Sell More

So the economy is tough. I get that. I've even written about the bad economy in this blog.

But sales people need to sell more, even in a less than desirable economic conditions. So all of us who sell need to wrap our collective arms around moving forward, and not get sucked into the mental quagmire that is defeatest thinking.

So, if you're struggling, make today the day that you begin to sell more:

1. When your customer calls to order a cord of wood, offer a second cord of wood for a discounted price. Sell two cords instead of one.

2. Don't just offer cookies when someone orders a meal ("do you want cookies with that?"), offer a meal when someone orders cookies ("how about a roast beef sandwich with that?").

3. Don't just write the policy for their new automobile; offer a life policy, too.

4. Who can you sell to in your neighborhood that you haven't bothered to pursue yet?

5. The guy you see at the coffee shop every single morning for the last three years has never been to your store? R-e-a-l-l-y? Get him in there this week (he needs a new suit for his niece's wedding in February).

6. When you do an in-home consultation, do you stop at the homes to both the left and right of your prospect's house to introduce yourself? How about the house across the street?

7. The doorman knows everybody in the building. Surely there's one tenant who wants to remodel their kitchen. Have you asked him who it is?

8. What can you give away for free that will allow you to sell more? When I bought a car once, the salesman took me out to dinner. Did I refer customers to him? Yes!

9. You've never canvassed? (knocking on doors). Yes, you'll get rejected, but maybe it's time for drastic measures. Get out and find some new business, and lose a couple of pounds before the holidays in the process.

10. How can you let a customer leave your store with a new flat screen TV, but without a new sound system to go with it?

11. Open more new credit accounts this month than you ever have before.

12. You sell purses and leathergoods, but not with any leather cleaner/conditioner? All those $9.95 sales will add up. Start today. Become the top leather cleaner/conditioner salesperson in your company.

13. Real estate agents, if you must discount your commissions, okay, you must. But don't just do it without something in return. Get the names of ten contacts from your customer who can be added to your email or snail mail marketing list.

14. Don't just ask them if they want to see a dessert menu, show them the dessert tray. Then make sure you ask for the order ("which one can I bring you?").

15. And who doesn't want coffee with their dessert? But you may not get the coffee order if you don't ask (hmmm...better offer a cappuccino instead of coffee).

16. So somebody at your store is buying some luggage for a Christmas gift? Great! But before you complete the transaction, you'd better ask them who on their gift list could use a gift card. Sell a $50 gift card to one out of five of your luggage customers and you've just made up for the recession.

17. Sell a 16' x 14' sunroom instead of a 14' x 14' sunroom. They're only going to buy one sunroom, so they'd better have one with enough room.

18. Your customer needs to replace the broken window in the dining room? Sure, you can do that. But wouldn't the home look better if all the windows in the dining room were replaced at the same time?

19. Send your truck out to a neighborhood, knock on each door and offer to pick up the homeowner's snowblower and take it back to your shop to get it ready for action this winter. Don't wait for them to figure out that it won't start after the first snowfall of the season, provide a service that will resonate with all those suburbanites.

20. Everyone that needs a new water softener should be introduced to a drinking water purification system, shouldn't they?

21. Add chocolate sauce to the cheesecake for $1.00. Add chocolate sauce AND cherries for $2.00.

22. Fall is a good time to aerate lawns. Don't wait for customers to call you. Spend this week out on a massive lawn aeration campaign, offering a special price to customers who have never had their lawn aerated.

23. Sure, maintenance agreements or extended warranties are profitable for you and your company; but that doesn't mean your customers should automatically dismiss them without thinking it through. Try a new approach, if you truly believe in your offering, look the customer in the eye (keep that brochure out of the picture) and say, "Please, hear me out on this..." then, state your case and ask for the order.

24. In the north, where I live, people don't spend much time thinking about landscape design in the fall and winter. But this is a perfect time for you to get out and offer your services at a discount. Hint: past customers are often the best customers.

Okay, I could go on and on, but I have to get to my client.

Go get 'em today. Sell more!

Skip Anderson is a professional speaker, sales coach, and the Founder of Selling to Consumers, a B2C and retail sales training and consulting company. Subscribe to the free Sales Tips newsletter.