Recession, plummeting stock prices, crypto crashes, insane fuel prices, weak economy-   Life is pretty difficult right now so we could all use more sales in our businesses right ?  “sales cures all”  is true indeed, more sales mean more money which equals fewer problems.

So how do we make more sales for a service business? well, the equation is pretty simple. Sales is just a numbers game, the more people you talk to or put your service in front of the higher the chances of making a sale. if your service is good enough and you get in front of enough people you will make sales.

You need to put your service in front  of more people and you have some options here :

Free Traditional methods To market your business :

Business cards – aah the good old trusty business card, if you meet a lot of prospects in person there will always be a place for the traditional business card, it’s cheap and a quick way to give someone your contact details, things are a little different since the crazy flu arrived though, some people might refuse to take a business card for health reasons – you can get a digital version of business card to solve this issue.

Flyers

These can be very effective if you give them out in the right location and have a clear offer eg:  Security services R999 a month or tutoring R200 per month etc, you get the point, have a clear offer

Posters

Put up posters on community notice boards at shopping centers and supermarkets.

Cold Calling

Cold calling is one of the most effective tools to generate leads for any business, especially if you offer your service to other businesses, simply make a list of potential client’s phone numbers by searching for companies on google and google maps, make a spreadsheet and save these phone numbers there and start calling, this daunts many people, but there’s no place for fear in business so get calling,  simply be polite and ask to speak to the relevant person in charge, tell them in one or two quick sentences how you can help them and then ask to make an appointment to see them,   the idea of the cold call is not to sell to them immediately, the idea is to make an introduction and get a follow-up meeting with them ( preferably in person).

Free digital methods to generate leads :

Facebook groups

Facebook groups are pretty popular in the 30+ age group but don’t spam these groups with posts about your business, a better approach is to try to help people by using your expertise and giving people advice

Linkedin outreach

Many business owners are oblivious to the power of building relationships, LinkedIn is the world’s largest social network for professionals and businesses, it’s a great way to generate leads as well, just be creative when you message people who you think may be interested in your services, don’t spam people, try to build relationships and offer people value.

Cold emails

cold email is one of the most effective tools to generate leads for any business, especially if you offer your service to other businesses, simply make a list of potential client’s email addresses by searching for companies on google and google maps, make a spreadsheet and save these email addresses there and started mailing, try not to send the same generic email to too many people, try to personalize your emails and make the reader think it was written specifically for them, just like cold calling the idea here is not to sell immediately, the idea is to pique their interest or try to get them to book a call with you.

Business directories/gumtree

Google search “free business directory South Africa” and then add your business to as many free directories as you can, this is a great way to increase the online presence of your business.

Stay Tuned as we delve deeper into each aspect in the days to come 🙂