Tuesdays were bad.

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

#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”.

Copyright 2004 Richard Kraneis

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 integrating your autoresponders with your online sales, visit http://1shoppingcart.24by7success.com.