GPI 426 – Increase your sales through the companies that you already know. Let your buyer know he has a cost cut available with more sales.

Before trying to find brand new customers in new industries in unknown territories of the market, look at your current list of firms you have been dealing with for many years.  More sales with your current customer base or those also in that industry is easier to obtain. That is because of your knowledge of what they ask for and ultimately order.  Try a few of these steps to increase those sales.

Try these ideas to increase sales to customers you already know:

• Fully inform customers what you sell: Make sure your current customers know all of the products you offer or services you perform.  You most likely have not kept them informed as you grew during the years. Provide them photos or lists of products you now offer. Assume they probably do not know everything you can provide. Offer your customer’s buyer a list of new products your company has brought to the market over the last one to two years.
• Research all your customers’ locations/sister plants: Know your customers and all of their locations, divisions and sister plants.   Compare their complete location list to the locations you have in your data base.  Enter all of the locations you have not sold to.  Ask your current buyers who you feel are loyal or satisfied with your company for referrals to their related divisions and sister companies.  If they cannot or will not do this because they have issues with your firm, you have other problems to resolve first.
• Do not depend upon your buyer’s knowledge: Just because your buyer works for his company does not imply that he knows every division or every other buyer in his firm. Most employees do not.  Prepare a complete listing for him to review. He most likely will not know all of the other facilities that his own company controls.
• Give corporate discounts for more locations: Offer lower pricing to customers if they can bring on their sister plants to buy from you.  Tell them both divisions will enjoy your corporate discount program regardless of the plant locations. Whether it is the second location in their small company or the twentieth, all of their facilities will share a financial benefit doing business with you.
• Offer volume discounts for larger orders: Approach your current customer’s buyers and tell them if they can bring on more sales from other plants or divisions, they will be eligible for larger volume discounts that neither division currently receives.

Turn customers into vendors:  Try to buy from your customers when you can and they will more likely buy more from you. Assuming you are able to do everything you promise, you will make it more difficult for them to dump you as a vendor if you are simultaneously sending them money as a loyal customer. You make it easy for them to do business by offering to trade accounts payable invoices with accounts receivable invoices to minimize cash flow between the companies.   Compare the two balances weekly and cut a smaller check than normal for the net difference. Review your list of customers and see who offers products or services you could purchase.  Make sure to use your customer’s buyer to ask for help in buying from his company.  He will look at you in a different light.