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5 Innovative Money Making Ideas for Furniture Industry Businesses

Posted on: June 4th, 2012 by admin No Comments

Are you looking for innovative ways to grab hold of customers, so they buy more from you?

Here are a few innovative marketing ideas that will propel your furniture business past the competition.

1. Use Pinterest – It’s almost as if Pinterest was tailor made for the furniture industry. Pinterest is a social photo sharing website that allows users to create and share theme-based images collections on a virtual pin board. It’s a great way to show off your furniture collections to customers. To find out more about Pinterest, read our post “Why Furniture Retailers Should Use Pinterest.”

2. Host an Event – Hosting an event at your business is an excellent way to spread the word about your inventory. Thanks to social media, it’s more affordable than ever to promote your event. Sites like Facebook have features that allow you to share and advertise your event with precision to specific target audiences.

3. Embrace Mobile Marketing – More and more people are using smartphones to search for products and services on the internet. Is your website easy to use on a smartphone? If you don’t have a mobile website, it might be a little difficult to navigate on a smartphone. Embrace mobile marketing tools such as mobile websites as well as text message marketing.

4. Keep Your Marketing Simple – Too often furniture industry businesses send out too many marketing messages. This often confuses customers. It’s best to work with a furniture industry marketing agency to help plan and execute a successful marketing strategy.

5. Stay Informed – Two of the best ways to discover new innovative marketing ideas are by reading blogs and attending webinars. Webinars are an excellent way to get marketing advice. Recently, we hosted a webinar on furniture store search engine optimization that could generate ideas for your business. You can watch it here.

For more great money making ideas, sign up for the Right On – No Bull Marketing newsletter on our blog.

How to Network Your Way to More Channel Partner Sales

Posted on: January 5th, 2012 by joe No Comments

Networking is a great way to find new dealers so you can increase dealer network sales. But there’s one big problem.

If you’re not good at networking, you’re going to be wasting your time at trade shows, industry events and meetings. And unfortunately … many of us are not great at networking.

If you want to improve your networking skills, here are some very important tips that you should follow.

1. Realize It’s Not About You or Your Business – People who are good at networking realize it’s not about them. It’s about helping others solve problems. Keep this in mind when you are networking.

2. Ask Questions – As you’re talking with potential channel partners, ask them questions that will give you an idea of the problems they are facing. This will help you better understand how to help them.

3. Listen and Remember – It’s very important to listen and remember when networking. People appreciate when you remember things from past conversations. This will help to strength your relationship with potential channel partners.

4. Have Goals – If you’re going to a trade show or an industry event, set a goal on how many people you want to talk with. Do a little research ahead of time to see who is attending an event. You may even want to set up pre-schedule appointments, especially at big events.

5. Know How to Close a Conversation – It’s important to end a conversation on a high note when networking. If you don’t have a meeting with them, don’t monopolize their time. Share your business card and be sure to end the conversation with a firm handshake and a smile.

If you follow these tips, you’ll be on your way to drastically improving your networking skills.

At Right On – No Bull Marketing, we can help you increase channel partner sales through our expert best practices consulting and our channel partner sales growth programs. To learn more, call 602-412-3168.

Channel Partner Sales Myths That Are Business Killers

Posted on: December 27th, 2011 by joe No Comments

When it comes to channel partner sales, there are a few myths that can be hurting your business.

You’ll want to avoid believing these myths at all costs.

Myth No. 1: Money is Money – This myth came from the Sales Machine Blog. Not all channel partners are equal. Some are more valuable to your business than others. Keep that in mind when dealing with your channel partners. If one of you channel partners is a jerk and brings in little sales, perhaps it’s time to cut the cord.

Myth No. 2: It’s about Numbers – If you focus too much on the profit and loss statement, your channel partner sales are going to be low. Instead take a complete look at your entire channel sales program. Identify why sales are struggling in certain areas. Then look for ways to fix the problem. This may include getting a channel partner marketing training program.

Myth No. 3: Channel Partner Sales has its Ups and Downs – If you have this kind of mentality, you’re not going to get very far. There’s always an opportunity to increase channel partner sales. You sometimes just have to think outside of the box.

Myth No. 4: All You Need is a Quality Product – It’s very important to have a great, quality product that your channel partners can easily sell. However, it’s not that simple. Your channel partners also need to know how to market and sell your product in the digital age.

Myth No. 5: Outside Help is a Waste of Money – It’s not. In fact, getting some outside help with your channel partner sales can really make a big difference. Many channel partners do not know how to market or sell your products. Getting some outside marketing help can help train them how to sell your products and make you more money.

Avoiding these myths will help you improve your channel partner sales. For more great tips, read other posts on the Right On – No Bull Marketing Blog and sign up for the newsletter.

How Distributors And Manufacturers Can Increase Channel Partner Sales In 2012

Posted on: December 5th, 2011 by joe No Comments

The New Year will be here in just a few weeks. It’s a time for businesses to start fresh … dream big … and achieve lot of success.

For distributors and manufacturers looking to increase dealer network sales in 2012, this post will give you five easy ways to get rolling.

New Year’s Success Tip #1: Take Baby Steps

So many businesses start off the New Year with grand plans only to get stuck in the mud. If you want to avoid this, take small baby steps toward your goal. It may not seem like a lot, but if you take small steps throughout the year, you’re more likely to reach your goal.

New Year’s Success Tip #2: Focus on the Present

Don’t get too caught up thinking about the success and failures of 2011. Learn from your experiences and move on. If you spend too much time thinking about the past, you’ll never achieve success in the future.

New Year’s Success Tip #3: Create Concrete Goals

When you map out your goals for 2012, you want them to be concrete. Set goals with actual numbers. The more specific you are … the better. If one of your goals is to find new channel partners, then aim for a specific number of new channel partners.

New Year’s Success Tip #4: Pay Attention to Data

It’s quite possible some of your business endeavors may fail this year. If the happens, don’t chalk it up to lack of effort or some abstract reason. Look at the raw data and find out the true reason you failed. During success, also look at the data to see why you succeed.

New Year’s Success Tip #5: Stay Focused

Don’t take your eye of the prize in 2012. Many companies fail because they lose sight of what is important. They spread their resources thin and nothing gets accomplished. Don’t let this be you!

At Right On – No Bull Marketing, we have a proven track record of helping distributors and manufacturers increase channel partner sales.

To help you get ready for 2012, give us a call today at 602-412-3168. Below are a few other postings that you may be interested in reading.

Mobile Marketing 101 For Distributors And Manufacturers

5 Social Media Trends Impacting Manufacturers

Ways To Beef Up Your Channel Partner Sales

The 10 Commandments For Distributors & Manufacturers

Posted on: October 6th, 2011 by joe No Comments

Commandment I

You shall have a written business plan as well as a marketing plan. Your business cannot survive without it.

Commandment II

You shall invest a good amount of time in lead generation because your business cannot survive without customers.

Commandment III

You shall provide customers with a good reason to buy your products and services over the competition.

Commandment IV

You shall learn how to hire good workers and train them to do their very best.

Commandment V

You shall treat employees fairly because they are the ones that help you achieve success.

Commandment VI

You shall not waste money. You must make sure you are getting a return on all of your investments.

Commandment VII

You shall regularly take the time to measure and test for better results.

Commandment VIII

You shall make calculated decisions based on data. It’s better than relying on personal opinion or “gut instinct.”

Commandment IX

You shall not waste time and put off tough issues. Procrastination hurts your business in the long run.

Commandment X

You shall enjoy your job and make money. Work should be fun and profitable. Always keep that in the back of your mind. We work to live great lives!

Follow these commandments and you’ll be on your way to a better life with more wealth and happiness!