Are you feeling like you cannot get sales fast enough? You’ve tried everything you know and need some fresh ideas. Perhaps annual revenue is all on your shoulders and a little extra nudge will help reach your goals. Or, possibly managing a marketing department has got you sweating for creative ways to push the envelope and get people engaged with you again. We all want to improve our work. Who doesn’t want to be the best at what they do?

Fear not, my friend, for there are always solutions to these dilemmas. Here are some fast ways to bring in more business and make you look like a saint to your company.

This week’s Sip & Strategy is about how you can make some quick wins in the revenue department. Fluff up a plushie pillow, snag a pipin’ hot cup of tea, and welcome to the Three Best Ways to Increase Sales episode.

Affiliate Program

Maybe you’ve heard this term. Maybe you haven’t. Either way, it’s one of the best ways to generate additional income without the work… and I really mean it. Affiliate programs are outlets for selling your product or service without you finding the buyer. Basically, an affiliate does the leg work for you. All you need to do is deliver after they make the sale.

Affiliate marketing is where affiliates get paid a commission in exchange for advertising another company’s product or service. You offer the fulfillment, the affiliates bring in the sale (and they pay for the ad spend as well), and you pay them out a percentage of the sale (or any agreement you may decide upon, like a hard fee, for example). This process works best when you have a specific product, like digital retail, but certainly isn’t limited to one business model or another. You can always be creative in generating new revenue sources.

If you want to get started with an affiliate program, companies like Tapfiliate can help get you started.

There are numerous reasons why you would want to start affiliate marketing, but the main reasons are that you can start generating sales fast, you don’t need to put continually time into the sale process, and you can start reaching a wider net of customers outside your immediate business circle. Who knows, you may get hooked to the process!

Customer Referral Program

I can speak from personal experience, that there’s no better way to bring in new business than asking your current customers to help. There are a couple of reasons why customer referrals bring in more revenue. Referred customers typically bring in a higher profit margin. They are also 18% more loyal since they were referred by someone they trust. Here are a few reasons to get started with offering a referral program to your customers:

• Gratification feels good. Who doesn’t like getting a gift? Customer referrals should always be given a gift, discount, or incentive to refer another person. Telling a friend about your great service or product while also earning an extra $30 for the mention? Sign me up.

• Customer morale improves. The goal of any marketing plan is to produce evangelists and advocates for your company. By supporting your brand and referring you, they are also showing their vested interest in your mission. This signals a lot of good things for your company, one among them being knowing who are your evangelists.

• Work smarter, not harder. Faster and easier ways to generate income are a huge plus. Yes, you will have to pay the referrer (in some way) for their referral, but alternatively, the referred party will likely be a larger sale and do business with you longer than the average new customer, and as we’ve mentioned they require very little work to generate.

Employee Referral Program

It may not need repeating, but you are not alone (unless you are, then dang, you rock!) Assuming you are part of a company with employees, there are a lot of connections to pull from there. No employee wants to be used and is certainly not required to participate, but creating an open incentive for employees to benefit from their relationships and sharing that relationship with people they know can be appealing.

Offer a bonus, incentive, or gift in exchange for a referral lead. Let the employee make the connection with your salespeople, either via email or create a form for them to fill out. If it’s a product, give them an employee-only code, that has a limited time frame of use, that they can give to their friends and family. Who knows, maybe employee referrals could become a primary revenue source for your company.

And with that, all good things must come to an end. I hope some of these programs will benefit you in your journey to increasing sales in 2023. If you enjoyed this content and want it to come straight to your inbox in the future, consider filling out the form below to start receiving our monthly newsletter!