Brewed Fresh Daily

10. Direct mail: Direct mail is a great way to generate leads for, and possibly directly sell, services. Think most carefully about your list first, and then your list, and then focus on your list. After that, work on the offer, the price point, the call to action, and the copy. 9. Phone scripts: Don�t use a script when someone calls in to inquire about your services. Practice your conversation techniques until you are confident and fluent, and then have a conversation with the customer, not a soliloquy. 8. Proposals vs. quotes: People want to buy ROI, not features. You need to demonstrate the value of services, and it�s not easy when the customer can�t see, touch, and feel them. You need to propose the value proposition, not quote a price. 7. Measure: Know where your successes originate. What lists are working? What do sales reps sell more than others and why? Where are you getting your leads that convert into business? Which services are selling and which are not? What is the ROI for your marketing and sales expenditures? Only with measurement can you increase you success chances and drop unsuccessful tactics. 6. Keep your sales focus: Regardless of the state of the economy, never never never give up! If clients and prospects aren�t buying, send articles, offer your help, talk them through problems, be with them at every turn. You�ll have a lot of misses, but you�ll get some revenue when you didn�t expect it. Plus, you�ll be well positioned for the rebounding budgets when they come. 5. Price strategically: You may not get the rates you want these days. Still, keep the focus on value by offering creative pricing. Use performance clauses, be strategic about payments, offer extras. Be careful, however, about cutting prices. When the economy rebounds, it won�t be quite as easy to raise them as it was to lower them. 4. Package services crisply: Make sure your offer and the value proposition are clear. If they�re too big and confusing for the client to get their arms around, they might not know how to buy it, or to make the case to their company to release the funds. 3. Transition from products smartly: If you�re trying to get a product sales force to sell services, you might be meeting some roadblocks. Make sure you analyze completely what they need to do to make the shift from selling just products to selling both or just services. If you�re just telling them to do it and hoping they come around, you�re in for a long and frustrating wait. 2. Differentiate: If you�re the 32nd company to come down the pike and offer them the same services, it�s likely you won�t make an impression. What makes you special? When you know what you want to say, communicate that message clearly and succinctly so much so that they can articulate back to you what makes you so special. 1. Deliver: Relentlessly deliver results. Don�t shoot for client satisfaction, build a cadre of loyal client evangelists who can�t fathom working with anyone but you and your company. Once you stop, the hungrier service provider will take your clients and your revenue. This may be an old message, but it�s still on the top of the list.