What exactly are you selling?

Unleashing The Power of Invisible Selling is a very short and to the point article, but has a new slant on what you are selling.

Samples and Increasing Revenue

Yes, we have had samples packs for alot of years because we know if you can get a person to try it, they will get hooked.

New customers always ask me for suggestions for the first order. My reply is they buy 1 case of product and at least 200 sample packs and stress the importance of handing out samples and chatting up the product.

Our most successful customers are those who:

• Use the product themselves .
• Are educated in the product and garment care.
• Give out samples to encourage purchase and add value to the sale. (Many stores give or sell a sample with every purchase.)
• Suggest product at point of sale.

I work with only the small and medium retailers, not the department stores. My largest customer is an online only retailer, who said it took her 3 years to get people hooked on the product, and now she is purchasing over $23000.00 of product from us. There are good margins and a small footprint in all of our products.

There are brick and mortar stores doing the same thing, but it due to the dedication and persistance of the sales staff. In this economy we can not be lazy about getting those add on sales and providing top notch customer service to build a loyal customer base.

Below is a list of articles about sampling and how effective it can be.
Make more Money by Giving away Free Samples
Free samples: give and you shall receive

How to Make Money Giving Away Free Samples

Free Samples and Giveaways Attract New Business

Quick Link

Just happened upon this 21 Marketing Secrets and thought it has great quick marketing points as a reminder for all of us.

Do you want fries with that?

Now that the holidays are over we have time to regroup and fine tune our sales skills. I am sure I am not telling you anything new....so think of this as a reminder.

One really has to work hard to get new customers and it is wonderful when we do, but it is less expensive and time consuming to increase revenue by increasing the sales to your existing customers.

We are in the era of the add-on or plus-sale.  

Not long ago I asked a sales person how the product was selling and, she replied, not very well. I asked if they had samples to give out or did they suggested it as an ad on sale. Her rely was, “Oh no, I don’t want to be pushy and we don’t have samples, it is just sits on the shelf.”

Do you or your sales people regularly suggest add on items to enhance the value of the purchase? This helps build trust and loyalty that results in increased/repeat sales.

Be it… “Wow! That dress looks really great on you and I have the perfect necklace to go with that neckline.” or “You are going to love your new bra and panties! You really should consider purchasing Forever New to keep it looking like new for years to come.  We all swear by it and use it ourselves.”

Forever New samples are a great add on or reward for purchase.

Next post more about samples.

Helpful Sites Retail News Sites

Until I started this job, I had never heard of the National Retail Federation, although I have worked retail in the past. (I am just guessing it will be new to some of you too.) The daily newsletter is an outstanding resource to keep up with what is happening in the retail industry. The articles are from a wide variety of sources: American Express, WSJ, Reuters, USA Today, etc.  Numerous links take you to other topics of interest pertaining to marketing, sales, accounting and a wide swath of topics.

As I run across articles I will post links.

Free Online Biz Directory Listings

Let’s talk about free business directory sites that can be helpful with getting your name out there.

Most of these sites are where you can list your business for free. Some of them allow your customers to post reviews of their visits and your products. You can put in descriptions of your services and products, also your email address and website and even photos of your store.

This will give people who are looking for clothing, lingerie, bra fittings etc. a good idea who you are. If anyone has a favorite site to add, please let me know. 

www.hotfrog.com	Free to put in your profile, many free services for small businesses. Anyone can list their business in HotFrog for FREE, along with contact details, and products and services.
www.yelp.com	Free to list your business, photos etc. Every local business can set up a FREE Business Owner's Account to publicly post a description of the business, announce special offers, message customers, add photos, track traffic on their Yelp page and more.
http://www.magicyellow.com/	Free and one of the top online directories
http://www.merchantcircle.com/	To give local businesses more online exposure, we’ve developed local business social network where business owners can upload pictures, create blogs, create coupons and newsletters, and connect with other merchants, all for free.
http://www.manta/	More B@B oriented, but a lot of individuals use it too.
www.uscity.net	Fairly new and free to list

If you type your business name into your search engine, what comes up with your listing? Then type a key word as lingerie or intimate apparel, and your city and state. Try other search engines too.

Does your city have publications that like to feature local stores or is there a local site who reviews stores, have you been  mentioned in them? Many times this will come up with someone is looking for your store.

Go to one of the directories and type in a key word and state, see what comes up. Look at the listings for your area, and decide if you should list there too. Maybe you might want to list under several categories, as bra fitters, lingerie, intimate apparel etc.

Encourage your customers to post their reviews after shopping in your store.

Some of these sites will even let you blog, announce events and reply to comments!

If anyone has a favorite site to add, please let me know.