This article first appeared May 12, 2011.
Entrepreneurs spend a lot of time trying to come up with new and creative ways to grow their sales, which is great – we all like to be on top of the latest trends, and stay ahead of the pack.
But I don’t know how many business owners who have told me: “We tried [insert sales/marketing idea] but in the end it doesn’t work as well as [insert tried and true method here].”
The lesson is clear – spending precious time, money and resources on new sales methods isn’t a great idea unless you are absolutely, positively, 100% certain that you have milked your best sales strategy dry.
Are most of your sales generated by SEO? Then put your focus into this method of sales building and explore just how far you can go down the long-tail.
Do you get most of your business through referrals from a certain area, like lawyers or accountants? Then form relationships with more of these people, in more places.
Does direct selling work for you? Then radio ads probably aren’t that great an idea.
The point is, proven sales methods are priceless. Untried ones are worthless.
Get it done – today!
Andrew Sadauskas is a former journalist at SmartCompany and a former editor of TechCompany.
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