Sales – Page 4 – client k

The Last Minute Shoppers

Customers who have left
their shopping
until today or tomorrow
for December 25th gift exchanges
are a different type
of customer.

Last minute shoppers
often struggle
to find the ‘perfect gift.’

They need someone,
a scapegoat
if the gift goes wrong,
to tell them
they HAVE found
the perfect gift.

This could be customer reviews.
“Sally says this is the perfect gift
for all the Moms in your life.”

Or it could be a celebrity endorsement.
“Does your loved one watch
The Kardashian?
Because Kim Kardashian loves
this product.”

Or it could be the salesperson’s views.
“I used this face cream
and I loved it.”

Give those last minute shoppers
the confidence
they need
to finally make their purchases.

Bring In Treats

If you’re building
a holiday-gift-feasible
retail business,
you are likely
extremely busy right now.

Your employees
and other partners
are tired.
Yet there are still
sales to be made.

Bring in a treat
for them.

This could be special coffees
or beautiful gift bags
to make their own holiday shopping
easier
or an extra ten minutes of paid lunch.

You know your employees.
Bring them something
THEY would like.

Give them the energy
and enthusiasm
they need
to make your customers
happy.

Communicating Price Increases

I gave my readers
(customers)
5 months warning
about the increase
in prices for my Romance Novels.

This did a couple of things.

It prepared the readers
mentally for the price increase.

They had time
to grumble about it
(which they, surprisingly,
didn’t do with me),
to get angry or upset
and then to calm down
before my next book (product) released.

It also gave my readers
an opportunity
to buy the existing books
at the lower price.
That bump up of sales
at the end of the year
was VERY much welcomed.

And it relayed
that I was being open
and honest with them.
Readers (customers) might not
take any action
upon hearing about
a price increase
but they like knowing about it
in advance.

Consider giving your customers
notice
of price increases.

Have You Increased Your Prices?

In 2023,
for the first time ever,
I’m increasing
the prices
of my Romance Novels.

I received
NO pushback
from readers
on this price increase.
And I’ve seen
NO decrease in pre-orders
for my 2023 releases.

Why didn’t I receive
pushback?

2022 was the year
almost every business
increased their prices.
That included
publishers and writers.

I was one of the few
exceptions.

Readers expect me
to increase my prices.
And readers, being human,
also like being right.

Increasing my prices
makes them happy.

Increasing your prices,
if you haven’t increased them
in years,
might make your customers happy also.

Your customers are likely
expecting the price increases.
Don’t disappoint them.

When NOT To Ask For Feedback

When I release a book
in November or December,
I assume that book
will receive very few reviews.

They might receive ratings
because giving a rating
often takes one click.

But they won’t receive
reviews.
People are super busy
in November and December.
They don’t have the time
or the brain bandwidth
to communicate in words
what they liked
or didn’t like.

Don’t waste
your time or money
sending customer satisfaction surveys
or other types of feedback mechanisms
this month.

People are too busy
to complete them
and
they will merely irritate
your customers.

Friends And Buying Our Products

I was chatting to a buddy
yesterday
about the no promoting
on certain social media platforms
issue.

And she said,
“But if you chat with them,
you’ll become friends
and
then they will buy your books.”

My reply was,
“You’re my friend.
How many of my books
have YOU bought?”

There was a stretch of awkward silence
followed by a bunch of excuses.

That is my point
EXACTLY.

Friends often don’t buy
our products
or pay to use our services.
Don’t expect that
to happen.
Don’t build a business
around it happening.

And don’t assume
being best friends
with prospects
will lead to sales.

Often, the opposite
will happen.

Friends are the worst prospects.
Look elsewhere
for customers.

This might sound
like a great idea.
Outlaw promotion
and writers (business builders) will be forced
to talk about other things.

Except we’re f*ckin’ busy, Dave.
We don’t have time
to talk about random things
without, at least,
having the possibility
of selling our books
(selling our products).

If you want to attract
writers and other business builders,
you need to offer
something that will help us
sell our products or services.

We’re MUCH too busy
to socialize with complete strangers
for sh*ts and giggles.

Let us promote our products.

Why You Need Online Sales

Having a bricks and mortar
retail store
is super sexy.

We can point to it
and tell loved ones,
“I own that.”
We can wander the aisles
and talk face-to-face
with customers.

I get it.
It is a dream
of many business builders.

But, if you sell products,
I strongly suggest
you have a venue
to sell them online
also.

Why?

Because online venues
are a hedge
against pandemics,
natural disasters,
construction,
and anything else
that stops customers
from visiting our physical stores.

Right now,
my corner of the world
is being severely hit
by RSV, the flu,
AND COVID
all at the same time.

Sick people
(and people trying to avoid
illness)
tend to switch
from shopping
at their favorite physical stores
to shopping online.

It would be great
for them
AND for you,
if they could continue
buying from you.

Offer an online shopping experience
and
keep those customers.

Creating Holiday Spirit

We’re deep into
the holiday buying season
here in North America.

When we sell customers
gifts,
we’re selling them
the possibility
of happiness.

That is MUCH easier
to do
if our salespeople
are happy.

How do we accomplish
this
while they are working long hours
and dealing with
quite a few customers?

Some retailers host contests.
Some bring in treats
for their salespeople.
Some post a joke every day.

They create a festive environment
for their salespeople,
knowing that mood
will be relayed
to customers.

Ensure your salespeople
are happy
this holiday season.

Happy salespeople
sell more products.

We Have Choices

Yesterday,
I talked about
how I block people
who are possible threats,
even if they are experts
in a field.

I can do that.
Because I have choices.

There are many experts
in every field.
There are many prospective
business partners.
There are many possible
customers
or vendors
or influentials
or…
well… any type of person.

Listen to your instincts,
to the warning signs.

Don’t spend time
with people who give you
reasons to be afraid
or share the same space
with people
you don’t feel comfortable
being around.

There are over 8 billion people
on this planet.

Choose someone else.