Seven Points of Sacrifice for Increasing Sales

Perhaps the most important business model found in Scripture is found in the Old Testament in the pattern established with the Tabernacle of Moses, the place where God promised to conduct His business with man. You see, God has an enterprise. He is taking it where He wants it to go. He has competition from a ruthless, inferior competitor, yet He is not threatened or worried. He has a great plan with wonderful strategies which have been hidden in plain sight in Scripture, but only revealed to the spiritually discerning (1 Cor 2:14). The tabernacle God had Moses build reveals much about the way God does business with us, and the lessons we can derive from that are far reaching for sales and business in general.

I know the Tabernacle of Moses is a type or shadow of the true tabernacle of God in Heaven (Heb 8:2-5), but it is very important to note that God laid out the precise design of that earthly tabernacle which Moses built. Every aspect of that tabernacle is extremely important, highly significant and the things you can observe from God?s attention to detail are profoundly practical in business. The central theme I want to look at in this article is the concept of ?sacrifice? and I will identify seven sacrifices you can make that will cost you dearly but reward you greatly!

1. Give up the couch

   The first station of service you see when you approach the tabernacle is the altar of sacrifice. There were six sacrifices offered on the altar (one short of the perfect seven), and it was needful that Christ come and fulfill what was lacking and be sacrificed once and for all for our redemption. Too often we are content to stay in our comfort zone and become lazy, even if we look busy.

   Succeeding in sales is not about being busy, it is about being effective. It?s not about our comfort; it?s about the needs of our customers and putting them at ease with us so we can earn the right to serve them. In order to serve them well, we will need at times to sacrifice our own comfort and idleness (or false busyness) to accommodate those needs. How many sales have you lost because a competitor was prepared to make a greater sacrifice than you? Sacrifice in sales is not a one time event; it is an ongoing position of service we choose to take for the customers higher good.

2. Give up complacency

   The next principle of sacrifice is represented in what was called the ?burnt? offering. It was the one offering where the total animal was sacrificed. None was to be eaten or shared with anyone. It was completely burned up. In sales this speaks of sacrificing complacency or half-heartedness. To win in sales, we must give our best, our all, and do that every time we interact with customers. This will mean that you will work with fewer prospects in any given time frame but your conversion rate to customers will go through the roof.

3. Give up your spare time

   The next principle of sacrifice is represented by the grain offering. In the Old Testament, they would bring a sacrifice of grain but only a handful was actually burned. The rest went to the priests who had the responsibility of feeding the people spiritual food. This grain came from a renewable resource and I believe it represented giving of their cash flow or income to invest in their own spiritual and intellectual growth. In short, they sacrificed stinginess and invested in the ones who were making their knowledge and guidance available. To me this speaks of investing in your own training. Most sales people I know spend more time perfecting their golf swing so they can entertain potential customers than they do investing in their own personal and professional growth which will pay them much bigger dividends! When was the last time you turned your car into an education center, listening to tapes or CD?s that will teach you Biblical truth applied to the sales profession? Who do you know that is currently accomplishing what you want to accomplish and is a person you admire that you can invest in to glean some of their wisdom? Call them up and invite them to a nice lunch or a steak dinner. break bread with them at your expense and you will be surprised at the dividends that will pay.

4. Give up the complaint box

   The next sacrifice was called a peace offering. It was a voluntary, festive sacrifice of thanks given to God when one wanted to express gratitude for the blessings one had received. Family and friends shared in the offering because only part was consumed on the altar and the rest was enjoyed by their guests. This was an opportunity to sacrifice complaints, to give up negative talk and to use this occasion to build their network of relationships. When is the last time you decided to quit griping about things that aren?t working out well and focus on the good things that abound around you and share that joy with others? If you want to limit your network, just hold on to your right to complain, but if you want to attract a strong support network, be sure to share your gratitude with others. Consider a customer appreciation day where you grill out hamburgers or put out a spread for your customers. Invite a few prospects as well. They will interact with your satisfied customers and be quick to proselytize on your behalf.

5. Sacrifice your ignorance

   Next, it?s time to sacrifice your ignorance. I am speaking of the sin offering which was typically sacrificed for inadvertent sin or sins of omission. We all fall short in serving our customers and many times it?s because we don?t know a better way. Take customer surveys. Listen to the feedback you receive. Don?t tolerate ignorance and don?t accept ?average?! When you find an area needing improvement, don?t plead ignorance any longer. Basically, be teachable. Don?t justify your mistakes. Admit them and learn from them. Learn from others who are succeeding where you are not. Practice continuous improvement in yourself first, and then in your processes.

6. Give up your pride

   Don?t forget to sacrifice your pride. I am referring to the trespass offering which was usually offered for known sin like breach of trust, fraud or concealing a crime and always involved restitution. When you drop the ball with your customers, don?t make excuses. Make it right. Take responsibility. Experts say when you make a mistake with a customer, they will repeat it to several others, but when you sacrifice to make that mistake right to the customers satisfaction or beyond, they will tell twice as many people.

   Restitution in the Old Testament usually involved a multiple of the original amount involved, depending on the circumstance. Consider what you can do to ?wow? your customer when you drop the ball. Turn that negative situation into an opportunity to shine. Everyone makes mistakes and everyone has lapses in judgment. How you respond to yours will greatly impact the reception you receive in the marketplace. Years ago when the new Saturn car line was introduced, a defect was found and the affected cars were recalled much to the shagrin of the new Saturn owners. To their surprise however, instead of repairing the glitch, Saturn destroyed the cars and gave all the owners brand new automobiles! That story was headline news and did more to favorably impact Saturn sales than much of their paid advertising.

7. Give up your mistakes

   Lastly, there was one more offering that was optional and was called a ?drink offering?. This would typically be an offering of wine and offered with the grain offering, only it was entirely poured out or ?wasted?. The idea of pouring out a drink offering is that there is no turning back. Once it has been poured out, it is gone for good. What?s done is done. I believe this can speak of sacrificing your regrets. Yes, we have all made our mistakes, but let?s choose to leave them behind. Don?t carry them forward. Make restitution where possible and then press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Don?t get bogged down in your failures. Bring closure to them and look to a brighter future. God?s mercies are new every morning (Lev 3:22-23) and He daily loads us with benefits. (Psa 68:19). Practice these seven sacrifices in your sales or business career and you will reap a harvest of return that confound your competitors while rewarding you richly.

   This article provided by ChristianBusinessDaily.com- The Online Network for Christians in Business. Your source for news, articles, and commentary from a biblical perspective.

Forgotten Point of Sale System Features | Cash In Drawer Limits

Restaurant point of sale systems have loads of features that POS salespeople love to talk about. Some are glamorous, others are flashy and some are unique to their product. When showing off these new and fancy features too often these salespeople forget about the basics and why cash registers were invented in the first place.

Preventing theft. That is the purpose of a cash register. Ringing up items and safely storing cash if the fundamental philosophy that created a now multi-billion dollar industry known as the Point of Sale Industry.

Why then are so many point of sale companies, software manufacturers and POS salespeople forgetting about the fundamental principles that are still valid in today's business environment? The answer eludes and frustrates me because valuable profits are being lost by not utilizing these basic and important features.

This is a series of articles about the fundamental features that every business should be using to stop employee theft, increase sales and increase profits.

Cash In Drawer (CID) Limit

This feature has been around since I started in the cash register business some 25+ years ago. I haven't heard POS salespeople talk about this for over a decade and if it isn't being used in your business you are opening yourself up for theft and possibly armed robbery of your business.

All cash registers and point of sale systems track sales and tenders. They all know how much money, checks, gift cards, credit cards and other forms of payment are in each cash drawer/till.

Most cash registers and a few point of sale software companies have the ability to set a limit on how much cash should be in each cash drawer/till. When this limit is reached the cashier is notified and then can notify management to do a cash pull from the drawer. Some systems go as far as sending a message via pager/cell phone alerting management that a cash drawer/till is over the cash limit.

Management can then go to the drawer, pull out an amount of cash, count it and enter the amount removed as a cash pull. This amount is then removed from the cash in drawer amount and lowers the overall cashier responsibility.

Do not forget that every time the cash drawer/till is opened all the cash is exposed to view and to the temptation of everyone. Not only does the money become accessible to your cashier, it is also accessible to long-armed customers who have been known to reach across when the cashier was not looking.

What could be even worse is the fact that when the cash drawer/till is open potential robbers are able to estimate and determine if your operation is worth returning for a full-scale robbery.

Cashiers like this feature in that it reduces the amount of cash they are responsible for as the cash removed is deducted from their overall cash responsibility. Cashiers also like the fact that if there is less cash in the drawer they are less apt to have a gun shoved in their face during a robbery.

Owners like this feature in that it reduces the temptation to remove money from the cash drawer/till through employee theft or through robbery.

If you are an owner, wouldn't you like keeping more of the money in your cash drawer/till for yourself? Wouldn't you like to reduce the chance/temptation of an armed robbery? This old-time cash register feature now found in some point of sale systems could be the exact answer to your needs.

Check your current point of sale system to see if the cash in drawer feature is even offered. If you are looking at a new point of sale system you should make sure that the cash in drawer feature is offered.

Don't let technology dazzle you to the point that you forget about the basics features that you need to stop theft and increase profits. Those features that have been around for decades are still valid today.

Cash in drawer limits were considered an important part of any cash register and point of sale system for many years. The reason for the feature and the need to keep your cash safe never went away. Stopping theft is still a critical aspect of any point of sale system. That being the case, why should you settle for anything less than your business needs? Don't settle for less. Demand the cash in drawer feature.

Jerry D. Wilson has over 25 years of point of sale experience helping business owners stop employee theft and increase profits. Please visit DirecTouch POS and DirectRetail POS for more information on other features that are important to your point of sale needs.

Why Are Your Cash Registers Empty? 8 Reasons Why Your Site is not Getting Sales

Ok, you've got your webpage up and running and you have submitted your site to the search engines, now it is time to make that money! Right? Well then, how come your virtual cash register has that hollow ring to it everytime you open it? Your site is not making sales and there are at least 8 reasons why and 8 simple fixes you can implement in order to immediately remedy anything you are doing incorrectly.

1.You have relied on a passive promotion strategy to get the word out about your site. Many of you assume that simply putting up a website will cause tons of visitors to flock to your site with cash in hand practically begging to buy your products or services.

Sorry, a passive marketing strategy may bring you in a trickle of sales or absolutely none at all. Alternatively, by utilizing an active marketing strategy, you do not wait for visitors to come to you, you do everything in your power to bring targeted visitors to your site. Active marketers utilize methods such as ezine advertising and article submissions to targeted ezines in order to draw traffic to their site. They will also use free publicity tools such as press releases in order to get the word out about their site to an audience that cares.

2.You do not offer a simple and secure method of online ordering or accept different forms of payment.

This could be easily solved by getting set up with a merchant account provider that enables you to accept checks and all the major credit cards and provides you with a secure website to process transactions automatically. The best company for this in my opinion is ECommerce Exchange. You can learn more about them here:
http://www.qcaffiliate.com/qc/goldbar

3.You do not have a method of capturing your prospects names and email addresses when they visit your site.

Get this set up immediately and start building a mailing list of interested prospects.

The best way to do this is to offer a mailing list that people could subscribe to. You could offer either a newsletter about a topic that interests your audience or even a small tips sheet that sends people interesting and useful information related to the topic of your website. When you've built up your list to over a few hundred people, then you can begin to send commercial information regarding the products and services you offer. As long as you are also offering quality information for free, your audience will be more responsive to your commercial solicitations.

4.You do not offer enough methods for people to contact you.

You should offer people as many different ways of contacting (and ordering) from you as possible. Here are some cost effective contact methods you can implement: the most natural one on the web is of course email. However, you should also include your phone number for those who prefer to speak with a human being. If you have one, provide a fax number. There is an inexpensive fax solution available from a company called JFax. They will allow you to receive both fax and voice messages in your inbox for an extremely low monthly fee. To learn more visit: http://www.j2.com Lastly, you should always list your snail mail address on your website.

5.You only advertise online.

Big mistake. There are millions of people offline who might be interested in your site and your information. They are often more likely to order immediately as opposed to someone who surfs the web regularly and who knows they can always "come back sometime in the future".

One of the best ways to reach an audience and bring them to your site is to put your URL and your email address on every piece of correspondence you send out. I know of one person who adds his URL to every bill he sends out hoping that it will cause someone to visit. The best part is that this type of promotion is free so you have nothing to lose. One of the most effective offline advertising techniques involves getting your ad onto a card deck that reaches a targeted audience. This is a great way to spread the word about your site to many interested prospects who otherwise may not have had the chance to find out about you.

6.You do not rely on the power of joint ventures to get the word out about your products and services.

Joint venture endorsements have the power to bring in more visitors and sales to your site than any other method I know of. Joint Venture Marketing involves 2 parties: a list owner and someone who wishes to have his product or service introduced and endorsed to the members of the mailing list. This has the ability to pull in a large amount of sales due to the trust built up between the members of the list and the list owner. When he endorses your products or services in his own words to his list, he conveys your legitimacy and in turn they transfer their trust to you. If you have ever heard radio shows like Rush Limbaugh or Howard Stern, you will notice that the ads that receive the most response are the ones that these disk jockeys read themselves and almost make a part of their "shtick". They are in effect endorsing a product and in turn generating interest and sales for it.

7.You do not follow up when people ask you for more information.

Huge mistake. That person has indicated that they are interested in what you have to sell. Statistics show that people have to be exposed to your marketing message at least 7 times before they will respond. Sending one email explaining your product is not enough. You must follow up with a prospect and make a concerted effort to close the sale. Explain the benefits of your product or service, refer them to testimonials of satisfied customers, ask if you can call them to explain your product in greater detail. If people see this as badgering and they ask you to stop bothering them by all means do so. A great idea is to automate all of your follow-up by using autoresponders. There are some great tools on the market to help you with this, we highly recommend using GetResponse. Discover some of the great benefits of using this sequential autoresponder by clicking here: http://www.getresponse.com?13323

8.You try to sell too many products and services from your website.

This may work for a site selling books or toys or vitamins where people may be looking for a large variety of products. However, on a site that is geared towards business, too many product offerings can give the impression that your business lacks focus. If someone gets to your site and is immediately bombarded with marketing material, they may become overwhelmed or even annoyed at the commercial nature of your site. Offering many products and services takes away from your credibility by giving the impression that you will sell anything just to make a buck. Instead, develop your site around one or two complementary products and services and offer lots of free, related information. That is sure to build up your credibility with your potential customers. Try to develop a traffic magnet (such as a discussion board or related articles) so you can bring back your targeted audience time and again.

Marc Goldman, Goldbar Enterprises
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