Save your job. Increase your commission check. Stimulate sales. Lead generation. The buzz words of the moment. While scouring the web for the best sales ideas – a “Top 25” list was created.

1. Follow-up on old leads – Emails, calls, business cards – anything that would be considered “old” could still be converted into a sale. Now is the time to follow-up.
2. Increase online advertising – If you have the type of business where e-commerce will work, now is the time to increase your online advertising dollars. Online sales are less costly than hiring new sales people.
3. Blog, Blog, Blog – Grass roots marketing is a great way to increase your exposure. Pay attention to bloggers – they are a great way for free exposure.
4. Give clients more – To retain your clients – you may want to offer them more. Warranties, customer support, anything extra that will help you stand out from your competitors.
5. Give back – Give back to your loyal customers. Offer a discount, sponsor an event, offer marketing support for a newsletter – reward their loyalty.
6. Protect – Protect your current customers by offering a deal for a long term commitment. This will help you retain sales.
7. Increase service ­ – Increase your level of service, not only to your existing clients, but also to potential clients. Understand what they are looking for and add that service/product.
8. Social media – Use social media for prospecting – LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace…
9. Understand – Understand the process and buying decisions by your current and potential clients. Know the cash flow and who is involved in the process.
10. References – Use references/examples when prospecting to demonstrate how you can benefit the prospect’s company.
11. Stay close – Competition is on the prowl; stay close to your customer base.
12. Customer loyalty – Make sure you have the right approach, products, and solutions for your customers to keep them loyal.
13. Extra care – Take extra care of your existing customers while prospecting. Your current customers are the ones providing you with sales; they should not be ignored in the prospecting process.
14. Build your message – Identifying your customers wants and needs will help you show your value in the market place.
15. Expand – Offer new products and services to help you expand your customer base.
16. Stay together – Sales and marketing should work together, switching focus from branding to lead generation.
17. E-newsletter – Happy customers are a great source for advertising. Keep them connected to your business by using an E-newsletter.
18. E-newsletter one better – Feature a customer in a newsletter. The customer may link themselves to your website – or post the newsletter on their site – which will serve as another outlet for advertising.
19. New clients – Take the road less traveled, find new prospects.
20. Your message – Define your message using various tools to spread it: presentations, speeches, testimonials and press releases.
21. Your message (even better) – Post your message online to expand your reach. Presentations, speeches… should all be online.
22. Back to school – Commit to learning; you will serve clients better by learning more. Knowing your client’s/prospect’s competition, what is happening in the market place, and new products and services offered.
23. Value proposition – Sales people should know their value proposition. They should be able to convince prospects how they can help them to meet their goals and overcome challenges.
24. Repurpose – Market or repurpose your product or service.
25. Think outside the box – Now is the time to get creative. If what you were doing before is not working, change, try something new.