After each and every sale, follow-up with the customer. Follow-up can be in a lot of forms, but one of the strongest is by phone or by mail. There are some great computer programs out there including Send-Out-Cards that make it easy to keep in touch with your customers. Email is okay and easy to do, but it also easy for the person you send it to ignore it or delete it.

Upsell to your customers. This is actually providing a higher level of customer service. Using what they already ordered as a basis, make suggestions for other products they might like. By giving them suggestions of other products you are also letting them know about these other products. You can also carry this principal over to the web. When they're at your order page, tell them about a few extra related products you have for sale. They could just add it to their original order.

Offer an incentive if customers send you a referral. You can offer a discount on a future order or maybe a free gift. Referrals are one of the fastest ways to grow your business. Referrals also give you and your business credibility since we all like to buy from people we know and trust.

Consider developing an affiliate program. When you sell a product, give your customers the option of joining your affiliate program. An affiliate program turns your customer into your sales force. Plus they can make commissions selling your product.

Cross promote your product with other businesses' products in a package deal. Cross promoting is a win-win for everyone and is one of the oldest promotional ideas. It will also help control your advertising costs. Pick businesses that are complementary to your business for the best results.

If you ship out or deliver your product, include a coupon for other related products you sell in the package. If the order is large enough, you might also want to include a discount coupon for future sales. Both will increase the chances that your customer will buy from you again. Don't forget the follow-up!

Offer gift certificates for your products or services. You will gain a new customer when the recipient of the gift certificate cashes it in!

Promotional items can be very useful for promoting your business. Keep in mind they should be good quality items. Pens and pads of paper are particularly useful. Put your picture and all your contact information on the pads of papers. That way, people will keep them on their desk or by their phone and they will be more likely to think of you for their needs.

Always be on the look out for new ideas and always continue your training. There are a lot of experts out there and they all have different information to offer.

Copyright (c) 2008 Soaring Eagle Companies LLC