What is the definition of sales?

What is the definition of sales? Is it cold calling, networking, following up, leaving telephone messages, writing letters, sending information in the post, planning on how to attract your next customer or developing an existing one? Every sales person will participate in a multitude of different activities in order to make a sale.  These activities will have a cross over between sales and marketing, the two functions have to work together hand in hand.

To demonstrate I have used the following example on a number of occasions to explain what sales and marketing is:

If the Circus is coming to town and you create a billboard that reads “Circus coming to the town park this Saturday,” that’s advertising.

If you hang a sign on the side of an elephant and walk him through the town, that’s promotion.

If the elephant tramples the mayor’s garden, that’s publicity.

If you get the mayor to laugh about it, that’s public relations.

If people go to the circus, you show them the many side stalls, explain how much fun they will have spending money at these stalls, answer all of their questions, and convince them to spend a lot of money at the circus? THAT’S SALES!

Traditional promotion – the impulse purchase

The hype is definitely digital, even yesterday I reviewed a recent email campaign that we sent out to consumers and 19% of the open rates were people using iphones and ipads. However we must not forget the sales opportunity that presents itself on the day. For this you need good old traditional methods of promotion. If you have a retail shop or a visitor attraction, then put yourself in the customers shoes. Take a walk or drive and go past your outlet. What did you think? Did it scream at you! Come in and see us? Your brand needs to be good at the first impression stage, always think customer benefits and tell the story. You can do this with great point of sale, window side or roadside (if planning allows).

Also let others know what you do and where you are by working in partnership with other businesses. This could be the person who makes jewellery having a presence in a hairdressing salon or card shop. Make sure that you have leaflets and cards and even set up a commission scheme with your partner.

You must remember that many of us do not plan ahead, we often go looking for something to do or something to buy. The key thing is make sure that you plan ahead and capture every possibility.

If we can help you gain more sales with any branding, design or print, then we would love to hear from you. Please contact me on 0845 051 4232 or visit our TWO Marketing website. Good luck for 2011

SEO Predictions for 2011 by Liverpools Hit Search

SEO- As a result of the local fragmentation of Google, and the growth of local search entities, SEO will become more complex in its management and delivery.
- Content will define SEO in 2011, with copywriting skills becoming more important than ever.
- The blurred lines between SEO and social media will be emphasised even more this year, particularly with new local additions being added to search engines.
- Sales generated through SEO-based channels will grow by more than 50%.
- Google will remain the dominant search engine, although Bing and Yahoo will claw back up to 2% of the market share through the course of the year.
- Facebook will launch its own search listings in 2011, with a local bias that will see Facebook gain a reputation as the "local search engine"

- The increasing adoption of HTML5 towards the end of the year will provide better cross-browser platform support.
- Google will introduce a "brand halo effect", allowing larger brands to become more prominent in their industries, and target keyword phrases that they had previously had little exposure on.
- Yahoo is set to remove its site explorer tool this year.
- Bing will add more functionality into its Webmaster Tools, which will allow for greater reporting on links and site-wide reporting.
- Bing’s Facebook results will become much more prominent in the UK in the first quarter of 2011, which could lead to some interesting celebrity mishaps, promoting the awareness of managing your reputation online from the general public.
- Google is set to move Google Local and Google Shopping to a paid medium by the end of 2011, and will cause further uproar by displaying more of its own content, ie: links to business listings within search listings.
- Bing will look to make its Facebook investment work in 2011. Facebook listings will start to appear in more "interesting" places, while impressions and "like" data will be put to good use in its keyword ranking mechanism.
- Google’s current share price of $600 is one of the dominating elements in its 2011 strategy; expect to see a 10% growth of these shares throughout the year.
- Yahoo’s partnership with Gannett will expand its local-based advertising, as well as provide additional content opportunities.
- Yahoo's Margin increased to 11% in 2010, mostly aided by the Sale of HotJobs, its investment into Alibaba and shedding of 4% of its workforce. Its Search Agreement with Microsoft to obtain full traction in 2012, and CEO Carol Bartz believes Yahoo will be a more attractive proposition to purchase in 2011, with Apple or Facebook expected to be the potential suitors.

Top 10 tips for improving sales in 10 minutes

This Friday i wll be at 4Networking Kings Lynn.
"Everyone should be looking at way’s to increase top line sales. Jonathan White of TWO Marketing reveals some top tips on low cost or no cost methods, that will help you WIN more business".

Friday 07 January 2011
08:00 - 10:00
Leziate Park
Leziate Park Ltd
Brow of the Hill
Leziate
Kings Lynn

PE32 1EN

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to everyone.