This is the question nearly everyone wants to ask: ``Jack, do you have any secrets that can help increase my sales?''

It's almost 50 years since I learned about Andy Smith, a very successful car salesman. The dynamics he created, year after year, singled him out for membership in the Top 10 USA. Year after year, good times and bad, customer loyalty rewarded him with record-breaking sales.

Andy shared his so-called secrets with anyone who asked. His goal was to help customers select the right car for each stage of their life cycle. He offered the right information, getting to know each customer as a person, as a friend and as part of a family. Andy had thousands of records, but there were no personal computers. His database was built on paper.

DILIGENCE PAYS OFF

Devoted to his job as a caring and effective salesman, Andy worked hard, often late into the evening, year after year, in order to compile and update his information. Perhaps that's why so few profited from Andy's ``secrets.'' But now computers make Andy's system work for anyone willing to put in a bit of extra work.

So when asked for ``secrets'' that increase sales, I think of Andy. I always want to know more about the customer database of the entrepreneur asking the question. Many small businesses rely solely on their accounting software for customer data. It's easy to download information to a spreadsheet for analysis.

Small business people don't have the time or money for complicated technology. So just start with this fact: Customers are the best and least expensive source of new or additional sales. More often than not you already have a comprehensive knowledge about your key customers' requirements. They in turn know your products and services.

THE 80/20 RULE

Segmentation is a valuable marketing tool. It's used to focus on people who share certain characteristics in order to develop their sales potential. Remember Pareto's Principle -- the 80/20 Ratio, which states that 80 percent of your sales and profits come from 20 percent of your customers.

Four key things to consider when creating segments:

Define your segment characteristics carefully.

Make them specific.

Don't have too many, or too few.

Make them unique, identifiable and different from each other.

Start segmentation with customers who now pay your bills. Create four segments in terms of actual monthly sales over the past two years. The first group consists of a small number of customers who deliver the largest portion of your revenue. Divide the remaining customers into three groups depending upon the amount of revenue they generate.

First, analyze those valuable ``A'' customers. Let's say you have four. Suppose the largest customer calls unexpectedly to cancel purchases at the end of the month. How will you replace that sales revenue in the short-term?

THE CHECKLIST

Look carefully at both ``A'' and ``B'' customers. How long has it been since you had a personal, face-to-face conversation with each principal buyer? Have purchases increased, decreased or remained stable in the past 12 months? Have any complaints been registered during the same period? Has the cause of the complaint been resolved satisfactorily? Has the use of your product or service been changed or partially replaced? Do purchases concentrate on all or just a few of your products or services?

Do you have complete personal information for everyone connected to the purchase decision? How frequently do you provide meaningful information about your products or services? Do you use electronic communications?

Now, think how to add value to your customer's business. Use the information you've gathered to generate new sales. A word of caution: Discounts don't add value -- they reduce revenue.

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