As everyone working in or running a business will know, the corporate world never sleeps. Those companies that do go down the traditional route and clock off once 5 pm hits, unfortunately, do not last very long in the modern day. The advances of the Internet have made 24/7 business a very real and very accessible thing. For every hour that your company is not active and engaging with its customers, another business could be sliding in and taking that custom away from you. That is why it is so integral these days to be on top of your sales opportunities, and to not let any of them slip through your fingers. Here are a few ways you might be missing out on potential sales, and what you can do to create more frequent opportunities for yourself.
Put your service first and your branding second
Regarding your marketing, what is it that you are really selling? You might have excellent branding, with a great name, logo, and some visual marketing. But if your potential client doesn’t know what it is you can do for them, your whole strategy could easily fall flat. Remember that the average punter is not going to care about how pretty or sophisticated your branding is unless they think you can help them solve a problem they have. So, catch your customers by telling them how you can help them first, and formulating your brand second.
Photo: RawpixelÂ
Your technology is failing you
If you are anything like other modern businesses, chances are you do a great deal of your client interaction online. This could be via your company website, landing page, or even through an e-commerce portal. So when the online side of your business fails, it can have disastrous consequences for your sales records. One such example is when your website crashes, or when it takes a long time to load. The modern consumer is impatient, with limited time on their hands. With this in mind, you need to make sure you are using a dedicated server that can operate at the speed you need it to. Otherwise, if your website takes more than a couple of minutes to load, your client will simply get bored within those minutes and move on to one of your competitors.
You aren’t following up with clients
If your business is quite large, you may be chasing any number of leads at any given time. But one of the most common reasons for businesses not making sales is that they forget to follow up lines of inquiry. If, for example, someone contacts you asking about a service you provide, don’t just give them the basic details and then offer no further conversation. Always make the interaction with the potential client open-ended, so there is no ‘end’ to your relationship with them. If they go cold on you, give them a call (never an email) over the next couple of days, asking if they need anything else from you. They could say no, but you’ll never know until you ask.