Lloyds TSB’s latest Business in Britain survey has revealed that although the economic recovery picked up pace in the second half of 2010, the start of 2011 doesn’t look quite so rosy with UK companies expecting sales to decline. So it is no surprise that overall business confidence is down.

Just what you need – more doom and gloom! Well, not quite…because with every challenge comes an opportunity.

If you think your sales and orders are going to suffer then you need to pull out all the stops and look for new ways to get your sales lines ringing. So here are five top tips from 08 Direct to increase your sales:

Make it really easy for your customers to contact you

You need to make sure your customers call you before your competitors. Using 0844 numbers will give you the competitive edge because they are extremely memorable, and what’s more, you can make money from every call you receive through a rebate on the call cost.

And once you’ve got their call, make sure you handle it professionally. If you don’t they will soon give up and take their business elsewhere.   Therefore it is vital that you do the following:

Make sure your customers feel wanted

Play a professionally recorded welcome message to greet your customers when they ring your company. This gives a professional image by confirming they have called the right number and holding them until a line becomes free.

Grab every opportunity

Don’t allow a single call to go astray – it could be an order! Use voicemail to capture those opportunities and get back to the customer as soon as you can.

Don’t be tied to your desk

Just because you aren’t sitting at your desk all day it doesn’t mean that you have to miss a call. Unfortunately, asking customers to ring your mobile may put them off as they know the call will be expensive. And if they get your voicemail all the time they will soon get frustrated, prompting them to take their business elsewhere. Call forwarding to another number when you are out and about will give your customers a far better experience.

Right person, first time

Getting your customer’s call straight to the right person in your business will greatly increases your chances of landing a sale. Using an auto attendant will automatically manage and direct all your incoming calls so you don’t have to.

The Lloyds TSB survey is one of the largest business surveys in Britain, so is undoubtedly a reliable indication of the mood of business people across the land. But here at 08 Direct we don’t believe you should just accept the forecast that your sales will go south in 2011.

By following our advice, we are sure you will generate more sales and prove the doom and gloom merchants wrong.

Oh and in case you were wondering how much all of this technology will cost you…check out our website. All of the features above are absolutely FREE with your 0844 numbers and can be up, and running within minutes.

Tags: 0844 number, auto attendant, call prompts, Call Routing, call whisper, voice to email, Voicemail, welcome message
| Categorised in: 0844 numbers, Business News, non geographic numbers, Tips for business | This post was written by admin