The question most often asked by business owners and sales managers is:"How do we continually generate new business and increase sales?"

Advertising, marketing and sales training are all great individual solutions, but to get to the core of how to continuously increase new and reoccurring business, start by building a strong, clear brand. Your brand is the experience one encounters when being introduced to or utilizing your products and services.

When the word"branding" is mentioned, conversation generally turns toward big businesses, such as McDonalds, Nike and UPS. In reality, every organization has a brand, no matter how large or small it may be.

But there is a reason why we continually refer to a select few nationally known com-panies when referring to a brand. The bottom line: their brand works; it's invaluable.

"If all of Coca Cola's assets were destroyed overnight, whoever owned the Coca Cola name could walk into a bank the next day and get a loan to rebuild everything." Carlton Curtis, VP Corporate Communications, Coca Cola.

What is it these companies do to get to this point? How have companies, such as those previously mentioned, branded themselves so widely and successfully?

The difference is these businesses have predetermined what the consumer's perception will be by utilizing defined standards and communicating them from the inside out.

Internally

Some of the basic areas that are left out of creating a brand are some of the most inexpensive to improve. The brand experience is delivered through your employees every time they talk to a customer or deliver your product or service.

Therefore, it is essential to make efforts internally to exemplify the desired experience the company wants to convey. Employees need to know what role they play in creating the experience and the opportunity they have to make it better. Their attitudes toward other coworkers, the effort that goes into their individual tasks and how they treat their suppliers and vendors, all add up. One person from your organization may be all that comes in contact with a potential client, and in that instance they are the full test of your brand. Each employees clear understanding of your brand may prove success or failure.

The way you do business, or the procedures you or your employees go through for every client interaction, is part of your brand. Clearly defined and followed procedures allow for consistent quality and thoroughness of detail time after time. The end result is reoccurring business. The experience your customers encounter will be positive every time, making them want to come back.

Externally

This is where your brand is introduced to the public. Start with those closest to you and work your way out. Utilize your current relationships with subcontractors, vendors and current clients. You never know where your next lead may come from. It could be that your biggest supplier has a client in need of your services.

Be prepared when a lead comes your way. Introduce them to your brand by using accurate fundamental branding support material, initiating their experience with your company. Your support material, such as your business cards, a small prospecting brochure and website, all need to communicate your branding experience through the graphics, message points and even layout.

Once your support material is in place, become familiar with possible networking opportunities. Get your name and brand out to trade associations, visit and be a part of tradeshows, and attend events frequented by potential customers.

To hit a larger number of people in a wider area, consider the different avenues of advertising your brand. The July issue of"Business 2.0" magazine ranked the following three advertising avenues according to consumer credibility: 1. Television advertisements, 2. Magazine and tabloid advertisements, and 3. Newsletters. No matter what avenue of advertising you choose, make sure it conveys the very DNA of your brand.

To answer the initial question of how to generate new business and increase sales, the answer starts with defining your brand experience and effectively communicating it internally and externally. Take some time and ask a few of your employees, suppliers and customers what their experience has been while working with your company. Those experiences will give you a quick perception of your brand. Is the feedback consistent? Is their perception what you were expecting or wanting it to be?

DeWayne Ables is president of DVA Marketables, LLC. He may be reached at 913.747.0033 or For more info. go to www.developyourbrand.com.