HOW TO INCREASE YOUR SALES DURING THE HOLIDAYS

Getting sales during the Holiday Season this year will be a challenge for many businesses. The usually free-spending holiday shoppers are likely to be more careful about what they buy and how much they spend. And business buyers will be more reluctant than usual to make financial commitments during the Holidays. What can you do to get the attention of your prospective customers and clients? And how can you get them to buy from you during this Holiday Season? ..GIVE THEM AN IRRESISTIBLE OFFER THEY CAN'T REFUSE Few businesses use Special Offers during the Holidays. You can attract attention and increase your sales during the Holiday Season by promoting Special Offers. Make your Special Offer as attractive as you can afford. The greater its value to customers the more sales it will generate. Here are 5 different offers you can use for almost any product or service. 1. SPECIAL HOLIDAY DISCOUNT: People don't expect discounts during the Holidays. Surprise them with an unexpected Holiday Discount Offer. It gets attention -- and motivates many prospects to buy. 2. SPECIAL COMBINATION PRICE: Combine several products or services for a price that's lower than the total cost of buying each item separately. A combination offer increases the number of orders you get and the size of your average sale. It increases the number of sales by generating orders from prospects who were only "shopping around". It increases the size of your average sale by motivating buyers to spend additional money to get the "good deal" of your Special Combination Package. 3. FREE BONUS: Offer to include a free bonus with each purchase. It doesn't have to cost you very much so long as it has high perceived value to your customer. For example, I recently visited a web site offering special interest travel books. They offered a map of any country as a free bonus with each order. I'm sure the map cost the site owner much less than its perceived value to the customer. 4. FREE FAST DELIVERY: People want to receive something immediately after buying it ...especially during the Holidays. You can motivate them to buy by offering free fast delivery. For example, a company selling personalized desk accessories offers free overnight shipping during the Holidays. 5. BILL ME LATER or BILL MY CREDIT CARD LATER option: This offer generates many sales you normally wouldn't get during the Holiday Season. It removes the customer's concern about spending too much money right now. TIP: Always include a deadline for your offer. Prospects are more likely to take immediate action when faced with the risk of missing your offer. ADVERTISE YOUR SPECIAL HOLIDAY OFFER Your Holiday Offer is short-lived. So use advertising methods that produce fast results. For example, send a brief email or postcard announcement to your customer or prospect list. Place online and off line ads that will run immediately after you place them. TIP FOR INTERNET MARKETERS: Announce your Special Holiday Offer prominently near the top of your home page. Something as simple as the words, Special Holiday Discount, will grab your visitor's attention and draw them into your web site. Everybody wants to get a "special deal". Most people don't expect to find one during the Holiday Season. Surprise them with a Special Holiday Offer. It will motivate many hesitant prospects to buy.