Revenue
Part 4 of a 5 part series
Warning Signs:
- Falling profits (before owner’s compensation).
- Falling owner’s compensation.
- Falling or stagnant sales with falling profits
- Rising expenses.
- Cost of goods sold.
- Decreased gross margin.
- Significant adverse deviations from budget.
Steps to Improve: SELLING
- Sell proactively not reactively: retail, traveling salesmen, direct mail, telemarketing.
- Sell to former customers; give them permission to come back.
- Sell using the Internet: communicate information; E-mail; service the client; take orders.
- Sell using newspaper: position is key; right section; position above fold; right side.
- Sell using targeted direct mail: key is good mailing list; all copy written for selling.
- Sell using catalogs/direct mail: your own, supplier produced or shared.
- Sell using newsletters/direct mail: free; for fee; inserts; articles.
- Sell using public relations: newsworthy articles = media exposure.
- Sell using personal appearances: lectures; seminars; courses.
- Sell using associations, talk shows.
- Tap into industry trade associations.
- Sell by writing articles.
- Sell using drop shipped orders.
- Expand your business hours to rope in new customers.
- Sell using dealerships.
- Sell using franchises.
- Sell using licensing.
- Sell using home-based businesses.
- Sell using multi-level marketing/party sales.
- Make money from your customer list carefully (5000 names needed).