Business Management

Do you feel like every dime you make gets sucked into a black hole to pay bills and leaves you asking yourself, “Where did all the money go?” Want to know an age old secret?
You have to make the money before you can spend it!
How do you do that? It’s called INCOME PLANNING. Here are some steps you can do every week to make more money.
RESEARCH YOUR MARKET –
First, find out what products or services your customers want and then provide that. One way to find out what they want is to look over your sales receipts, and find out what product is selling the best. Ask the customers 1) why they bought the item, and 2) what they expected it to do for them. Now use what they said in your advertising to promote that product.
PROMOTE TO YOUR MARKET –
There is an art to promoting something so that it will be responded to by your customers. Promotion does not necessarily mean offering a discount. It’s more important to find out why a customer wants or needs what you have to offer, and what they will base their buying decision on. Price may not be as important as fast delivery and dependable service.
Find inexpensive, but effective ways to promote. Collect business cards from potential customers, and send them a personal letter letting them know how your products/services can benefit them. It is one of the least expensive, most personal promotional actions you can do. A series of postcards mailed at regular intervals to current and potential customers can also be very effective.
Another great way to get new business is to ask your satisfied customers for referrals. You can make it fun for your customers to participate by creating a referral game they can play, where they get something in return for a certain number of referrals who buy. Let your customers help you out. They really do want you to do well in your business.
SELL AND DELIVER -
Selling is easier when you are genuinely interested in your customers and want to help them. ASK you customers what they need and want. Then it becomes much easier to sell them that product or service. For example, a family of 4 who wants a van to cart the kids and their equipment around to sports activities is going to walk off in disgust if the salesperson is showing them 2-door sports models, despite the fact that the sports car is a good deal.
Once you’ve sold the product or service, fast, courteous, professional delivery is key to customer satisfaction. This is especially important if you are in a service business. Delivering what you promised, when you promised it, can mean repeat business and referrals for new business.
PREVENT THE WASTE OF RESOURCES -
For every dollar you agree to spend in your business, ask how it is going to bring $5 or more worth of income back into your business. Carve out a percentage of the income every week to fund a promotional budget and then figure out the most effective ways to reach your customers within the budget. It is no laughing matter when the income you worked hard to earn gets wasted on things that do not give you a return on your investment.
REPEAT SUCCESSFUL PROMOTIONAL ACTIONS –
Look back at when you were last making the most sales. Find out what your successful actions were at the time and do those actions again.
Focus your time, energy, and creative thinking power on planning how to get the money in. That gets the cash flowing in the right direction and puts your attention back on servicing your customers and you will enjoy your business even more.