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Enhancement Sales and Profits Business Management By Jeffrey Scott 7Ways to Increase B oost your profits by taking a compa- nywide, systematic approach to in- creasing upsells, cross-sells and enhancement work. Seven tactics that work are as follows: 1. Present your company more comprehensively It is darn near impossible to change a client's view of your company once their impression is set, so be careful how you pres- ent yourself during the first sale. If you give your new client a more comprehensive in- troduction, your chances of upselling them (throughout their lifetime as a customer) in- crease dramatically. Use role playing to get this right. 2. Involve your office staff It takes seven impressions for a client to grasp (and consider buying) what you are selling. Your office can have a significant im- pact on making these seven impressions: * Drop "specials" into your statement and proposal envelopes. Try lime green flyers. Every envelope that goes out should have a small marketing flyer. * Arm your staff with specials and tips to discuss when clients call in. Educate your staff on the hot issues of the month, and give them lingo to use when speaking with clients. * Send out monthly e-mail alerts with timely tips and offers (not a newsletter, but a simple e-mail with a picture). * Update Facebook with these same tips and specials, and tweet them as well. Give your office staff a cheat sheet: a list of clients, and what major products and serv- ices they are not getting from you (e.g. irri- gation service, lawn maintenance, fire pits, barbeque set ups, etc.). 3. Be ready to share ideas Clients are buying you for your hard work and dependable results, but also for your expertise and ideas. Be an "idea" com- pany. Your field staff, salespeople, project managers and account execs can be con- stantly providing new ideas to your clients. Keep in mind: * Wealthy clients want to do projects. * Property managers want to keep their stakeholders happy. * The average consumer wants to protect his/her investment. If your field staff lacks ideas, do one or both of the following: * Give them formal training on the other services you offer. * Have someone with a bigger vision walk the property and come up with ideas that the field staff can offer. 4. Be proactive with proposals Clients need to budget their expenses. Giving them actual proposals allows them to consider and start budgeting for your ideas. You can do this a couple different ways: * Offer proposals monthly, suggesting services you think the client and the prop- erty need. Don't use a hard sell, make it "for their consideration." 16 Landscape and Irrigation October 2011 www.landscapeirrigation.com Illustration ©istockphoto.com/ymgerman.