ANTenna Blog -- Business & E-Business

Sell now. That's the mantra and businesses are scrambling to book every last cent of revenue from any source. Sales are scarce right now, but there's no shortage of sales and marketing advice from tips to tech, right now to how to sell your business outright.

The film may be dated at this point, but David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross remains a classic of the sales genre. If for no other reason than Alec Baldwin's "coffee is for closers" speech when he lays out the ABCs -- that's "always be closing" -- of closing deals.

The mantra of always be closing is even more important right now. Sales managers in small and midsize companies can't count on getting million dollar, tax-payer funded bonus checks if they don't perform. In the current economic climate, your next sale may be the difference between keeping your job and cleaning out your desk. And for business owners, each sale is crucial to keeping the cash flowing to pay those outstanding invoices and keep the payroll, well, rolling.

If the Mamet-Baldwin sales insights don't do it for you, there's no shortage of advice and insight in there about how to make your sales more effective and efficient.

Some of the offerings have a master of the obvious quality. For instance, consider these four sales tips for a down economy offered up by Michael Falkson, CEO of eti Sales Support:

1. Get Back To Basics -- Outbound marketing (telemarketing, direct marketing, etc.) is still very effective…inbound marketing is not as effective as "common knowledge" dictates
2. Be Agile -- Constantly audit your marketing vehicles. If your marketing department is wasting precious dollars on ineffective non-sales-producing activities, then STOP them: seems simple, but may capture wasted valuable dollars on marketing activities with no ROI.
3. Go After The Big Fish -- 50-100 whale-sized prospects is better than a million sardines. It's about quality, not quantity.
4. Always Remember… It's Not About Cost Per Lead, It's About Cost Per Sale -- A higher upfront cost will likely return a lower cost per sale…you get what you pay for.

Another round of sales and marketing tips comes from Michelle T. Dolberry, director of marketing advocacy at American Express OPEN, who suggests that these 6 tips will help SMBs pitch their business more effectively:

1. Stay Unique -- Start your pitch with what sets your business apart - your unique selling proposition (USP). When you focus on what makes your business different, your pitch will be more memorable.
2. Focus On Solutions -- Every successful product or service solves some kind of problem. A successful pitch conveys this as a story with a happy ending provided by your business.
3. Provide Proof -- Interweave relevant facts into your pitch to support your claims, prove your benefits, and show your success.
4. Be Tangible -- Don't get caught up in jargon and clichés. Figure out how to express your businesses' benefits in a way that most everyone could understand.
5. Show Your Passion -- The perfect pitch appeals to the emotions, not the intellect. Think about what got you excited about starting your business -- that story can often communicate the passion you feel about your company.
6. Practice -- Spend enough time practicing your pitch so that is sounds natural. Run your pitch by as many different people as possible to get unbiased input.

If tips aren't enough to get your sales juiced, you could always turn to technology. Lead management and CRM tools can make your lead acquisition and tracking more effective. As Chris Cabrera, founder and CEO of SaaS sales performance management vendor Xactly says, "You can't dangle a carrot in front of your sales team three weeks after the month closes; that's not motivational. You need to tell them how they're doing every day." Cabrera's company automates incentive programs -- no need for Alec Baldwin to drive out to the sales office from Mitch and Murray to talk about the Cadillac Eldorado and the set of steak knives on offer in the monthly sales promotion.

These tips and technologies focus internally, on the sales team and marketing strategy. But what about dangling that carrot Cabrera mentions in front on your prospective customers. We're talking about price cuts and special offers of course and the sheer volume of discounts available right now is staggering from companies of all sizes and stripes.

And if all else fails, you can -- of course -- sell the business itself. Steve Kaplan, who has published a book on the topics, entitled "Sell Your Business For The Max," offers 13 tips on how to get your business sold:

1. Find Qualified Buyers -- Consider competitors, complimentary companies, and financial buyers.
2. Keep Your Customers -- Even if your customers are buying less, they should still be buying some. Your ability to show customer retention will go far in completing an acquisition. Remind the buyer that when the market comes back, business recovery is quicker if your customers are still in place.
3. Position Yourself For Growth -- Detail how you are positioning your business for growth. Perhaps the economy afforded you the opportunity to get a piece of equipment for a 50% discount. Sure, this hit your cash flow, but the upside is great: You are better positioned for growth. Another example: Maybe you were forced to lay off some employees, but you then restructured or streamlined your business process flow (the way you do things) to be more efficient. You are now positioned for greater profitability in the future, because you now have a company that's doing more with fewer people.
4. Turn Operational Tasks Into Profit Centers -- Look at each step in your operational flow to determine if any step can be turned into a profit center. This will demonstrate the true potential of your business by allowing you to grow horizontally. This is every buyer's dream.
5. Step Into Their Shoes -- Why would they want to buy your business? How are they going to benefit from the acquisition? Will they use your customers, your suppliers, your database, your distribution channels, your brokers? Understanding this will put you on better footing as you negotiate the deal.
6. Be Flexible On Payout Structure -- Instead of all cash, be more open to stock; companies traditionally will pay a little more if they can use stock as currency. Or consider an earn-out over time to warrant the sell price you covet. Earn-outs most likely would result in your keeping practical control of the decision making, which might allow you to protect your employees.
7. Be Positive -- A seasoned buyer can smell desperation a mile away and will use it as leverage against you. Even if you are truly desperate, fight the urge to reveal.
8. Be Visual -- Prepare simple but visually appealing charts, graphs, and diagrams that will communicate all the positive attributes of your business in simple terms. For example, prepare bar graphs showing year over year increases in customers, profit, locations, or database size to help the buyer quickly digest the good assets.
9. Brand, Brand, And Brand -- Write down all your processes, products, and services-which are most likely proprietary as they have evolved over the years-and come up with a name or acronym for each. Naming or branding these allows you to better communicate their value.
10. Downplay Your Role -- Fight the urge to self promote; it might kill the deal. Your ability to sell a "business" rather than "you" will prove much more effective. You can always negotiate an employment contract for yourself as a separate deal and at a much higher level if you have demonstrated the ability to build a team.
11. Do Your Homework -- Find out as much as you can about potential buyers. If they are a public company there will be volumes of information on past purchases filed with the SEC. If it's a small or private company, visit their website and talk to a couple of their customers.
12. Present A Solid Business Model -- A business model demonstrates specifically how-and in how many ways-your business makes money and maximizes profits.
13. Be Ready -- Get your business ready to sell. Create a business marketing piece communicating all of the positive attributes of your business. Also prepare financial statements for the past 3 years, and projections for the current year and the next 3 years.

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