Guide to Easy Sales-Boosting Techniques

Develop a customer loyalty program

Keep customers coming back and entice them to purchase more with a loyalty program. Popular programs include frequent buyer clubs and loyalty cards. Reward your customers with discounts, cash back, store credit or a free gift with purchase.

I recommend: Purchase low-cost punch cards from Business Card Source or Grip Marketing or order custom loyalty cards from Arthur Blank & Company, Duracard or GE Consumer Finance.

Up-sell and cross-sell

Think of a customer who's ready to buy as a customer who's ready to buy more. Up-sell to a higher-end product or service and cross-sell with products and services that complement the one being purchased.

I recommend: Not sure how to up-sell or cross-sell? Ecommerce businesses can discover techniques at Elastic Path. CRM software, such as MySAP, can help you analyze customer buying patterns to determine cross-sell and up-sell opportunities.

Create a referral rewards program

Turn your satisfied customers into your best salespeople by launching a referral reward program. For every one, two, or ten referrals you receive from a customer, reward them with discounts on products and services, free gifts or free shipping on purchases.

I recommend: Ask for referrals on all your customer communication materials. Slip a pre-addressed, postage paid postcard asking for referrals into shopping bags or set up a referral form on your ecommerce site.

Lure customers with coupons

Coupons can entice new customers to give your products or services a try. They can also encourage existing customers to buy more than they normally would or to make a purchase today rather than next week or next month.

I recommend: Place coupons in coupon mailers like Valpak, or take a digital approach with online coupons (at Coolsavings.com) or text message coupons.

Motivate your sales team

Pump up your sales team and your sales will get a shot in the arm. Financial rewards and commissions aren't the only way to energize salespeople. Setting goals, providing training and offering opportunities for growth within your organization can help light a fire under your team.

I recommend: Find a list of sales training courses from Dale Carnegie Training.