Transform Your Clients into a Powerful Sales Team for Your Product or Service

The most cost-effective strategy to expand your sales team is to empower your customers to advocate for your products and services. Satisfied customers not only have a deep understanding of what you offer, but their personal experience with your product lends them credibility when speaking to potential customers. A recommendation from a satisfied customer can often be more persuasive than any advertisement or commercial.

Establish a Straightforward Referral Program

Many customers are more than willing to recommend your product or service to their friends and acquaintances. All you need to do is ask. Encourage them to spread the word about the positive results they've experienced with your service.

Consider offering a discount to new customers who have been referred by existing ones. For instance, a store might display a sign in the waiting area that reads, "Refer a friend and you both save 10% on your next purchase. Ask for details."

Initiate Your Own Affiliate Program

When Amazon.com was in its early stages, founder Jeff Bezos was inspired by a conversation at a party. A woman expressed her wish to sell Amazon's books about divorce on her website. This sparked an idea in Bezos, and he worked with his programming team to develop software that could track sales originating from other websites.

Today, affiliate programs like the one Amazon pioneered are the leading marketing strategy on the internet. Services such as MyAffiliateProgram.com and SimpleAffiliate.com offer affordable systems that are easy to implement. Your customers can embed a small piece of HTML code on their web pages, and any sale that originates from their site is credited to their account.

Commissions can be calculated as a percentage of the purchase, a fixed dollar amount, or a small fee for each person who clicks through to visit your site. Most companies offer a commission averaging around 20 percent of the sale.

Training Your Sales Team

Many websites have launched large affiliate programs, only to discontinue them a few years later. Customers don't automatically support your affiliate program. Like any sales team, they require training and ongoing motivation.

Your affiliates will need clear instructions on how to set up their affiliate links. You can usually adapt these from the instructions provided by your affiliate system provider.

Show affiliates how to promote their site and your links. One effective strategy is for affiliates to include their link at the end of all their email messages. Teach members how to create a signature file in their email program.

It's also important to clarify the difference between sending mail to someone they know and spamming strangers. Many affiliate programs have been disrupted by members who spammed without understanding the implications of their actions.

Develop Your Marketing Materials

Affiliate members will need a range of marketing materials from you. Consider hiring a professional writer to create several sales letters that members can use in autoresponders. Provide an email letter that members can send when they are asked for more information. Also, give members a page of web copy to put on their sites.

Prioritize your customer sales force. Develop a strategy and consistently implement it. Create a newsletter and publicly acknowledge members who make sales. Share member success stories to motivate other members to increase their sales. Introduce new products, services, or improvements periodically. This will give your members exciting new things to sell and keep your affiliates motivated.