 | |
| |
Sales Management Information
| |
|
|
|
How To Have A Successful Retail Sales Event
In the 30-plus years I spent working in advertising and marketing, one of the most frequently asked questions I got from retailers was "how can I make sure I have successful sale?" While there are no hard and fast answers to this question, there are some guidelines you can follow to maximize your chances of that sale being successful. First, if your store is in an area with fairly frequent rains (or snows), do not, and I mean, do not have a one-day sale. You put in a lot of work preparing for and advertising a sale and what could be more depressing than sitting in your store for 12 hours on your sale day watching the rain come down and no customers come in? Second, make the sale a legitimate one. We have one chain of department stores here that has so many sales, we often wonder what its prices would really be during a non-sale week. If you really are clearing out old inventory, don't be afraid to say so. Don't have a moving or going out of business sale unless you really are moving or going out of business. If you have genuine markdowns, feature them. Titles like Carnival of Values, Red Tag Sale or Bargain Days are pretty much clichés and should be avoided unless you just can't do any better. People are getting to be very sharp buyers and can usually tell the different between a real bargain and a "sale bargain." Your competition today isn't a store across town that sells the same things you do. It's sources on the Internet like eBay, Overstock.com, and Amazon.com. How can you beat these Goliaths? There's only one way I can think of and that's personal service. You might not be able to sell your merchandise cheaper than Amazon.com or Overstock.com, but you can treat customers like royalty and everybody likes to be treated as if they were someone special. Keep track of your customers' names and addresses so that you can send them special offers, a thank you note for shopping with you or, depending on the nature of your store, a newsletter. In this same vein, I also like to see retailers give customers an extra- special reason to come in the store. Free giveaways are powerful even if they seem tired. Try offering something free to the first 25 or 50 customers to give people a reason to come in the story early. It doesn't have to be anything expensive; people love to get free stuff even if it has little value. If your business is antiques and collectibles, maybe there is an inexpensive "super wax for furniture" you could give the first 25 customers. If yours is a jewelry store, how about free silver polish? A tire store could offer a free tire gauge. Or if you own a liquor store, how about a booklet of drink recipes? And so on. So far as advertising is concerned, you will want to run ads a couple of days in advance of the sale and you should buys as large an ad as you can possibly afford. I have seen too many retailers cheap out with small ads that are barely noticeable and then wonder where the customers are. In fact, given a small ad budget, I feel it's better to run only one big ad the day before your sale than two or three small ads. Following these suggestions won't guarantee a successful sale but it will help ensure your next sale goes great! Douglas Hanna Article by Douglas Hanna. Douglas is a retired advertising and marketing executive and long-time Denver resident. He is the webmaster of http://www.all-in-one-info.com, a free resource for information on a variety of subjects. Please visit his site to subscribe to his free newsletter, "Tips & Tricks to Save Money & Live Better."
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Sales Plan? Whats a Sales Plan? In the past, if you said the word "plan" to me, I would bolt and run. I'm the "creative type," a former ballet dancer and choreographer-I'm terrible with details. Outsourcing the Sales Function Small to medium companies that want to increase sales or profits and find it is possible to outsource sales should - do it! At this point most business owners and executives either become overwhelmed with doubt or fear.Here's what we hear: "We can't give up control of sales, that's too risky. How To Have A Successful Retail Sales Event In the 30-plus years I spent working in advertising and marketing, one of the most frequently asked questions I got from retailers was "how can I make sure I have successful sale?" While there are no hard and fast answers to this question, there are some guidelines you can follow to maximize your chances of that sale being successful.First, if your store is in an area with fairly frequent rains (or snows), do not, and I mean, do not have a one-day sale. Want to Increase the Amount of Business that Your Firm is Getting? Business development is important for every business and refers to the action of bringing in customers or clients that are likely to make positive contributions to a company's bottom line. Business Development is all about establishing relevant and subsisting relationships in the market place. A Real CRM Strategy or Just Tracking Customers? Exactly what is CRMThe idea itself is nothing new; its roots have been around since trading began. The principle of looking after your customers so that they come back regularly is, after all, merely the basis of good trading. Small Business Marketing: Overtaking Your Competitors Few businesses keep tabs on competitors, yet such knowledge can give you a distinctive competitive edge. Building a file on them, looking at everything from the customer's viewpoint and asking suppliers and employees what they know about them can be worthwhile. 10 Things to Help Your Business When Sales Are Slow During the Holidays Twiddling your thumbs and waiting for some business to come in? Why not use this downtime to set yourself up for greater success in the new year? Here are my 10 picks, but you don't have to do them all. Even doing just one will get you another rung higher on your business ladder. How to Improve Your Management Procedures Usability Are your people consistently following your procedures? Each year, organizations lose thousands of dollars through common mistakes and lapses in usability. But what does that mean for business owners and executives?Ask yourself:Are your required actions described thoroughly and accurately, or are the details left open to interpretation?Is your content consistent and complete, or are your writers leaving gaps no one has noticed?Are revisions controlled, or are different people using different versions?Are your procedures compliant with regulations? Are you sure?Are all documents written to produce clear, measurable results?If you're unsure about any of the answers to these questions, there is good news: you can make your procedures clear and complete without combing through all of them yourself line by line. Disclosure Laws Favor International Terrorists The Federal Trade Commission has rule that are supposedly in place to protect franchise buyers from fraud from franchisors who might attempt to mislead them into purchasing a franchise. Part of the franchise rules are addressing required disclosure paperwork. Ten Awesome Ways To Incease Your Sales In Holidays Everybody thinks that the businesses will slow down a bit in holiday seasons. Ofcourse everybody thinks that people don't want to start new ventures in holidays too. Set Yourself up for Trade Show Success Of the many mistakes small business owners make, a big one is participating in trade shows and business expos without a strategy for turning those marketing opportunities into sales. Here are five tips to get you started. How to Beat the 80/20 Rule in Sales Performance -- Part 2 Another key reason why companies suffer from 80/20 performance is their processes for hiring, training and managing salespeople rely almost entirely upon subjective information. Think about it:What are resumes? They are an individual's subjective portrayal of their capabilities and experiences. The Art and Science of Managing Expectations in Selling It is very easy to fall into a trap with the customer by extending offerings beyond that of what the company infrastructure is able to supply in a reasonable timeline.As a salesperson, you must manage the quality of the sales process. The Differences Between A Commercial Collections Agency & Lawyer If your letter writing and phone calls have all failed to resolve a debt issue, it is time to call in a professional - a commercial collection agency or a lawyer specializing in commercial debt collection.The most obvious choice to collect an unpaid debt is a commercial collection agency. A Coachs Handbook For Sales Managers This article may be reprinted in its entirety with express written permission from Nicki Weiss. The reprint must include the section "About the Author". Your Extended Shadow And Successful Sales Management In a small midwestern town, the local high school of 878 students recently produced its first state championship basketball team in over 90 years. The community has had an organized city basketball league for its younger boys for many years. T. L. S. Part I: Tier Level Selling - A Penetration Strategy A number of sales "Gurus" have promoted the theory that states, "concentrating strictly on your top level premier accounts (some even quantify that by stating your top twenty) will provide you with as much growth and profit as you can possibly handle." This is often stated regardless of individual and corporate strategic initiatives. 7 Tips for Testing Your Sales and Marketing One marketing technique may work wonders for someone, but that doesn't guarantee that it'll do the same for you. The only way to really know what works for YOUR products and YOUR target audience is to experiment. Sex, Drugs, & Rock-n-Roll at Trade Shows Here's the Scenario.. Not Enough Fresh Sales Leads? Marketing is the New Sales Your sales are down and leads are rare. The phone's not ringing.
|
| home | site map | Group Privacy Policy | Definition of Leadership | Contact Us |
| © Sales Management 2011 |