10 ways to increase sales of advertising services!
It is widely believed that out of all companies advertising agencies surely don’t have a shortage of orders, because advertising and promoting is what they do for a living! If they help others find new customers, then they definitely can do the same thing for themselves. But alas, it is not as simple as it seems. In this article we will explore main ways of increasing sales for advertising agencies.
How can an advertising agency increase sales?
1. Say “Yes!” to trial periods and gifts! Advertising is still an unknown territory for most of your prospective clients, especially if we are talking about Internet advertising. Let your clients experience the benefits of your services for free. This will break “the barrier to entry” and it is very probable that the client will buy a service from you.
2. Be persuasive! Who says psychological tricks are not applicable in sales? Company executives will not swallow all the benefits and advantages you promise whole. The client must feel that he is one of the luckiest people in the world, because he was presented with such a unique and useful service! Show off results of your previous advertising campaigns more actively, publish reviews and recommendations from customers on your web-site.
3. When persuading, do not promise anything you can’t do! Otherwise the client won’t receive the result that he was expecting, and thus will be disappointed by your agency and will probably refuse your services. Not to mention the fact that the reputation of your agency will undermined, and, as you know, competitors won’t be long in coming and taking over your clients.
4. Who is working in your call-center and how easy is it for the client to make an order? Many research results published in the Internet show that even if the agency is actively searching for clients, all the efforts can be ruined by one person who is answering the phone. It is unacceptable for a call-center employee to be rude to clients, demand them to select what service they want right away, refuse to connect them to the manager, or overwhelm them with irrelevant questions.
5. Don’t make your clients pay for a pig in a poke! It doesn’t mean that you have to give long lectures on certain types of advertising. For that matter if the client is way too curious you can refer to the fact that you are not to reveal company secrets or something like that. But still, your clients should understand clearly what they are paying for and what results they will get.
6. Turn your drawbacks into advantages or at least don’t hide them from your clients! This will gain trust and respect and it is always better than unfulfilled expectations.
7. “Flex” your pricing policy! All clients can be divided into three groups – thrifty money savers, lavish spenders and moderate spenders. There are no problems with the last two, but things are not easy with the first group. For them you need to devise special discounts for wholesale orders, profitable service subscriptions and “all included” packages. Give them special one-time discounts – it will pay off in the future in any case.
8. Make clients the cornerstone of your business! What is more important for you: profit or success of your clients? Remember: you are taking part in their businesses, indirectly though, but still, they believe that your services will promote the growth and development. Clients always feel it when the agency is trying to get as much money as possible from them rather than helping their business.
9. Stick to deadlines! If it says on the web-site that the manager will call within 10 minutes, then you need to make sure that this call will definitely take place within the stated period of time, but not the next day or next week. Most of the time you interact with executives of the companies, they appreciate punctuality and regard its violation as disrespect and unprofessional behavior.
10. Turn your competitors into “allies”! Make your offers more appealing, use your competitors as a background. You don’t need to hide the fact that you have some strong competitors: this way the client will understand that you are interested in meeting all his needs and having him as a customer.
These are the 10 ways to increase sales of advertising services. They are not new, but every single one of them can help your business reach a new, higher level that you were not even expecting!