[Simon Gerrard]

In my experience you cannot spend your way out of a quite spell, or downturn, so your money is best kept in the bank to support your business. £1000 spent now would not bring the same return as it would when the market is more buoyant. It would be better to spend your time, rather than your money on developing new prospects through tele-sales, (you don't need someone to do this for you) you can develop email lists of prospects and design an attractive e-leaflet to send out, all for free.
The trick is to recognise quite spells and rather than spend more to try to maintain sales, cut your overheads and ride it out. This is a 'make hay while the sun shines business,' you can't make the sun shine, but you can make sure that when it does you're in the best possible position to make the most of it.

Simon

[Steven Lawrence]

own label spotters are no good! you got to have the customers to give them to, if you havent got the customers then you've wasted your money, networking is the way forward, adwords, local parish type A5 mags and leaflets.

[Allan Simmons]

For me I think Mike's already mentioned it, get a telesales lady in and hammer the database, that also cleans your database too.

You could start with a mailshot or email and follow that up.  That's how we do things, mail or email first then telesales follow those up.  The conversion rate on a followed up mailing is far above the cold call rate, as the telesales isn't a sales call, its a "Hi this is Sam from XYZ the carpet cleaners, Allan sent you a letter with a special offer a couple of weeks ago and we just wanted to make sure you got that."  SHUT UP and wait for response.  Then Say "Was there anything you'd considered having done on the offer?"  SHUT UP!  Always remember the person who speaks first after the close 'loses'.

You can pay someone to work from home part time to do telesales, we used to use a customer who was on maternity leave from her full time job.  OR you could get an Apprentice in to run things for you, cheap as chips, and keen as mustard most of them, the benefit is they can do some of your other admin and telephone answering too.

Al.

[Steve Rothwell]

Always remember the person who speaks first after the close 'loses'.

This is not how sales should be...

#There should not be any losers....

[Simon Gerrard]

Alan,
Top post.

Simon

[Allan Simmons]

Hi Hector, which is why i put 'loses' in commas as thery're not loseRs.  The "phrase" is one taught on any sales course you go on and i've never liked the idea someone loses.   It's obvious the sale has to be win/win, or you get just a one off sale only and the client feels cheated.  We're after repeat clients as they are the cheapest to market to and 'persuade' (being careful with my choice of word) to have something done again or something else done.  We've been around 23 years with a 65/70% repeat referral volume and still growing the businesses.  I started when I was 18 and we're now working for the second generation, ie the kids of clients we went to in the early days when they were kids and I was cleaning there.

Apologies if it looked like i was advocating a hard sell, it wasn't meant to be, I simply meant you ask an opening prime desire statement, then shut up and wait, sorry.

Thanks Simon

Al.

[wynne jones]

I'd never of thought of telesales, I thought it had died a death. Do you guys get good results from it then?

[Allan Simmons]

Hi Wynne

It's the most effective way to follow up a mailshot.  It took me a long time to have faith to try a follow up mailshot, three weeks after the first mailing saying, in effect, i wrote to you and havent heard, I bet youve forgotten, most people do.the response to the follow up mailing is often as good as the initial mailing.  It took me longer to have faith to send the third letter another three weeks later, and find there is about 60-70% of the response of the second mailing.  Telesales seems to squeeze it all out in the one call, and the avaerage job avalue appears tobe higher if you have the right person prepositioning the offer.

Al.

[Steve Rothwell]

Hi Hector, which is why i put 'loses' in commas as thery're not loseRs.  The "phrase" is one taught on any sales course you go on and i've never liked the idea someone loses.   It's obvious the sale has to be win/win, or you get just a one off sale only and the client feels cheated.  We're after repeat clients as they are the cheapest to market to and 'persuade' (being careful with my choice of word) to have something done again or something else done.  We've been around 23 years with a 65/70% repeat referral volume and still growing the businesses.  I started when I was 18 and we're now working for the second generation, ie the kids of clients we went to in the early days when they were kids and I was cleaning there.

Apologies if it looked like i was advocating a hard sell, it wasn't meant to be, I simply meant you ask an opening prime desire statement, then shut up and wait, sorry.

Thanks Simon

Al.

Sorry Allan you caught me on a bad day.....

I know all about sales courses, having had more of them than hot dinners......
I sold Timeshare for 4 years and then blankets etc to tourists in Tenerife....

This is the reason that I dislike the hard sell so much...............
I much prefer the reverse psychology sell that Rog (Dr Carpet) mentioned in another thread....

bIggest of all though is DO NOT SELL TO THE CUSTOMER   - LET THEM BUY IT OFF YOU........

[Allan Simmons]

Let them buy off you is a great way to sum it up Hector.  This is what we can do for you, which do you prefer?  Clients choice and the way we try to do things.

Al.

[jim mca]

Allen

Do you cold call or just call past customers

Jim

[Allan Simmons]

Hi Jim

Just past customers for domestic.  Never liked the cold telephone calling domestic idea, I hate it at home and I'm sure most people do too.

Commercial we do do a telesales follow up on the anniversary, or sooner if we know they have done more frequent.  We also always make a call to commercial the day after the job to make sure everything dries okay, no stains lifted as dried etc, you know the stuff.

Commercial, we will cold call but only after having sent an intro letter saying we'll be calling.  Commercial are very different.

Allan.