I just checked my sales statistics using Excel and pivot
tables (more on that later). Over the first 40 weeks of this
2004, I increased sales for my “bad Tuesdays” by 122%. I used
Microsoft Excel to compare the sales for my first 20 weeks
over the last 20 weeks. The sales are up 122%.
Do you have a bad sales day that need’s fixing? Here’s my
short advice on how to improve your bad sales day.
1) Keep excellent sales data (by day, by product, by sales
price).
2) Analyze your sales data using Microsoft Excel’s pivot
tables to understand what your worst sales day happens to be.
3) Keep your sales lists and auto responder lists in excellent
shape with Excel and a service named 1ShoppingCart.
4) Mass email useful information and sales offers on your “bad
sales day”.
#1: Keep excellent sales data (by day, by product, by sales
price).
However you sell your e-book, software, or service, keep track
of the data using something, preferably Excel. I currently use
http://www.clickbank.com for my e-book sales and whenever
I receive an email sales notice I capture the sale, process it
through Excel, and add it to my Excel sales database. Here’s a
non-technical translation.
ClickBank sends me an email notice of a sale. I then Edit –
Copy the sales information from my email. Then I switch over
into Microsoft Excel. I then Edit – Paste my sales data into
Excel. Then I format my sales data in Excel so I can use it in
my database. Life is good.
#2: Analyze your sales data using Microsoft Excel to
understand what your worst sales day happens to be.
Even beginning Excel users have used Data – Sort in Excel to
sort things and then count the results of their sorts.
Unfortunately, when they count they do so manually. I don’t
use that technique; I use an Excel technique called a pivot
table.
Explaining a pivot table in one paragraph is too difficult.
Let’s just say that Excel pivot tables are like simple
databases on steroids. They sort AND THEY COUNT. Great stuff.
You must learn them if you are serious about your sales. I can
teach you pivot tables with a two page write-up of mine. Even
if you hate math, you’ll love Excel pivot tables.
Using Microsoft Excel pivot tables I was able to sort AND
COUNT my sales for all days Monday through Sunday. That’s when
I discovered that Tuesday was clearly my worst corporate sales
day.
#3: Keep your sales lists and auto responder lists in
excellent shape with Excel and 1ShoppingCart.
All of my e-book sales are currently stored in my Excel e-book
sales spreadsheet. All of my opt-in visitors (1000+ and
growing after one month) are kept in a service named
1ShoppingCart. I use 1ShoppingCart for my auto responders and
other services. If you are serious about using auto responders
effectively (and integrating auto responders with shopping
carts) I recommend you click on
http://1shoppingcart.24by7success.com .
#4: Mass email useful information and sales offers on your
“bad sales day”.
Point #4 is pretty interesting: Send out mass emails with
useful information and sales offers on your “bad sales day”.
Yesterday, on my "bad sales day", I didn’t send out any sales
special. I just sent out a free PDF file with educational
Excel information for my customers and visitors. The result?
My readers rewarded me with even more purchases.
So to summarize, if you want to change your worst sales day
into a good sales day follow this advice. First, keep
excellent sales records in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
Second, analyze your sales data with Excel so you can identify
your worst sales day. Third, keep your sales lists and auto
responder lists in great shape with Excel and 1ShoppingCart.
Finally, send out useful emails and sales offers on your worst
sales day.
Yesterday I set a normal sales day record. It was the best
normal sales day ever. Would you care to guess what day it
was?
Best wishes from Chicago, IL, USA, for setting records with
your “bad sales days”.
Richard Kraneis is a computer training consultant, e-book
author, and online marketer. Online marketing on the Internet
reminds him of his favorite hobby, fishing. His e-books at
http://www.TheWorldsShortestExcelBook.com can help you
analyze and improve your online sales. For great
autoresponders, visit
http://1shoppingcart.24by7success.com . Contact Rich at
rkraneis@techspectrum.com .Dead
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