Increase Income (Got an
economy? Thank a salesperson.)
The Sales Funnel
Increasing
income is driven by a written marketing plan. It consists of both a product or service, and a
process:
Product or Service: The "Earnway." While most people do not
think of themselves as "salespeople", when they believe wholeheartedly
in a product or service, they have no problem selling it. Finding
something in which one can believe wholeheartedly is the challenge.
Another legendary titan who coined the term "Earnway" is Jay Conrad Levinson, author of 555 Ways to Earn Extra Money, Geurilla Marketing, and many other excellent books on the subject.
Process. The sales process is vital and poorly
understood. Patience, listening, and follow-up are essential. The best
sales people are not obnoxious, charismatic "people people." The best
salespeople are patient, diligent, attentive, long-term thinkers. Sales
statistics indicate that 80% of sales are completed by 20% of the sales
force on the 6th contact. So it is the patient, persistent minority
who deliver most of the sales that drive our economy.
Because
most sales occur on or after the 6th contact, contact management is
key. Some sort of record-keeping system or "sales funnel" to support
the customer relationship is essential. The best "funnel" I have found
for managing the process of selling a product or service is freecrm.com.
There are other very good CRM applications out there, but I have found
that freecrm.com delivers the most bang for the buck.
Basic features really are free, for as long as you want - no
"30 Day Trial" before you must decide whether to spend money, and the
pay side is an absolute bargain.
Take as long as you need to
learn your way around the program - it is feature-rich - and feel free to ask
about it.
Funnel Status Report
If you set up your CRM system right, you can create a report like this that can help
manage the funnel, focus attention, prioritize efforts, and increase
income:
