Recession-Fighting Strategies

There is a saying that goes "small hinges swing big doors". The following 25 "small hinge questions" will immediately pinpoint where you can take action that will produce results.

These are the questions that you should be asking yourself on a regular basis and, if you are willing to spend a few minutes giving them serious thought, the results can be rewarding.

You should be aware that each question you answer “no” or “unsure” to probably means that you are losing out on sales. But the purpose of this process is not to make you feel bad – it’s to motivate you to make sales activity a top priority.

		Answer Yes, No or Unsure
1	Do you regularly keep in touch with your current and previous customers to ensure they know what you have to offer?
2	Do you take amazing care of customers during the sales process to create a positive experience for them?
3	Do you personalise your email newsletters (eg, with the recipient’s name first)?
4	Do you understand that one of the best ways to generate leads is to use the phone?
5	Do you always follow up a letter with a phone call, to increase response rates?
6	Do you obtain and use testimonials from your best customers?
7	Do you set up an ongoing communication with qualified leads consisting of phone calls, letters and emails?
8	Are you speaking to EVERY member's guest that visits the club?
9	How much time each year do you spend learning leading-edge sales skills? (I recommend at least two days per year.)
10	When you speak to potential customers, do you use unique selling points (features you have that your competition doesn’t) that set you apart from the competition and immediately capture the customer’s attention?
11	Do you accurately measure the results of your sales and marketing activities?
12	Did you know that you should be spending most of your time on the phone making contacts and sales?
13	Can you name 10 of your club’s unique selling points?
14	Did you know that you should be generating over 60% of your own leads?
15	Do you carry your business cards at all times?
16	Do you generate 3-5 point-of-sale referrals per new member?
17	Do you rehearse, perform and critique your skills?
18	Do you understand the need to cultivate and hone the positive mental attitude common to all top performers?
19	Do you take advantage of prospects generated by your company?
20	Do you create opportunities to generate referrals?
21	Do you go out and meet your corporate clients on a regular basis?
22	Do you seek public speaking opportunities?
23	Do you seek networking opportunities in your local area?
24	Do you seek one FREE PR opportunity EVERY month?
25	Are you creating joint ventures, forming strategic alliances with local partners to swap leads?

If you answered “no” or “unsure” to any of the above, you’ve identified the areas you need to reflect on and then actively tackle.

• If you’re not already accurately measuring the results of your sales and marketing activities, for instance, this kind of record-keeping will track your progress and provide further benchmarks along your way.
• Struggled to name 10 USPs? Think wider field: a unique class that achieves great results, having the biggest pool in the area or a smoking cessation programme.
• How did you fare on having a positive mental attitude? To stay on top of the game, believe in your organisation and that you can achieve your sales targets.
• If you’re not confident that you are creating opportunities to generate referrals, try introducing a referrals desk manned by a salesperson in the club. Ask members to complete a nomination card that provides their friends’ contact details and give them the opportunity of winning a prize.

Lesley Aitken
International Business Consultant
Mobile: +44 (0)7815 800 939
www.fitpro.com/business/training