The Wall Street Journal has a brief but informative article on some simple techniques for increasing sales. It’s seems like Seth Godin is right — you’ve got to create a pitch that’s different, quirky and worth remarking on.

Here are a couple tactics that may accomplish just that:

1. In store parties and breath mints — “Does the high cost of ink leave a bad taste in your mouth?” (see article.)
2. Tissues (Kleenex) — apparently in Japan, restaurants hand out little samples of tissues with their logo attached. I think this tactic would work wonderfully here in Toronto. The fall brings allergies and the winter brings runny noses. Why not help people out and market at the same time?
3. Chili – on the second disc of the Glengarry Glen Ross DVD, there’s a short, somewhat interesting documentary about salespeople. One gentleman talks about how he uses chili to sell houses. He puts up ads that say “Do you like chili?” and invites people to open houses. It gets people in the door and gives them something to talk about.

So why do most businesses rely on old techniques like matchbooks and pens? Perhaps they work — I’m not pretending to be an authority on the matter — but if you take the time to be creative, I can’t help but believe that you will dramatically increase your visibility.

Technorati Tags: sales, marketing, tactics, WSJ, GlengarryGlenRoss