Many businesses overlook this vast opportunity to gain market share. When your employees deal with other people, they can be valuable sales people for your business. In their day-to-day interactions with other people, they can be a champion for your product or service and sell to people that sales people might never reach.
The big reason that most of this business is missed is because office personnel are never trained in how to approach someone. They probably did not get into sales in the first place because they don't feel comfortable approaching someone else. This is why they pretty much avoid the topic all together. If companies would take some time and sit down with these employees, they would be more likely to approach someone else about their business. When you take the time to show them how to do it, they become more comfortable with the whole process. Don't just send out a memo that says do it; show them how. Once they overcome the fear of the initial conversation, they will be less likely to fear it in the future.
Beyond that aspect, it should also be worthwhile to the employees to do this. If they're just doing it for their health, they're probably not going to be very enthused about the idea. However, if you set up some sort of incentive program for them, they will be very motivated to help out. Every chance they get, they will be singing the praises of your company to anyone that will listen. If you gave them a monetary bonus for a referral, they would be very happy. You could also institute other benefits like more vacation days, gift certificates, or stock options. Use your imagination and get creative with your compensation. The more excited they are about the benefit to them, the more they will help out and sell.
Selling should be the focus of everyone in the company. Regardless of their rank or role within the organization, it should be made clear that they should always sell themselves and the company to everyone they meet. If you put this into place in your business, over time, you'll start to notice the amount of sales you make going up. This, in turn, will make your bottom line go up as well. Isn't that what it's all about?
