Sale Now On – free stuff….
September 7th, 2011 by Mike Clough
Always on the lookout for new ways to increase profits, I have been wondering whether we should try some hard hitting sales techniques?
I sat down with the team and asked whether we should try offering discounts or free stuff with our current services. The faces looked back at me in a rather bemused way as if they didn’t understand what I was saying – then the comments started to flow.
‘We already offer the best service in the market place’
‘How can we offer discounts when we are achieving our targets and margins?’
‘We are already working at capacity – if we bring in more work at the wrong cost base what would be the point’
‘Nothing is ever ‘free’ there has to be a cost implication at some point…’
It was at this point that I remembered and old adage about ‘fools chasing turnover’ – when it is profit and margins that is critical to the success of a company.
Talk is rife about one of our major competitors suffering from poor cash flow and potential liquidation – perhaps they have misjudged what is important and offered one too many ‘free insurance backed warranties’.
So that’s a NO to any Sale.
It’s a sorry NO to any free stuff.
BUT, YES we will be around for a long to come.
Mike C



