Small Business Tips: How to Increase Your Closing Rates
The small business owner is constantly inundated with the mundane tasks of running a small business that they sometimes forget some of the fundamentals of closing business and increasing sales.
The goal of this article is not to claim to know all of the answers or tell you how to run your business, but rather to remind you of a few ideas that you may have forgotten.
Regardless of what business you are in, if you are a student, or even an athlete, it does not hurt to refine your skills and review some fundamentals when it comes handling prospective customers and inbound phone calls.
Here are five easy things to think about to help increase sales for your business:
If you have a missed call, or you have a message call the number back immediately! If the prospective caller missed you chances are they are going down the Google screen (note I did not say yellow pages) to find another service provider.
You have to catch these customers in their "moment of relevance" and convey your company's message to them.
Try this for a week and see how much new business you bring in.
What is your opening line when answering the phone? You would be surprised how many contractors, plumbers, even lawyers that answer the phone "hello?" In this day and age we are all busy and we give our cell phone number out to many people.
If you are a business owner you have to be mindful of that.
If you see a number on the caller ID that you do not recognize, introduce your business with a professional greeting.
There's nothing more that turns a consumer off than hearing "hello" the first time they talk to you.
Not to mention the confusion on if they are actually contacting a business.
What types of questions are you asking the prospective customer? Most consumers are price shoppers.
It's a fact and its tough to eliminate them.
This is especially true in the day of Internet search.
Consumers will go down the list and find the cheapest price.
Instead of giving a price there are a few things that you can do to persuade the caller to use your services.
Depending on your business, one idea is to invite the consumer in for a no obligation consultation to discuss all of their options.
Most consumers feel bad after this level of service and usually go with your service.
If you do not have time to waste on free consults another idea is to sell your business or give them some value added.
"My service call fee is $49.
99, but if you choose to use me the $49.
99 will go towards the repair.
" "All of my work is backed by a 1 year guarantee.
If you have any problems in the future we will come back and fix it.
" These small things can make a difference when a consumer is searching for new service provider.
Are you asking for referrals? This one seems obvious, but you would be surprised at how little small business owners utilize this.
Consider a dentist.
As a consumer we are all hesitant to go to the dentist without knowing their style, how they operate etc.
I am much more likely to use a dentist that a friend recommends than finding one in a directory.
Ask your existing patients for these referrals and offer a bonus.
Free whitening trays, free cleanings etc.
The lifetime value of a new patient will more than pay for these nominal bonus'.
Are you updating your existing clients about new upcoming product offers? It is much easier to sell to your existing client base than to acquire a new customer.
Keep in touch with your clients and keep them posted on your company updates.
Today many companies use twitter, Facebook and other forms of social media to keep clients updated.
If you do not want to use this type of promotional information you can always do the traditional newsletter, holiday gift basket, or even cold calls.
There are hundreds of ways to retain and increase your business.
These are just a few quick ideas to think about while you start your work week.
You do not have to recreate your business plan, but be mindful of these tactics and you will be sure to watch your business grow.
The goal of this article is not to claim to know all of the answers or tell you how to run your business, but rather to remind you of a few ideas that you may have forgotten.
Regardless of what business you are in, if you are a student, or even an athlete, it does not hurt to refine your skills and review some fundamentals when it comes handling prospective customers and inbound phone calls.
Here are five easy things to think about to help increase sales for your business:
- Are you following up on missed calls?
- What is your opening line when answering the phone?
- What types of questions are you asking the prospective customer?
- Are you asking for referrals?
- Are you updating your existing clients about new upcoming product offers?
If you have a missed call, or you have a message call the number back immediately! If the prospective caller missed you chances are they are going down the Google screen (note I did not say yellow pages) to find another service provider.
You have to catch these customers in their "moment of relevance" and convey your company's message to them.
Try this for a week and see how much new business you bring in.
What is your opening line when answering the phone? You would be surprised how many contractors, plumbers, even lawyers that answer the phone "hello?" In this day and age we are all busy and we give our cell phone number out to many people.
If you are a business owner you have to be mindful of that.
If you see a number on the caller ID that you do not recognize, introduce your business with a professional greeting.
There's nothing more that turns a consumer off than hearing "hello" the first time they talk to you.
Not to mention the confusion on if they are actually contacting a business.
What types of questions are you asking the prospective customer? Most consumers are price shoppers.
It's a fact and its tough to eliminate them.
This is especially true in the day of Internet search.
Consumers will go down the list and find the cheapest price.
Instead of giving a price there are a few things that you can do to persuade the caller to use your services.
Depending on your business, one idea is to invite the consumer in for a no obligation consultation to discuss all of their options.
Most consumers feel bad after this level of service and usually go with your service.
If you do not have time to waste on free consults another idea is to sell your business or give them some value added.
"My service call fee is $49.
99, but if you choose to use me the $49.
99 will go towards the repair.
" "All of my work is backed by a 1 year guarantee.
If you have any problems in the future we will come back and fix it.
" These small things can make a difference when a consumer is searching for new service provider.
Are you asking for referrals? This one seems obvious, but you would be surprised at how little small business owners utilize this.
Consider a dentist.
As a consumer we are all hesitant to go to the dentist without knowing their style, how they operate etc.
I am much more likely to use a dentist that a friend recommends than finding one in a directory.
Ask your existing patients for these referrals and offer a bonus.
Free whitening trays, free cleanings etc.
The lifetime value of a new patient will more than pay for these nominal bonus'.
Are you updating your existing clients about new upcoming product offers? It is much easier to sell to your existing client base than to acquire a new customer.
Keep in touch with your clients and keep them posted on your company updates.
Today many companies use twitter, Facebook and other forms of social media to keep clients updated.
If you do not want to use this type of promotional information you can always do the traditional newsletter, holiday gift basket, or even cold calls.
There are hundreds of ways to retain and increase your business.
These are just a few quick ideas to think about while you start your work week.
You do not have to recreate your business plan, but be mindful of these tactics and you will be sure to watch your business grow.
