need to melt the hearts of tough customers who are on the fence about your business? here now are five ideas for sweetening the deal, courtesy of allbusiness.com. one, annual rebates. reward customers for doing business with you long-term. give money back at the end of the year based on their total purchases. two, wave fees. buyers hate up-charges. improve retention by eliminating things like processing fees, and small order charges. three, shipping discounts. maybe you can't afford to send products for free, but offering customers 25% or 50% off on shipping is still a big win for them. four, bargain basement buys. it might be an overstock, a closeout item or damaged goods. presenting a buyer with the possibility of saving 50% or more will win you some points. and five, loyalty programs. give your customers a reason to buy more or use more hours of your service.