Last night I went to buy a bottle of wine my dad told me about. (Gascon Malbec in case you like to imbibe.) Before I know it, I’m walking out of the store armed with three different bottles of the florid grape and a wallet quite a bit lighter than when I walked in. How did that happen when I walked up to the counter with only one bottle?

The owner of the store suggested I might like two other types of wine, showed me the bottles, and told me about the wine. In essence, he SOLD me.  Was I upset when I walked about of the store because he persuaded me to buy more than I intended to? No, just the opposite.  And I am looking forward to trying the two new wines I bought. (Although I am going to wait a day or two, because I must admit I had more than the “two glasses are good for you” amount last night!)

Selling with integrity, whether it is in person, in print, one-on-one, or one-to-many is the KEY to your success – regardless of the business you are in – and so we continue with our series of how you can improve your selling skills.

But before we do, I decided to release my new course “More New Sales” a day early, and it’s available now at http://www.salesmagicsecret.com.

I also decided to make it ULTRA, ULTRA inexpensive because I know that times are tough for many entrepreneurs. I wanted to make this affordable for everyone because if you improve your selling skills even a little, your income automatically improves without you having to spend any additional money on marketing. So this is super-DEE-duper inexpensive. But do not judge it because of that. I could be charging a lot more because it is worth a ton. Go check it out now: http://www.salesmagicsecret.com.

Okay, here’s today’s article…

Get out of your comfort zone!
3 Tips for finding new markets

Sometimes the key to increasing your sales, especially if you are already fairly successful, is finding new markets. By new markets I don’t necessarily mean entirely new markets. Sometimes yes…but sometimes a product or service has a very specific market. I’m not going to change that or wiggle my nose and create one for you. I just want to help you look outside your comfort zone and find as many possibilities as you can.

Where can I sell? – Ask yourself this question every day. This part of the equation can be tricky because sometimes it’s hard to see beyond what we know and try to find a “new” place to sell.

Everyone has a comfort zone. When I sold radio advertising, there were certain kinds of businesses I had a preference for. Maybe that was because I had great success with them. There were also other types of businesses that I avoided…and that was a mistake.

Take note – This one is simple. Buy a digital voice recorder, or at least keep a notebook handy.

I like the voice recorder because you don’t have to stop to use it. You can be driving along, have an idea or see a potential business opportunity, and simply record it on your way. Revisit it later, and make sure to follow up.

I knew this small business sales guy who made about twice as much as everyone else in his industry. His biggest tip and best advice…the digital recorder. Any time he saw a new business or a business he wanted to call on…he spoke into his little doo-hickey. Then, when he had the time…he acted on it. That’s the key here…it’s not enough to record your ideas. Implement them.

Expand your own product offering – Do you sell to individuals? Small businesses? Big businesses? That’s great. Could you also sell to one of the other categories?

Most of the time, we have a label. Residential, small business sales, core commercial. In most jobs I’ve had, however, we were not strictly bound by those labels.

-       Did you sell to a big businesses? Well, do they buy from or sell to small businesses? Can those businesses use your product? Referral opportunity.

-       Did you sell to a small business? Can you sell to an individual? Depending on your product, you may be able to sell the owner or employees as well.

-       Did you sell to individuals? Where do they work? Can you sell to their business?

These are just a few simple examples of how to cross markets and find new opportunities. Sometimes the answer is sitting in front of us. Think about it…if they bought for a business reason, why not for a personal one? If for themselves…and it applies to their work…why not for the business? Just ask…it couldn’t hurt. It’s your livelihood.

Kick butt, make mucho “DEE-nero!”

~Dave Dee

P.S. Have you joined the “More Sales Now” program yet? If not, click here and get on board and start making more sales.