Business Day Thursday: Tying Up Your 2010 Sales Loose Ends

Good Afternoon Everybody,

The orders are delivered, the gifts are wrapped and under the Christmas tree, there's snow on the ground, and a few more inches to come - it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here.

Hey gang, we're close to the holidays so let's get on with the post. Here we go...

Tying Up Your 2010 Sales Loose Ends

This is the time of the year when everyone is in the middle of the holiday hustle and bustle barely having time to catch your breath. Last week I posted several ideas on how to keep the week between Christmas and New Years busy too [link]. Some may take that advice and some may not.

I, for one, plan to have a nice break the week after Christmas, but that does not mean we are taking the week off. I like to spend the slower paced time cleaning up after the dust has settled and planning for the new year.

But are there still a few loose ends from 2010 that need to be tied up? I think so. I think at the end of the year everybody is just plain happy to be through another year and is ready to look forward to 2011.

But let's look back at 2010 for just a few brief moments. What about those loose ends? I guess I want to say that every sale you had in 2010 probably still has a loose end or two to wrap up. Most people don't even consider the fact that there is gold in those loose ends.

Hit the “Read More…” link below for the rest of the story.

I just called one of my clients yesterday about another matter and as we were finishing up the conversation she says, "You know what David, I've got to get back over to your studio. We still have to order a portrait album and a few wall collages". Sounds like a loose end to me. And it sounds like a great opportunity for added sales.

I think you get the point - how many of your clients would still like to order something that maybe they overlooked the first time around? This connect to past clients may be what you want to do during the week between Christmas and New Years.

1- Be sure all your clients are updated in you mailing list - both email and snail mail.

2- Review the order they placed with you during the year and determine what you could suggest to them to enhance the order. For instance, special prices on frames, collage prints, albums, black and white images, etc.

3- Drop them a personal note thanking them for their business and then suggesting some additional items that you think they might enjoy.

4- If you've got the time, and most photographers do after the holidays, give them a call. Again offer them a thank you for their business and then tell them about some of your New Year's specials that would be perfect additions to what they've selected already.

Just like my experience yesterday, "touching" the client with a phone call just enhances the studio/client relationship. Because they completed an order with you earlier in the year doesn't mean there aren't sales opportunities still lingering with those same clients. You'll never know till you ask, will you?

Like someone said to me years ago - the most powerful word in the world is ASK! Just ask and you can have most anything you want, including additional sales.

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Hey gang, that's it for me today. We've got a few more holiday happenings to attend to and I'm going to be late if I don't get moving.

With tomorrow being Christmas Eve, I have a short post with some Christmas thoughts. I hope you'll stop back.

See ya' tomorrow, David