When there is a downturn in the economy, a great many distributors fold their tents and leave the selling field. They do so because even the thought of having to do things differently in order to survive or prosper scares them into jumping to another profession. We believe that when times are tough, there are great opportunities available since there are fewer distributors in the marketplace.

We have recently focused on three selling strategies to help us maintain our business and expand it in some areas. These efforts are centered on how we promote ourselves, trying to improve our call-back ratio, and our increased use of direct mail. Here's what we have been doing.

How to Promote Yourself —to let customers know that you are a professional instead of a part timer; you must show potential clients that you mean business. When you do this correctly, you will separate yourself from thousands of distributors who sell a few orders a year or attend trade shows just to convince themselves they are active distributors.

The path to demonstrating exactly who you are and the services you offer requires careful thought and planning. From the way you design your business card to the items you buy in order to promote yourself, you demonstrate that you are unique and creative.

The best way that we show customers that we are on top of things is by changing our business cards from time to time. Over the years, we have used twelve different styles of cards. We have presented prospects and customers with ones made out of rubber, cards four times thicker than regular ones, calling coins, bookmark cards, and we are currently using versions made out of 30 Mil plastic and are printed on both sides in four colors.

The fact that we change our most important marketing piece frequently gives us the chance to show prospects something different and provides us with a chance to contact current customers and show them what's new. The fact that our cards are more unique than 99% of our competitors sets up apart from amateurs that source free business cards off the web or that feature elementary graphics. Take a good look at your calling card today and ask yourself this: When was the last time you changed it?

Getting People to Call You Back —a big reason we have success in getting prospects and customers to return our calls is due to the fact that we give them a reason to do so. Millions of messages are dismissed everyday because the people leaving them never give anyone a reason to return them.

The key to generating call backs is to post information in your messages that is Germaine to the call. Example: If someone agrees to buy caps from us on Monday and they promises to provide us with the artwork by Thursday, we never wait for them to contact us. We instead, call or e-mail them the day before and leave a message reminding them of their commitment; so they will be motivated to provide the art for the order at the time promised. Never make yourself a sitting duck on orders by waiting around for people to contact you. Nine times out of ten, our preemptive calls and e-mails garner results by the next day.

Another thing to avoid is to leave anyone an open-ended message that simply says nothing. Always tell prospects what you are looking for in a return call -- either an appointment, the status of an order, etc. Always be specific and direct and never leave vague messages.

Our absolute favorite way to produce call backs is by using the Sly Dial system. In fact, the most important information we now try to obtain from anyone these days is their cell phone number. By calling a central number (267.759.3425) and entering the prospects cell number; we are instantly connected to their voice mail. This makes it possible for us to leave an exact message and know they receive the information that we are looking for.

Using Direct Mail —regardless of what anyone says, the use of direct mail is still a more effective means of advertising than other forms of publicity—including Web-based ads. Because we know this, we have stepped up our efforts with this medium. We have used several different mailing products in the past with the most recent being magna-peel cards that are imprinted in full color graphics and include an attached magnet that show our photos. We also send out bounce back cards that offer a free gift to prospects for a returned card.

We develop our own lists for the mailings so we are sure that the cards are being sent to the right person at the correct address. We never buy lists from anyone because the information provided by list brokers is often inaccurate.

Our current policy entails mailing two hundred pieces per week.Since we have been doing that, we have received an average of four to five new leads after each mailing. There is no better feeling than the one experienced when prospects come knocking on our door.

The art of selling promotional products is simple. If you perfect the basics, such as the three strategies suggested in this article, you will actually look forward to changes in the economy. Instead of thinking about folding your tent, start employing selling strategies today that set you apart from your competitors.