Value

Are you giving your customers enough? In tough economic times, marketing costs are among the first to be cut. It may take some extra convincing on your part to avoid this.

Here are some ways to offer or show value to your prospects:

• Giving them access to a large and / or specialized community.
• Providing them with useful and / or entertaining information not necessarily available in other places.
• Saving them money through solutions your product or company provides.
• Using your contacts to help them build their own relationships.

Internal Changes

Think internally. Were there any personnel changes of note within your company? Were changes made to the sales compensation plan? Perhaps you aren’t selling ads because turnover is high in your company and your sales people don’t have the time on the job to create valuable relationships.

The three biggest reasons salespeople leave companies are because of the relationship with management, low pay and, lack of promotional opportunities. Invest in making your company an environment where people want to work. Make your sales reps feel appreciated with praise, incentives, and advancement opportunities. This will not only increase retention but grow ad sales.

Hard to Reach

We really shouldn’t have to say this, but sadly, we all see websites every day with difficult-to-find phone numbers, email addresses, or contact forms.

Don’t make people work so hard to find you. Offer multiple options. Sales reps can even provide their personal cell phone numbers in addition to their email and business lines.

More importantly, if you are contacted for a sale, return phone calls and answer emails promptly. Stats show half of sales go to the first salesperson that contacts the prospect.

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