(By Loyd Ford) Two competitors are locked in a race side-by-side, but the one to the left simply takes a small step or two out of line early on, costing them the race. It’s often the little things that lose the race. But if that’s true, the little things can win a race for you, too.
Let’s say you are behind in reaching your sales goal. You feel the pressure every time you make eye contact with your boss. Pressure makes you nervous. Now what?
Consider a focused and strategic approach to boosting short-term results. Here are six specific actions you might take to boost short-term sales:
- Seek advice directly from your boss, but don’t show up empty-handed. Don’t be afraid to ask for an opportunity to boost your short-term sales. Ask if you can create any kind of special limited-time offer or promotion to motivate a positive outcome with a set of specific clients. Creating an offer of urgency with a time-limited promotion or discount could encourage an advertiser to get off the sidelines, especially if it is tied to solving a problem for them.
- Create “overtime” for yourself before and after your regular workday where you expand the number of people you see in the short-term. While this may not be realistic long-term, doing this for a quick boost can be productive for you. Adding to the number of people you see literally creates more opportunities for you to discover more dollars right under your nose.
- Look at your advertiser list very carefully and analyze potential clients you’ve not seen in some time. These are literally “hidden assets.” There are always people who you’ve let slide or folks who have slid to the back of your priority list. Make a list of these advertisers and go see them now bringing them a special offer that solves a specific problem for them.
- Review your advertiser list and see if someone on your list is suddenly in a hot category. Seek out recent examples of advertising that has been successful in other markets with clients in their category. We all know that categories get hot and some grow cold. It’s just how the world works, but doing this tactic might mean an advertiser has slipped our mind but has also become hot. They also may not be aware of advertising that is being done successfully for someone just like them in other markets. If they can see it, they may become interested and buy. Just be certain to do your homework in advance and have examples where advertisers like them that have used products you offer to become “white hot.”
- Think about your current active customers and consider ways of upselling them to show an outsized advantage for them. There’s always someone that you know could benefit from add-on advertising. If you build it correctly with the right offer, you may surprise yourself with the yes you get unexpectedly from existing advertisers.
- Go to existing clients that would give you a positive review, but ask if you can pull out your smartphone and video a brief on camera review featuring successes they’ve had because of your advertising. These videos don’t have to be long. In fact, they can be more successful with fewer words. Multiply this by asking a variety of clients in different categories to do these quick videos. Then, spread them out in your own social media and the station social media pages if allowed with your contact information. When other business owners keep seeing your clients raving about you, you may experience a boost in others reaching out directly to you for help. The key is to begin and stay consistent (perhaps weekly) dropping a “fresh” video in your socials.
Anyone can get in a slump. Happens in sports. Happens in sales. Happens in life. Maybe one of these is a great idea for you, or maybe none of them are. It doesn’t really matter.
Here’s my hope for you. I hope these items remind you that there are hidden opportunities we don’t think about during a crunch. You should also be reminded that you are in charge. You can create opportunities for yourself that can put the fun back into your sales life.
Whatever you do, remember to monitor what works so you can pull those things back into rotation from time to time to create additional sales energy for yourself and boost short-term sales when you need a little extra.
Loyd Ford is president and chief strategic officer at Rainmaker Pathway Consulting Works (RPC). They help local radio with ratings and revenue. Reach him anytime at 864.448.4169 or [email protected]. Read Loyd’s Radio Ink archives here.
