Learn about making the most of sales promotions as a way to make your next sales event something special. Search out the latest trends in sales promotions like online coupons, mobile coupons and loyalty cards that your customers can present when shopping in your establishment.

Visit other establishments in your area so you can stay apprised of sales promotion ideas and ways you can tweak them to make them better for your event. Use giveaway items with your company name and logo as a way to generate marketing promotion opportunities like coffee mugs or ink pens.

1. Learn how to have successful and cost-effective sales promotions.

2. Use sales promotion techniques that are tried and true like setting realistic goals to avoid disappointments.

3. Evaluate effective marketing advertising sales promotions opportunities.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Know what it takes to host successful sales promotions

Take the time to learn some tips toward making the most of your next sales promotion. For example, host a sales promotion around a calendar date that isn't being promoted by your competition. You'll draw heavier foot traffic to your store and away from your competition.

I recommend: UTalkMarketing.com defines sales promotion strategy and provides you with the information you need to make the most of sales promotions. Progressive Distributor talks about how to make the most of sales promotions.

Set realistic sales goals for your next sales promos

Promoting a sale as an event allows your sales staff the opportunity to shine. Get them excited with challenging but attainable goals and allow them a voice in the sales event. Consider a themed event in which invitations are sent out, food is served and the store is decorated according to the theme. Ask your sales staff to dress appropriately for the theme and watch them go.

I recommend: Marketing Science explores the importance of a quality sales strategy and helps you achieve successful strategies. Small Business Notes details what your marketing and sales strategies should include.

Use marketing tools to bring awareness to your sales promotions

Don't underestimate the power of quality marketing when planning your next sales promotion. Create invitations for your preferred customers, and instead of asking them to RSVP, allow them to return their RSVP card for a special discount or unique give away just for them. Keep the RSVP cards so you know who your loyal customers are from event to event.

I recommend: KnowThis provides a tutorial for market advertising geared toward making the most of sales promotions. Brooklyn College explains the importance of market advertising to the success of sales promotions.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Depend upon the expertise of sales promotion agencies when setting up your most important advertising sales promotion event. Sales promotion companies will guide you through the process of setting up a successful sales promotion for critical events.

The phones aren't ringing. Your Web site receives just a handful of daily hits. Your sales numbers are in a slump. Employee morale (including your own) is in a downward spiral. Stop pouting and do something about it. It doesn't take a miracle to turn around your sales figures, just a little creative thinking. To boost your numbers, you need to:

1. Get creative.
2. Motivate your employees.
3. Revisit your sales plan.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Develop a customer loyalty program

Keep customers coming back and entice them to purchase more with a loyalty program. Popular programs include frequent buyer clubs and loyalty cards. Reward your customers with discounts, cash back, store credit or a free gift with purchase.

I recommend: Purchase low-cost punch cards from Business Card Source or order custom loyalty cards from Arthur Blank & Company or Duracard or .

Up-sell and cross-sell

Think of a customer who's ready to buy as a customer who's ready to buy more. Up-sell to a higher-end product or service and cross-sell with products and services that complement the one being purchased.

I recommend: Not sure how to up-sell or cross-sell? CRM software, such as MySAP, can help you analyze customer buying patterns to determine cross-sell and up-sell opportunities.

Create a referral rewards program

Turn your satisfied customers into your best salespeople by launching a referral reward program. For every one, two, or ten referrals you receive from a customer, reward them with discounts on products and services, free gifts or free shipping on purchases.

I recommend: Ask for referrals on all your customer communication materials. Slip a pre-addressed, postage paid postcard asking for referrals into shopping bags or set up a referral form on your ecommerce site.

Lure customers with coupons

Coupons can entice new customers to give your products or services a try. They can also encourage existing customers to buy more than they normally would or to make a purchase today rather than next week or next month.

I recommend: Place coupons in coupon mailers like Valpak, or take a digital approach with online coupons (at Coolsavings.com) or text message coupons.

Motivate your sales team

Pump up your sales team and your sales will get a shot in the arm. Financial rewards and commissions aren't the only way to energize salespeople. Setting goals, providing training and offering opportunities for growth within your organization can help light a fire under your team.

I recommend: Find a list of sales training courses from Dale Carnegie Training.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Follow up on all sales. The first sale is the hardest. Use it as a springboard to build the relationship with the customer.
• •  Use the word 'free' with caution. Some free offers may turn potential customer away. A free product should have value to the customer (not the company) to be effective.
• •  Offer a guarantee for all products and services. By removing the risk, customers are more likely to spend money.
• •  Surround yourself with sales experts -- your customers, employees, suppliers, and partners. Ask for their opinions. Integrate only what you think would be beneficial to you, your company, and the bottom line.

Sales promotion ideas are essential to making the most of your next sales event. Advertising sales promotion brings attention to your business and the products or services you offer. Ways to go about using sales promotions include advertising, public relations and marketing promos like giveaways to draw attention to your business.

Visit stores that are engaging in large marketing promotion events to evaluate what you like and what you dislike and to get sales promotional ideas for your next event. Ask to meet with sales managers to find out what companies they use and what ones they avoid.

1. Learn what to expect from sales promotion.

2. Develop successful sales promotions.

3. Educate yourself on expectations for sales promos.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Read up on the benefits of sales promotions

Use your sales promotions to draw customers to your door. According to many sales promotion agencies, providing your customers with free samples is often the best way to get them to come to you and to make purchases.

I recommend: Contentwriter has a good article explaining what sales promotions are and how they work, providing you with another level of understanding. Management-hub.com explains the methods behind sales promotions, giving you the education you need to make the best choices when working with sales promotion companies.

Examine ways to develop a successful sales promotion campaign

Take the time to learn how to develop a successful sales promotion. By learning the process to a successful promotion, you save time and money by avoiding trial-and-error learning curves. Plan events for days when you typically see high traffic.

I recommend: Cornell University has published an article that helps you understand how to develop a successful promotional campaign. Attard Communications defines the 12 steps essential to a successful sales promotional campaign.

Use sales promotion techniques to help you define and meet sales objectives

Find out how to set sales goals and expectations before your next sale. Determine what it is you expect to accomplish with your sales promotions. Talk with your sales staff to ensure that your expectations are attainable. Setting defined goals that are realistic will help you determine the steps you need to take in order to reach those goals. Contact the media with press packets to get the news out about your sales promotion, and reserve print advertising well in advance.

I recommend: KnowThis walks you through the steps to understand what your objectives are for your sales promotion. Determan.com lays out the steps you want to take to understand your objectives and to meet those objectives.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Interview several sales promotion companies prior to making any decisions about what company to use or what campaign to move forward with. Take advantage of the expertise such companies can provide to you to help you avoid making basic mistakes that can be costly.

Any business that sells tangible goods or services can benefit from using a sales promotion. A sales promotion uses specific marketing techniques to get consumers interested in the product, whether it's through deep discounts and giveaways or through creating demand for a product before it reaches the market. Marketing strategies used to make successful sales promotions include traditional advertising, point-of-sale incentives and additional benefits for consumers.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Promotional mix

A promotional mix is all of the components for creating a sales promotion campaign. Components include public relations, packaging, direct marketing and advertising.

I recommend: Tutor2u provides an introduction to promotional mix and how all of the elements of promotion mix work together to make a successful sales promotion.

Push promotion

A push promotion is a type of sales promotion that uses the wholesalers or retailers of a specific product to push products out to the customers. This type of promotion works by using display advertising and price reductions.

I recommend: The Concept Marketing Group examines the debate between push and pull marketing and whether one is more effective than the other.

Pull promotion

A pull promotion tries to work on an opposing strategy to push promotion by building up consumer demand for a product. This demand provides communication with retailers and wholesalers that pull the product through the distribution chain to offer it to consumers.

I recommend: Gaebler Ventures' Resources for Entrepreneurs provides expanded definitions of pull and push marketing and explains where these strategies are best used.

Point of sale (POS)

Point of sale is the place where the consumer pays for a product. Sales promotions are often placed at the point of sale to entice consumers to buy the product.

I recommend: Business Town provides a list of different point-of-sale marketing products and the effectiveness of each.

Rebate

A rebate is a type of refund offered to consumers for purchasing a specific product. This is often used a sales promotion for higher-end items, such as computers, phones and cars.

I recommend: The Association for Integrated Marketing outlines its best practices for offering rebates as a sales promotion.

Marketing plan

A marketing plan presents the objectives and activities of a specific promotion or sales strategy.

I recommend: More Business provides a sample marketing plan that includes all the information, marketing data and other research necessary to provide a comprehensive sales strategy.