The first sale is not the hardest

Traditionally new customers are thought of as the hardest to gain. New business development is still seen as one of the most important jobs in any company and is usually staffed by hard nosed professional communicators with an eye for a good margin.

How are you going to earn that second sale?

But like everything else - times have changed and are continuing to change as customers learn that they are in complete control of the buying process. Customers are slowly realising that they can buy when they want, at a price point of their choice, new or secondhand without any help from a smooth or not so smooth talking salesperson.

So the first sale you make is going to be very much like the second sale you make to that customer - not really under your influence.

But there are 4 things you should consider when trying to get that second sale:

1. Thank your new customer for the first sale. Not in an email. By way of a "thank you" postcard. No offer, no special deal, just a plain old thank you and perhaps some handy customer service details.
2. Having established postcards as a media calculate the most probable next order date and 2 weeks before hand send another postcard with a discount code of say 15% off everything you have on your website
3. If that fails and you have an email try the same with an email
4. Change the offer - if practicable try a buy 1 get one Free, or a related product or service add-on 

If you can get the second sale - you have a significantly higher chance of hanging on to your new customer - that's why the second sale can be the hardest.

But the good news is that most companies still work on the assumption that new customers are more important, and don't really care about them after they get the first order. If you do, and put the investment into chasing down those second orders, growth will be more sustainable and competitive advantage improved.

Image courtesy of Nutdanai Apikhomboonwaroot at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What Jeremy Corbyn can teach every marketer

Jeremy Corbyn is currently one of four politicians who want to lead the Labour Party. For those readers outside the UK the Labour Party is the official opposition party in the House of Commons, facing down the Conservative Party who have a small but workable majority.

Could this man hold the secret of marketing success?

But you don't need to know anything about UK politics to learn from Corbyn when it comes to marketing communications.

He's successful because of 3 important factors:

1. He's genuine - he really and truly believes in what he says
2. He's not soundbite driven - he says it how he feels, he does not have any alternative audience he has to appease
3. He's perceived as a leader and not a follower - he is someone anyone will follow regardless of their political persuasion or class loyalties - he has a universal appeal 

As a marketer or someone who is responsible for communicating your company's products or services this translates into 3 principles you must follow:

• If you are trying to con customers with a crap product or service you will fail
• If your value proposition sounds false you will fail
• If your product or service has very limited appeal, you will fail

Please take a long hard look at your product or service. If you are failing to win new business or retain existing clients stop blaming sales and start asking yourself some difficult questions!