16.  Develop the fine art of faceting. It's the facets that give a diamond its sparkle and appeal. It's the same with a business. Find different ways to tell your story and look for new, unique angles or facets of the business, product or service. This takes effort but it's essential to develop and sustain customer interest. Nothing is easier to ignore faster than a boring business.

17.  Focus on why customers should break down the doors to do business with you. "What makes us different from others in the same business? What sets us apart? Why do we deserve to be in business?" Get beyond the usual, trite responses such as "we give great service" or "we've been in business for 63 years." Dig deeper and get at the valid reasons why you deserve the customers' business.

18.  Develop a sense of excitement. There is little or no action without a sense of urgency. Certainly sales are few and far between if there is no urgency for the customer to place the order. Dull destroys business because it pushes away customers. The goal is to create what can be called the "I wonder what they are going to do next" attitude. This is the light that draws the customers toward a business.

19.  Tell the story one piece at a time. There's a tendency to jam everything about a business into one brochure, ad or newsletter. "What have we left out?"is the most common question. The difficult job is to pull it all apart, break ideas into their component parts and then roll out a continuing, intriguing campaign. Communicating a message over a period of time works best because it allows it to sink in slowly.

20.  Make your marketing match your business. Review your marketing materials carefully. If you want to be know as a first-class organization, do your brochures and sell sheets convey that message? What improvements can be made? How can the company's image be sharpened? The answers to these questions will point you in the right direction.

21.  Personalize your communications. The day of letters beginning with "Dear Friend," "Dear Customer" or "Dear Valued Customer" is gone. What could be more ridiculous than "An important message to our valued clients"? Yet, this the way the letter began from a company president who takes pride in delivering personal service." Don't bother mailing a letter that isn't personalized with an individual's name. There is tremendous power in personalization. Use it. It makes customers and prospects feel you actually know who they are and that you're talking directly to them.

22.  Take advantage of testimonials. In today's competitive market-place, a company's credibility increases with the use of appropriate testimonials. Let your customers blow your horn for you. Why are some customers reluctant to give a testimonial? They may lack experience in expressing themselves and may feel that you will be disappointed with their customers. A better way is to interview them, then prepare comments for their approval. This assures them and provides testimonials that will work best for you.

23.  Give your customers the opportunity to respond. Getting your message into the marketplace is important. But getting customers to respond to it is the real test. Always offer opportunities to ask for additional information, to state a question or request a sample. Discovering what's on the customer's mind is all-important.

24.  Make marketing your business mission. Marketing often becomes a business priority only when sales are down. This shotgun approach simply doesn't work. Communicating the company's message is an ongoing process and the task is to develop new and interesting ways to get the message across. The challenge is to create an atmosphere so that people want to do business with you--instead of someone else. 

These 24 methods help a company's sales increase no matter what the state of the economy or the intensity of the competition. Even though quality is important, it isn't good enough today to produce the best product or to offer the most comprehensive service. The primary goal is to create conditions so that the customer will want what you sell. This is where these 24 down-to-earth, practical suggestions can make a major difference.

This resource is copyright (c) by, and compliments of John R. Graham,  President of Graham Communications, a marketing services and sales consulting firm. Graham is also the author of "Magnet Marketing" published by Wiley. You can reach him at (617) 328-0069, by fax at (617) 471-1504 or by mail to 40 Oval Road #2, Quincy, MA 02170-3813.