There are probably times that your business struggles with cash flow. How do you get things moving again? One approach you’ve probably tried is to put on your “bill collector” hat and work more aggressively to reduce aged receivables. Another tactic is to offer discounts for prompt payment. Both of these are generally short-term solutions, though. For a more reliable and permanent fix to the cash flow challenge, consider strategies that will keep more money flowing in faster over the long term. Implement a “reactivation campaign” You probably have a list of customers who have not purchased from you in a long time or are essentially no longer active. Why not reactive them? After all, they bought from you before, so they are likely to buy from you again. Put together a formal reactivation program, and execute it aggressively. Call former customers and give them powerful reasons to buy from you now. Maybe you have a new product, a more convenient location, or new channels for purchasing. You can rekindle past relationships to grow your active customer base and increase cash flow. Try to upsell, re-sell, and cross sell Everyone knows that your best business comes from existing customers, so look for ways to give them more value from your business relationship. Perhaps you could bundle your services and products to give them benefits of premium products they don’t have. If you are a service provider, sell them a package that keeps them coming back to you on a regular basis. For example, a salon might offer 10 haircuts for $15, when the price is normally $20. Then, once a customer is there, the salon will sell hair care and styling products. Depending on your business, your opportunities for upsell, re-sell, and cross sell may be less obvious, but with a little creativity, you can use these techniques to increase revenue. Prioritize your leads Make sure to prioritize your leads based on which prospects are most likely to buy in the near term, and define a systematic approach for focusing your team’s sales resources on the high-potential leads. Don’t forget about the longer-term leads, though, as this is where the typical “star” sales person drops the ball. Sales reps are paid to sell—not to be lead “farmers.” So prospects that lack executive titles, or don’t plan to buy next month, often get ignored. Who in your company can take on the vital role of lead nurturing—regularly contacting prospects and moving them deeper into the sales cycle? Find and reward that person—he or she will be an invaluable asset in keeping cash flow at a high level over the long term! For a reliable and permanent fix to the cash flow challenge, consider strategies that will keep more money flowing in faster over the long term
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