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Marketalk Advisor

Employee Advocates: Five Almost Cost-free Ways to Boost Sales

By Jesse Kalfel and Robin Lawson, Marketalk

Every one of your employees has a stake in the success of your company, and should take pride in the good work you do as a team. If they do, then you have a built-in marketing resource. Here are a few tips to encourage your employees to become advocates.

  1. If you offer multiple products and services – and most companies do – make sure that everyone on your team is reasonably well versed in all of those capabilities. When everyone has a working knowledge of the company's broader offerings, especially your sales team, you can take advantage of "cross-marketing" opportunities.
  2. Make sure incentive programs encourage cooperation – not negative competition – among salespeople or any other company members that can participate.
  3. Consider every employee a salesperson. Create an "elevator speech" – a concise, easy-to-understand description of what you do – and share it with the entire team. Encourage everyone to be an advocate.
  4. Provide every employee with a business card. It's worth the small investment for boosting morale, and only creates more opportunities for getting your company name out there. You never know who might be standing next to your assistant at soccer practice.
  5. A referral bonus for employees who bring in business can be a great incentive, as long as the program is properly coordinated with sales force compensation.

The authors are partners with Marketalk, which helps businesses develop and implement practical, cost-effective marketing plans with a solid return on investment. Marketalk works on our clientsÕ behalf to deliver the right marketing solutions to meet their specific needs. For more information, call 978/465-7033, email info@marketalk.com, or visit www.marketalk.com.