnel for a service-based business.
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