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How to increase your sales. Ways to increase sales in the wholesale business. Calls to the buyer after the purchase

From this article you will learn:

  • How to increase your company's sales through customer interaction
  • How to increase product sales using prices and promotions
  • How to increase sales in wholesale trade
  • How to increase sales in an online store

The correct answer to the question: “How to increase sales?” – can lead any company to success. The main goal of commercial management of an enterprise is to maximize this criterion. We will consider the most effective methods increasing sales volume.

What needs to be done to increase profits: 19 universal methods

  1. Thorough market research.

Commerce does not accept ill-considered actions.
You need to learn about all the movements of the modern market, the successes or failures of competing companies, and then use the collected information to develop your own enterprise.
Describe your strategy in writing.

  1. Identification of promising directions.

To increase sales volumes, you need to find out what economic spheres are the most promising. Data from the analysis of the consumer index and various events in a certain area can help with this.

  1. Increase in the number of customers.

A small number of buyers equally influences both new firms that have just entered the market structure and have not yet had time to gain popularity, and already established ones, whose clients may leave for competitors due to internal problems in the organization itself.
When looking for new consumers, it is very important not to lose old ones.
Often, directors and top managers decide to radically change the operation of the enterprise, completely update the product range - this may force the previous acquirers to leave.
You can act in this way only if you have nothing to lose - for example, you have very few long-time customers.
Otherwise, innovation should be introduced gradually.

  1. Advertising of services and goods.

Now, as many years ago, advertising is the main engine of trade.
If you cannot afford to produce and display full-scale advertising videos, new technologies will come to your aid: corporate promotion on social networks, email newsletters, phone calls to clients, viral advertising. Don't forget about good old newspaper advertisements and flyers distributed by promoters.

  1. Increase your revenue using your phone.

A feature phone can help boost retail sales. It is better to forget the method of calling from several numbers, which is often used by unscrupulous companies: excessive intrusiveness can do your organization a disservice.
Try to offer your products and services to those who are interested in them. You need to have not only a complete set of information about your product, but also information about your potential buyer: who he works, what he is interested in, what problems concern him - and how your product can help solve them.

  1. Making changes to the company's work.

Find out which specific methods of your business are not working.
Perhaps it's all about ignorant sellers. Or your product range has long been outdated, while the cost remains above the market level. Or maybe you just need to renovate your premises or rebrand, and the question of how to increase sales will disappear by itself.

  1. Creation of highly specialized solutions.

During the year, enterprises operating in the fashion clothing market update their product catalog several times. They want to control the collection of orders for each region and be able to change it at any stage of the trade chain. Such clients can be offered special software for warehouse management and automated messaging with customers. They also offer their partners the opportunity to return product from the retail outlet to the distribution center. Accordingly, they need to ensure air or multimodal delivery, and in the case of transporting fur products, transportation must be accompanied by security.

  1. USP or differentiation from competitors.

To increase turnover, it is necessary to find all the beneficial differences between the enterprise and its competitors. If your main advantage is cost, you need to make radical reforms. Significant advantage can be:

  • free prompt delivery;
  • high quality service;
  • provision of related services;
  • discounts, bonuses and gifts for customers;
  • a wide range of goods in stock, etc.
  1. Quarterly report on work performed.

Often, clients do not realize what exactly they are getting by concluding a subscription service agreement with a particular organization. That is why it is worth regularly sending detailed reports to your partners, including a list of all work performed. This helps to increase the level of loyalty among potential consumers and, accordingly, increase the volume of sales in production.

  1. Social proof.

Research shows that customers are more willing to purchase goods and services from companies whose reliability and good reputation are beyond doubt.
Confirmation of these characteristics can be, for example, certificates of conformity or other official documents, displays sociological research, which are the best way to convince consumers (social proof): “2500 customers cannot be wrong!”

  1. Improving the quality of services.

This method allows you to answer the question of how to increase sales during a crisis. If you have surveyed your customers in advance, you can move on to implementing your preferred strategic plan. It is necessary to improve the quality of services, train staff, and purchase new equipment. Buyers can be offered discounts, bonuses and gifts for the holidays.

  1. "Mystery shopper".

This is a specially trained person whom you hire secretly from your employees. He plays a role regular client and must record all stages of the trade chain using a hidden camera or voice recorder. This allows the businessman to understand how things really are. What the owner of the enterprise knew and the real situation may turn out to be diametrically opposed.
For additional control over employees, you can install special software on work computers that monitors the image on the monitor. The premises should be equipped with a CCTV camera. This will help identify undisciplined and incompetent employees and, ultimately, eliminate the factors that prevent the company from increasing its revenue.

  1. Changing the motivation system.

Launching an updated product line, one of the corporations operating in the wholesale and distribution market computer equipment, found myself in a rather difficult situation. The sales volume was very small compared to competitors. Managers stated that customers were uninterested and rarely contacted the firm. It also did not work to offer a product as an alternative to something, since it was not possible to convey information about it to the consumer. competitive advantages. In general, the products were practically unknown on domestic market, did not have reliable marketing support. The company itself had high hopes for this line, but it was impossible to change the principles of calculating salaries for employees. Management decided to pay regular bonuses to motivate specialists. They were paid not only the standard salary, but also $0.5 for each product sold. At first, the amount seemed purely symbolic, but over time the unexpected move brought very good results - the level of revenue was increased by 60%. Each manager significantly expanded his personal client base, increasing your income and organization.

  1. Development of a selling website.

Modern business needs a high-quality website - this is an axiom. An Internet portal is one of the main ways to attract customers and a tool that helps increase the level of purchases in stores. To make it more effective, you need to pay special attention to three main elements: a home page with good SEO copy, application forms, and feedback. Here are some tips to help improve your website's performance:

  • simplify the structure: do not load pages with heterogeneous information. Visitors must intuitively understand what and where to look;
  • prepare two separate menus: a general one for navigating the site and a product catalog divided by business segments (for example, “Expert. Restaurant chain”, “Expert. Club”, etc.);
  • Publish an infographic on the main page illustrating the benefits of your services. For example, you can write how much the company will lose if there is no automation production processes and how much he will receive if they are finally debugged automatically;
  • place a link on the main page to a section with reviews from previous clients (positive, of course). They can push a potential consumer to cooperate with you;
  • leave space on the key page for a banner advertising special offers, promotions and bonuses;
  • In each upper left corner you need to place a button to order a manager’s call.
  1. Improvement and automation of application processing.

Another way to help increase retail size is the sending function electronic application. With its help, the buyer can track what stage his application is at. Automatic processing of incoming requests serves two purposes at once: increasing the level of consumer loyalty and making the work of employees easier.

  1. Increase in sales volume due to the right choice promotion channels.

Try connecting to advertising campaigns in Yandex. Direct”, place your banners and articles on the main websites of your region. For example, an organization selling land, sold eight objects just by announcing its special offer. TV advertising is still an effective way of promotion. In particular, one of construction companies managed to quickly achieve recognition of her own brand thanks to the launch of the reality show “Construction. Your own home in three months.”

  1. Blue Ocean strategy.

This method is based on the search and formation of new markets that have not yet been developed by competitors. Consider the following case study. A network of lighting equipment stores offered its customers qualified design assistance. To do this, each client needed to photograph their apartment and send the pictures to the salon. After studying the photo, the designer suggested the most suitable lamps from the salon’s assortment. As a result of the campaign, it was possible to increase sales volumes by 37%. Word of mouth has shown particular effectiveness.

  1. Search for a competitor.

Create a virtual rival for yourself - and the unique advantages of your products and services against his background will become more pronounced. Customers will be much more loyal to you if the competition is conducted in an interesting game form.
Remember, for example, the funny video about the confrontation computer systems MAC OS and PC, which helped increase the number of Apple fans several times. Or a classic example of PR battles between Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Co. The undeniable advantage of the latter is the publicly available composition of the drink - this inspires customer confidence (unlike Coca-Cola, which keeps the recipe secret).

  1. Analysis of the reasons for low demand.

Often it is not even necessary to increase the sales volume of an enterprise, but only to remove the barriers that prevent it from reaching maximum heights. For example, consumers may be put off by ignorant or overly intrusive salespeople, an old premises without renovation, or even a poorly designed storefront. By eliminating these reasons, you can significantly improve the level of retail sales.

Techniques for increasing a company's sales ratio through customer interaction

  1. Targeting thrifty buyers.

There are several techniques to encourage consumers of the first type (24% of the total) to make a purchase.
Here are some examples of how these methods work.
The cost of the offer can be changed without changing anything in essence, but only by dividing it into amounts that are psychologically easier to perceive (for example, $100 per month instead of $1200 per year).
The Internet company AOL has replaced hourly payments for its services with monthly ones. This strategy is the opposite of the one described earlier and is aimed at getting users not to track their expenses every day.
All-inclusive resorts provide a sense of security and comfort because tourists feel that all expenses have already been covered and no additional expenses will be required.
Netflix has replaced the pay-per-view system with a flat monthly rate for unlimited access to all content.

  1. Comprehensive solutions for consumers.

Make comprehensive logistics offers to your clients that take into account strengths your enterprise. Test it new service on one of the partners, and if successful, extend its effect to other customers.

  1. "Devil's Advocate".

This ancient Catholic tradition has taught modern marketers much. Research shows that if someone's idea is refuted by the devil's advocate, that person's confidence in their own rightness only increases. Your firm can take advantage of this experience and act as the devil's advocate yourself. This way you can increase the confidence of your customers (they are the leading consumers of your products). Let the "devil's advocate" express their doubts, and you debunk him with the help of scientific and practical experience.

  1. Attracting like-minded people.

Tell your potential customers about the great cause you are pursuing (this could be raising money for charity or any other social project). This will provide an opportunity to attract like-minded people as committers. 64% of citizens surveyed by sociologists said that it was this factor that prompted them to make a purchase decision.
A good example is a charity event to increase sales of TOMS Shoes. Its essence is simple: when you buy a pair of shoes for yourself, you give a second pair to children in need. The campaign helped sell millions of pairs of shoes - and millions of children received new shoes for free. Thus, good and kind deeds can increase sales!

  1. Overcoming the “barrier to entry”.

There are often situations when a consumer is almost ready to make a purchase, but needs an additional incentive. They may have the opportunity to try out a future purchase absolutely free. During a certain period of time, while testing is carried out, the client will have time to get used to the product or service. This will increase the likelihood that after this period he will buy the product, simply not wanting to give it up.

A correctly formulated proposal plays a decisive role in this situation. Many people resort to the standard phrase: “Try a 30-day demo for free.” However, you will agree that the slogan “The first month is free” sounds more pleasant and convincing. The goal is one, but the means are different, therefore, the result may be different.

  1. Sales scripts.

The technology involves interviews between the seller and the buyer with the following types of questions: situational, problematic, extractive and guiding. By answering them, a person shows greater interest in the products offered. Keep in mind that create universal templates not possible for all types of buyers. The head of the department must independently develop a question sheet with expected answers for each item. In order not to lose the skill acquired during SPIN sales training, you need to consolidate it every day for a month. Employees should brainstorm questions for this type of interview two to three times a day. Please note that regular clients who are accustomed to a certain type of negotiation with your managers may initially be hostile to the new model. Therefore, first you need to test it on new customers, only then transfer the skill to regular customers.

  1. Explaining to consumers their next steps.

Dr. Howard Leventhal, in his research, argues that a person will not perceive relevant information if it does not contain clear instructions. Buyers believe that the described difficulties do not apply to them and prefer not to worry. But when the description of the problems is followed by instructions for eliminating them, the result exceeds all expectations.
The number of people receiving a flu vaccine has increased by a quarter after clear advice on how to avoid the disease was published. This is one of the most common ways to attract new clients to insurance companies.

  1. Up-sell method.

Train your managers to work with visitors, taking into account their emotional state. They should know what to tell customers additionally about the qualities of the product, consider all its capabilities and advantages. And do this in an accessible form so that the consumer fully appreciates the benefits of the offer.

  1. Admitting shortcomings.

How to increase sales during a crisis based on your own mistakes? Here you can describe many cases of real industrial disasters that occurred during last years(eg oil spills). Most often, the reason for these situations was the reluctance of firms to notice their mistakes and correct them. This continued exactly until a crisis moment came, when it was too late to change anything. For example, the energy company TEPCO (Japan) admitted only a year and a half later that it had made a mistake that led to a “nuclear crisis” on the Japanese coast.
When working with online applications, you have probably encountered situations where developers send emails apologizing for technical glitches and problems. Such mailings make it clear that the organization is working on mistakes, is not leaving them unattended, and will do everything possible in the future to avoid repeating them.

  1. Services to the product (packaging, delivery, lifting to the floor, warranty and post-warranty service).

Functionality and ease of use can be half the cost of the product. For some categories of customers, these factors are fundamental and have the greatest influence on the purchasing decision. It's about mainly about older people, mothers of young children and people who do not own their own cars. In this case, it is worth thinking not only about the growth of the average check, but also about sales in general.

  1. Keeping customers on their toes.

Keep consumers on their toes. A classic study by Norberg Schwartz shows that all it takes to change a person's mind is finding a dime. Use people's positive reactions to surprises for marketing purposes and give them small gifts. Such an action will help to significantly increase the volume of sales, and it does not have to be very expensive - it is not the price that is important, but human attention.

  1. Newsletter for potential buyers.

This is the formation of a database of people who have expressed interest in your project, even if the contract was never concluded. Then, in case of any promotions, discounts or changes in the assortment, they can be promptly notified about these events.

  1. Surprises for clients.

Pamper your customers with surprises - and you will be able to win their trust and loyalty, receiving a huge number of grateful reviews. The online shoe store Zappos traditionally uses exactly this kind of influence tactics.
Expecting to receive your order within five days, as promised on the website, you suddenly receive it within a day. Or you get the opportunity to return shoes throughout the year. Such surprises helped accumulate a huge number of reviews on the site, which became a powerful marketing tool for influencing potential buyers.

  1. Harnessing the power of shortcuts.

Use evaluative statements. When studying the factors influencing the voting results, a special behavioral test was conducted. Based on its results, scientists found that people who were randomly called “politically active citizens” voted 15% more willingly. Even though people received this rating by chance, this characteristic had a serious impact on them. Use this method: Show your clients that you think they are innovative, innovative, and proactive. Then they will act according to that label.

How to increase sales using prices and promotions

  1. Increasing the cost of a product, selling a more expensive analogue of a product.

Even if the buyer says that he wants to save money, this is not a reason to sell him the most budget-friendly product. The manager can structure the conversation as follows: “Of course, I can offer you a car for three hundred thousand rubles. But you definitely want it to have climate control, power steering and heated seats.” If the buyer answers in the affirmative, it is worth noting: “Why would you spend money on a car that doesn’t suit you?”
You can sell a more expensive product only if it has additional benefits. Let's take, for example, two almost identical refrigerators of different brands and with different prices. Most managers will say that there is no difference between them. But is it? Of course not! The task of the department head is to explain to employees how different models differ in terms of technology, manufacturing standards, warranties, etc.

  1. Average check growth.

This is the most accessible method. It kind of follows from the method described above, but with some difference. The check can increase due to a simple increase in prices, an increase in the number of service functions, or changes in payment terms. By the way, an increase in cost by 1% increases profits by 3-10%. It is important that the price increase is not too significant and brings with it new opportunities.

  1. Adding shares.

The vast majority of buyers love them very much.
The leader of Ukraine among supermarkets in terms of originality of promotions is Silpo.
Even serious, reasonable people react to their promotions: “Price of the week”, “Hot offer”, “Thematic days”, “Coupons for increasing points”, etc.

  1. Visibility of commercial offers.

A trade initiative must really interest a potential consumer of goods or services. It should include detailed description characteristics and advantages of products. When conducting one-time promotions or providing short-term discounts, market instructions must be supplemented with information about them. Excellent feature article - 10 clever techniques for writing a business proposal.

  1. Various recommendations for clients (at least three).

When new customers contact a company, it can be very difficult to predict what price range of goods and services will interest them. Thus, if you only offer them products in one price range, you may miss their preferences. It would be more correct to offer several alternative options at once - for example, “standard”, “business” and “premium” sets.
In this case, sales psychology will work well. The purchaser will understand that he was offered products with a wide price range, and he has very few reasons to refuse to buy. In this case, it is necessary to correctly compile sets of products of different prices and clearly explain to the customer the differences between them. Start with the most expensive sets - then he will perceive cheaper products positively.

  1. Providing expiring discounts.

For example, offer clients bonus card with a unique code. If a buyer spends a certain amount in a store within a month, he will receive a discount on all products in the next month. The amount of the concession depends on the number of orders last month. At the same time, the discount expires if a person has not bought anything for a whole month. An approximate range of discounts could be: from 5% when purchasing 100 rubles to 30% when spending 20 thousand rubles.

  1. Cost differentiation.

Manufacturers set a single price for certain product categories. Often this is not entirely justified. If a visitor directly asks about the price, the manager does not have time to identify his needs - he needs to clearly state the amount. If a single price has not been established, the manager can ask many clarifying questions, establish a dialogue and obtain information that will help influence the buyer. In addition, this way you can slightly increase the number of clients.

  1. Favorable price image.

From a psychological point of view, it is better to write “100 rubles a month” on the price tag than “1200 rubles a year.” By correctly setting a non-intimidating price, you can significantly increase your sales volume.

Means of increasing sales in a retail store

  1. Patency.

How can you understand, even before the store opens, how busy the place where it will operate is? Easily! Stand at the door of the future company and for a certain time count all the people who passed by and glanced in your direction. So you do the math total potential clients. To create a more accurate description, you will have to take into account the gender and age of people passing by. Compare the data obtained with the theoretical portrait of the buyer and understand the approximate attendance of a retail store by ordinary passers-by.

  1. Signboard.

So, you have found out the number of possible passer-by buyers. Now they need to be “hooked”. First of all, a sign can help with this. She must be:

  • bright and eye-catching;
  • understandable and giving an idea of ​​what products are sold outside the door;
  • encouraging people to buy in this store (through a wide range, affordable prices, high quality, etc.).

Most often, you can find out how effective a particular sign is only by trial and error.

  1. Cross-selling.

Having realized specific product, you can offer accompanying services. For example, a person who bought an aquarium can order its correct installation, connection and maintenance - all without leaving the checkout. For this retail store it is necessary to negotiate with the relevant companies, and then attract buyers and receive your percentage.

  1. Determining the purchase threshold.

There is no specific model here - it all depends on the imagination of the store owner. The essence of the method is as follows:

  • When making a purchase whose price exceeds a certain limit, the client receives a coupon for free shipping, discount or gift;
  • When you buy two products, you can get the third one for free.

The list can be continued endlessly. Each store is trying to come up with its own promotions to increase sales in stores.

  1. Payment of change in goods.

This method is not very common, but very interesting. When paying for products, the buyer receives change not in money, but in goods - for example, matches or candy.

  1. Yellow and red price tags.

This method is widely known. Many supermarkets sell products that are past their expiration dates at discounted prices. This is exactly what the multi-colored price tags convey.

  1. Possibility to return the product if you don't like it.

Moreover, there is a law that obliges sellers to accept products back within two weeks after sale.

  1. Hints on price tags.

On the labels you can place information that some others are usually purchased along with this product. The buyer will most likely take the advice and buy something in addition to the main product.

  1. "Chair" for the buyer's companion.

People rarely go shopping alone, and most often your direct client's companion is someone who is completely uninterested in your services. To prevent him from trying to get your customer out of the store as quickly as possible, offer him an activity that will help pass the time: watching TV for men, playing games for children, reading fashion magazines for women.

  1. Unique selling proposition.

Not every store owner has the opportunity to rent premises on a busy street and hang a chic sign. However, anyone can create a unique product or service that will make people want to go out of their way. This is the main method of increasing sales.

  1. Upselling.

This is an offer to make an additional purchase to the main one. For example, when purchasing a smartphone, a SIM card and insurance are offered, and the purchased bouquet of flowers is advised to be packaged for additional fee. The main rule is price additional service should not exceed the price of the main product. This method allows you to increase the company's sales level by 30%.

  1. Working with margin.

Perhaps the most accessible method of increasing profits. They say that the low cost of a product is not always perceived by the buyer as the most attractive. Often, buyers consider a product sold at a high price to be of higher quality. Ask yourself a question: does it matter whether the sausage costs 300 rubles or 310? Most often, such a difference seems insignificant to buyers. Now calculate the total profit.
Let's look at the example described in Robert Cialdini's book “The Psychology of Influence.” Mistress jewelry store I just couldn’t sell some turquoise jewelry. When leaving on vacation, she left a written order to her subordinates: “*1\2 price for all turquoise.” Imagine her surprise when, upon arrival, she learned that all the jewelry had been sold...at twice the price. The seller simply did not understand her instructions and increased, rather than decreased, the price.

  1. Price tags.

Take a critical look at your price stickers. As a rule, they are impersonal and do not catch the eye. Potential buyer has only a few seconds to make a purchasing decision in the store he visited. Try to surprise him enough to make him stay for at least a few minutes and start asking questions. Price tags printed on colored paper and cut out in the form of intricate figures, with tempting and sometimes shocking offers, can help with this. For example, on the eve New Year's holidays you can print them in the form of snowflakes, Christmas trees, snowmen and other holiday paraphernalia. Or you can place in a prominent place a product that is sold at an exorbitant price. No one will probably buy it, but many will want to look at it and perhaps buy something else. It doesn’t matter at all what they say about you, as long as the address is indicated correctly.

  1. Smile.

In stores where salespeople smile at their customers, sales increase by 20-30% compared to outlets where sullen staff work. Teach your employees to smile regardless of their mood.

  1. « Free cheese" without a mousetrap.

The famous home goods brand offered free cookies to visitors to its stores. Thus, he attracted parents with children to the number of buyers and won over consumers.

  1. Non-standard guarantees.

Provide additional guarantees– and you will get new consumers. “If we don’t deliver the pizza in half an hour, you’ll get it for free.” “If a salesperson is rude to you, you will get a discount.” “If you find a product cheaper than ours, we will refund 110% of the difference!” Experience shows that it is very rare to put these guarantees into practice, but the opportunity itself certainly attracts clients.

  1. Other services.

Let's say you own a cosmetics store in a small town. How to make the whole city know about it? Easy: hire a high-quality stylist and distribute leaflets that for a month a master will work in your store who will help you choose cosmetics for free and teach you how to apply makeup correctly. In a month, women will only talk about your company - even those who don’t need a stylist, and they learned about the promotion from their girlfriends.

Are you trading plastic windows? Announce a promotion in which each buyer will receive a free device that measures the thermal conductivity of windows and calculates heat loss. Anyone who needs to replace the windows in their apartment will think about you first. You can offer to install mosquito nets for three hundred rubles. Perhaps at first it will bring you losses, but then you will see how many clients for whom you installed them will come to you to order windows. Moreover, your craftsmen may subtly hint that it’s time to change the windows.

How to increase sales in wholesale trade

  1. Creation of a marketing department.

To increase sales volume, it is necessary to properly organize the work of the marketing department. Specialists must constantly research the market, look for new options, and optimize production and logistics processes. Hire competent workers and your company will prosper.

  1. Expansion of the range.

Always think about the possibility of expanding the range of products offered. You can more diversify the models, their size range, and the number of related products. By increasing your offer, you will save the client from having to look for other suppliers.

  1. Demand research.

Determine the capabilities of your customers and set tasks for managers, based not on the experience of past years, but on the share of your deliveries to the customer. For example, your manager sells goods worth 100 thousand rubles. The partner's turnover is growing. However, it turns out that the potential of this organization is 10 million rubles, and your company is simply used as a backup supplier. It's bad if the manager doesn't know about it. It's even worse if the manager doesn't even know.

  1. Competent work with federal and regional networks.

Majority wholesale suppliers try to cooperate with large corporations. Concluding such an agreement is usually quite simple and almost always profitable.

  1. Transparent pricing policy.

Be clear and understandable pricing policy or make the salaries of your managers directly dependent on profits. Either you work according to a strict price list, which specifies all categories of clients, or you give the manager the authority to provide any discounts and bonuses, but at the same time make it dependent on revenue. There is no third.

  1. Concluding contractual obligations with regular consumers.

Contracts with regular customers are mutually beneficial cooperation in terms of the ratio of not only cost and profit, but also price and quality. Buy good product at a favorable price. This will allow you to ensure optimal matching of prices and corresponding product properties for your customers, which will become your undeniable advantage. Buyers simply cannot refuse such a lucrative offer. Treasure the reputation of a conscientious supplier - it will work better than any advertising.

  1. Penetration into the client's business.

The better you understand entrepreneurial activity your buyer, the less the risk of losing him, the closer you are to end consumers, the better your consignor’s sales are going.

  1. Thorough analysis of customer failures.

Let's say an insignificant customer leaves you. You are not upset and think that you will have more time to interact with large firms. In fact, this situation is fraught with serious consequences. The reasons that caused small companies to stop working with you can also affect large ones. Modern market is designed so that small organizations are more responsive to new trends and trends - this helps them survive. Therefore, the factors influencing them will later be reflected in large enterprises. You must carefully analyze the departure of each customer and draw the right conclusions.

  1. The focus is on the client's business, not your business.

This basic principle work, not a way to make a profit. Once you start working with wholesale, concentrate on the trade of your customers. Think about how to increase sales volume of your partner’s company, what product is used most in demand how to increase the profitability of an enterprise. While your partner is afloat, you are also on the crest of the wave.

  1. Compliance with the rules of working with distributors.

It is very important to properly build interaction with dealers - so that this does not interfere with working with ordinary customers. Decide what is your priority: retail or hospitality services. Often it is worth closing your own retail and stop giving discounts to intermediaries. In other cases, emphasis should be placed on own implementation– if resources allow.

  1. Creating interesting offers.

The company's pricing policy and its bonus system should work for long-term cooperation, and not for one-time transactions.

  1. Monitoring.

Constantly analyze competitors' offers. Clients who have previously used their services will help you with this.

  1. Working with transport.

Create your own logistics department. This will give you a huge advantage over your competitors - you will be able to ensure uninterrupted delivery of goods. Of course, at the first stage you will have to incur significant losses, but after a short time they will pay off handsomely, helping to increase the sales level of the enterprise.

  1. Constant search for new clients.

The main goal of a store selling by the piece is to make a profit. Most often, such companies are open to offers that promise additional income. Of course, there is a risk that you may lose your regular buyer, who was lured away by competitors. On the other hand, there is a high probability that you will be able to offer more profitable terms. Therefore, do not stop looking for new consumers, even if the enterprise is already operating at full capacity.

  1. Personnel training.

The volume of trade largely depends on the person selling the product or service. It is necessary to place emphasis on selecting a staff of competent specialists and training them. However, participation in many master classes, seminars and trainings is by no means an option. You need to understand which of the activities is most effective and choose it. Teach employees to show off the product, emphasizing its advantages and not dwelling on the inevitable shortcomings. Professionalism of the staff - The best way increase sales levels.

Sales are one of the first indicators of a store’s performance. If you want to increase sales in a store, then your actions will be aimed at attracting customers to the store or how to increase the average check.

How to choose the most effective way to increase sales in your store

Which method should you choose to get the fastest results? To understand how you can increase sales in a store, you need to determine what format it belongs to. What buyer is it aimed at? Is it a supermarket with an area of ​​more than 1000 m2 or a “convenience store”? In ABC of Taste and Pyaterochka - two absolutely different buyer and two different approaches to increase sales.

Some stores are aimed at budget-conscious shoppers who want to get the lowest price possible. In others, customers value service more.

If you have a discounter, then service is not important to it. People will put up with pallet display and goods in boxes. But they will strive to get favorable prices. Increasing sales for the thrifty is, first of all, increase in average check.

If you have a supermarket or “convenience store”, then prices will not be so important role. The buyer comes to it wanting to get a certain service level. Such a buyer does not want to stand in lines and waste his valuable time. An increase in sales in it means an increase in the frequency of purchases.

How to increase the average check in a grocery store

If you urgently need to increase sales in a store, then the simplest method is to increase the average check of the store. The goods are displayed in additional display areas, impulse goods are placed everywhere. The availability of goods is ensured, and people begin to purchase more and more.

The buyer came for milk, but at the entrance he saw a mountain of fruit, along the way he noticed his favorite sausage, and at the exit the child took a toy. And now, along with the milk, the buyer already has a full basket of products.

goods

This is the first thing you should pay attention to if there is a negative trend and you need to increase sales in the store. If a product is not on the shelf, no one will buy it. The buyer should know that here he will always find the cottage cheese or favorite sausage he needs. To ensure the availability of goods you need:

      1. Correct work with . The buyer must be satisfied a wide range of in the shop. All the goods he needs must be in stock.
      2. Timely removal of goods to the sales floor. Proper organization work, lack of deposits in the warehouse.
      3. Availability and display control product groups aimed at creating a price image. Presence , , Formation of daily reporting to ensure that the most important groups of goods are always in sufficient quantity.
      4. Pallet and seasonal displays.
      5. Working with the product assortment, making changes to the assortment matrix.

Stimulating impulse purchases

Stimulating impulse purchases allows you to effectively and quickly increase your average bill. This is the purchase of goods that the buyer did not initially plan to take. How often have you walked into a store with the idea of ​​buying the items on the list, only to discover at the checkout that your cart was full of unplanned items? These are all impulse purchases that help increase in-store sales.

  1. Neat display in the checkout area. Tempting display of goods in the waiting area. Availability of sweets for children.
  2. Cross merchandising – cross selling, when the purchase of one product purchases along with it another - accompanying one. Therefore, we list products taking into account the comparability of products. Chips for beer, sauces for pasta.
  3. Constant availability , The buyer may not have planned to purchase the product, but after seeing a good offer, he decided to buy.
  4. Training in “sincere service”. When you don’t know what to buy, and the seller unobtrusively helps you make a choice.
  5. Conducting tastings. Particularly effective for new products.
  6. Attractive by aroma. Aroma is the strongest stimulus influencing the subconscious of the buyer. Remember the smell of fragrant bread or fresh pastries. But the aroma can also repel with its intrusiveness. As a result, pleasant smells can increase store sales, while unpleasant smells can decrease them.

Quality and presentation of goods

You come into the store and feel comfortable. As a result, you spend more time in the store and buy more products.

  1. A neat display of goods allows the buyer to easily find what he needs.
  2. Clean equipment and goods. Lighting and feeling of freshness. If you place discounted rotten fruit at the entrance, sales of the entire store may decrease. The feeling of cleanliness and light is not always perceptible, but it affects the subconscious of buyers.
  3. Timely registration
  4. Compliance with storage conditions of goods.

Increasing purchase volume

The goods are purchased in a larger volume than originally planned. Often the buyer is ready to buy a larger volume if the offer is favorable. Promotions are used for this, for example When two or more products are sold at a better price than one. Or shares when related products stimulate each other’s sales (“buy a barbecue and get firewood as a gift”)

It is more difficult to increase the receipt than to increase the number of goods and their volumes. In this case, the buyer should give preference to more expensive product, than he usually acquires. This is possible if the buyer perceives that the value of the product is higher than its price. Sincere service for buyers. Explanation of product values, incentives to purchase new products.

Attracting customers to the store

Attracting customers to the store is possible if our regular customers begin to visit us more often or by attracting new customers.

Increased frequency of purchases

Buyers-players - people's dependence on promotions

There is a segment of buyers who track promotions. They are waiting for a promotion and expect to purchase a product with additional benefits. If the product is not displayed on the day the promotion starts, then this angers buyers.
A buyer may come specifically for some advantageous offer, and, not finding it in the store, he will leave and may never return. “You printed a catalog, here is my favorite sausage at a discount, but you simply don’t have it!”
At the start of the promotion, all promotional items must be on display in the store. Product availability must be checked on a regular basis during the promotion. The night before the start of the promotion, an additional shift of employees is sent out to display promotional goods.

Timely replacement of price tags

Every day, about 10% of price tags in stores are displayed incorrectly. If a customer discovers an inaccurate price on a receipt, he loses confidence in the store and may stop visiting it. This problem is much larger than it might seem at first.
For example, there are about 250-300 promotional products in the store’s promotional catalog. For all these products you need to print price tags, cut them out and post them. Employees trading floor spend about four hours changing price tags on the day the promotion starts. It turns out that the store spends half a day only changing price tags. It is necessary to change the price of the outgoing promo and the upcoming promo. But an incorrect price may turn off the buyer, and next time he will go to your competitor.
Deployment of an additional team of employees on the day the promotion starts to change price tags. Appointment of someone responsible for changing price tags.

In the 21st century, the profession of sales consultant remains one of the most in demand in the labor market. Salespeople or sales managers are always required, and good specialists sales are worth their weight in gold. There is very high competition for such personnel, and once you master sales techniques, you will definitely not be left without a job. But getting a job as a salesperson is not difficult, but learning how to sell and, accordingly, earning a lot is much more difficult. Let's look at it: how to increase personal sales for a seller.

Knowledge, skills, skill

To increase personal sales to the seller you need to understand that in any case you must be able to sell. In order to be able you need to know, and over time the skills will develop into a skill and sales will come on their own. On the one hand, there is nothing complicated here, but if you look at it, it’s a whole science. Here you have the stages of sales, and, and and. You can sell, etc. What should a competent seller know?

  1. . You should start learning about sales with the 5 stages of sales. This is the basis of any sales and you cannot do without this knowledge.
  2. Knowledge of the product you are going to sell. The better your knowledge about the product, the more competent advice you can give the buyer.
  3. Knowledge of competitors and customers. It’s not for nothing that now all companies are investing a lot of money in marketing research market. Knowing your competitor and especially your buyer is your responsibility.
  4. Nonverbal communication is very powerful tool, you at least need to understand the basics nonverbal communication to avoid classic seller mistakes.

Most large companies do this, but what if no one trains you or doesn’t give you enough knowledge? To begin with, I would advise reading books for sellers, you can learn a lot from them useful information. First, read “” and the book. In addition, you can find out a lot of useful information on our website - you can also ask your questions on.

Motivation and sales funnel

Any leader knows. But ordinary sellers, as a rule, do not delve into such terms. But the sales funnel makes it clear what to do to increase sales results. Without going into depth, the sales funnel shows at what stages of interaction with the client we lose sales. To create a sales funnel, an ordinary seller needs to count how many contacts he had with clients, how many of them refused to communicate immediately, how many after the presentation of the product, how many decided to think about it, how many agreed to purchase. This is a simple example as these items will vary depending on the type of sale. First of all, it is important for you to understand:

  1. At what stages do the most clients refuse? For example, if when establishing contact with a buyer, then you need to somehow change this stage, etc.
  2. Understand how the result will change if you increase the number of contacts.

Increasing the number of clients is the easiest way to increase sales; the downside is that it is not available to all sellers. But as a rule, sellers don’t even think that if they spend less time on each client and try to serve as many customers as possible, this will quickly lead to an increase in sales. Or you can simply devote more time to work. One way or another, it all depends on the motivation of the seller; as a rule, the most active managers sell a lot.

The very motivation of sellers

If a salesperson wants to increase his results, he must work on his personal motivation. You must set a goal for yourself, such as buying a car or an apartment. Calculate how much money you need for this and how much you need to sell daily. Draw yourself a poster, print out a photo of your goal - visualize and view it before you go selling. This will help you be more focused on the result rather than the process.

The seller sells himself from the beginning!

The salesperson first sells himself, then the company and then the product. This phrase is taken from, but nevertheless it is also suitable for sales to individuals. You need to understand that people don’t like to be sold to, but they love to buy, and the role of the seller here is not to impose or sell the product, but to establish trusting contact and charge the client with positive emotions. The seller should be an advisor to the buyer, a friend and partner in a common business. For many buyers, visiting a store or communicating with a seller is a certain stress; the client is afraid of being deceived and wasting money and time. The seller must create an atmosphere of ease and trust, only then the client will truly open up to you and you will be able to sell anything.

It is very important for the seller to be in a good mood and focused on the buyer. There are a number of simple rules that need to be followed for a good mood:

  • Get enough sleep. Always get as much sleep as you need to feel good.
  • Deal with personal problems. Very often I meet sellers who are focused on personal problems. This greatly distracts from work and customers feel it.
  • Don't work with a hangover.
  • Maintain your hygiene and be neat.

Pareto principle

The Pareto principle (often called the 80/20 rule) states:

  • 80% of the profit comes from 20% of customers.
  • 20% of labor costs bring 80% of profits

This means that your main profit comes from minor labor costs. And most of your time and effort is wasted on insignificant actions that do not bring you the expected income. The main thing is to understand what is included in this 20% of effort, clients, time and work to improve the processes associated with these costs. Because the remaining 80% does not give a significant result. Let me give you a few examples from life:

Example No. 1

In the shop household appliances In addition to sales, each seller’s responsibilities include putting things in order in the department. Sellers with best results, spend less time putting things in order, do it faster and in the morning, when there are few buyers, while they are customer-oriented and when a buyer appears, they immediately go to him. In addition, more successful sellers try to take days off during weekdays since there are fewer clients on these days, have lunch in the morning, and do not take smoking breaks in the evening. Sellers with lower results become immersed in the process, take longer to clean up, and as a result lose sales. That is, more successful salespeople understand that they need to focus on customers who bring in money, and everything else can wait.

Example No. 2

Agents active sales They sell Internet provider services by going door-to-door. The tour is carried out in the evening. The most successful managers put in the most effort between 7:00 pm and 10:00 pm because at this time there are more people at home and they are more inclined to communicate. Whereas less successful agents at this time may spend a lot of time on smoke breaks or communicating with clients, and who are not going to buy today.

These examples show that it is important to focus your efforts on those things that bring you maximum profit. This is exactly what successful salespeople do.

Analyze your sales

Sellers have a very bad habit: to justify their poor results by blaming the responsibility on the buyer, seasonality, competitors, etc. The vast majority of people feel sorry for themselves and do not want to change anything in themselves, looking for problems in others. It’s important to decide what you want: to relieve yourself of responsibility or to earn money. If the latter, then when faced with difficulties you need to look for a solution, and not blame the injustice of the world. There is a good story among sellers about this:

One shoe company sent its salesman to Africa, a week later the salesman sent a telegram: take me away from here, there is nothing to do here, all people walk barefoot.

After some time, another merchant was sent there; after a while he reported: “This is great luck! - the second one wrote with delight, - Send everything you have, the market is practically unlimited! Everyone walks around barefoot here!”

There is another good proverb: the weak look for a reason, the strong look for opportunities. It’s much easier to justify your failures than to analyze the situation and look for ways to sell more.

A good salesperson always analyzes his work and looks for areas of growth. Any seller always has something to improve, but not everyone can see what exactly. In order to understand, you need to start every day and if something goes wrong, look for ways to do it differently.

The Pareto principle suggests that 80% of the result always comes from 20% of the effort. What does this mean? In business, you need to figure out which actions give the maximum effect and focus on them.

Buyers

We find out which 20% of customers give us 80% of our revenue. This can be done using the toolkit. Once you understand who is in the “golden pool”, decide on the channels that can attract similar people to you. target audience. In an environment where the cost of acquiring a new lead is quite high, you should make the most of your current base.

Goods

Calculate the profitability of a particular product. Sell ​​only profitable ones. Those 20% that bring 80% of the income. Don't chase revenue. Chase profit.

Employees

You can't afford below average employees. See which of them produces results and who carries out the plan. Basic principles will help you retain your top performers.

How to develop a sales department: working with funnels

Sales funnels are the main analytical tool in the hands of the head of the sales department. How to develop a sales team if you do not constantly monitor the lead conversion process, which is reflected in the funnel?
Moreover, one funnel is clearly not enough for all types of transactions in the company. It is necessary to detail the process as much as possible and build funnels in different sections:

  • new buyers
  • current base
  • target niches
  • communication channels
  • employees
  • products
  • territories

Then, in each of them, analyze: the number of incoming leads, the number of buyers included in the permanent database, the average transaction amount, conversion between stages, the length of the transaction, the duration of each stage.

In the future, to improve each of the indicators you will have to improve the product and the skill of the sellers.

How to develop a sales department: define and increaseLTV

LTV (Lifetime Value, buyer value) shows average earnings companies on customers over the period of their “life”. The higher the LTV, the greater the profit.

Calculate the indicator using the formula:

LTV = S x C x P x T

S - average check;
C - average number of purchases per month;
P - profitability as a percentage of the check amount;
T is the average “lifetime” of a customer (the average number of months during which a person/company remains an active customer).

To develop the commercial department, LTV should be increased. There are 3 methods suitable for this.

1. Increase your average check. To do this, you need to know the penetration rate (share) of the buyer and what needs to be done to make him buy more from you. A customer survey will help you cope with this task.

2. Sell only to your target customers. ABCXYZ analysis will help you understand who they are and what their characteristics are.

3. Stay in constant contact with your audience. This is facilitated by loyalty programs, surveys, mailings, gifts, etc.

How to develop a sales department: keeping an eye on the ratioCRR

CRR (Customer Retention Rate) indicates how customers are leaving you.

Measured using the formula:

CRR = ((E-N)/S) x 100

E - number of buyers at the end of the period;
N is the number of new customers acquired during this period;
S is the number of buyers at the beginning of the period.

Without taking CRR into account, developing a department is quite difficult. A connection was noticed: an increase in CRR by 5% leads to an increase in profits by 25−95%.

How to develop a sales department: taking measurementsNPS

NPS (Net Promoter Score, Customer Loyalty Index) helps you understand how satisfied customers are with your product and develop your sales department in the future.

Moreover, during its measurement you find out their wishes. And since NPS is determined only as a result of a customer survey, it turns out that you also indirectly remind of your existence.

Ask 2 questions:

  1. With what probability from 0 to 10 points would you recommend us to your friends?
  2. What needs to be done so that next time you give us 10 points?

NPS = Number of those who gave 9-10 points / total number of respondents - number of those who gave 6 points and below / total number of respondents

Managing a sales department is a difficult and responsible task. The correctness of the actions of sellers and the effectiveness of management of this division affects not only profits, but also the image of the company.

It is difficult to fulfill the sales plan qualitatively at all stages of the department’s work.

At the initial stage, it is difficult to select a good team, then you have to spend time training them, and then it becomes even more difficult to motivate them to look for new clients. So that sellers not only complete tasks that are interesting to them, but also implement corporate strategy, you need a competent plan for the development of the sales department.

Prerequisites for creation

A plan focused on the development of a sales division is a comprehensive document that defines the main directions, principles and ways to achieve global goals within overall strategy companies.

The development of a sales department must be planned by every company that is interested in the effective sale of its product.

Neither good publicity, neither quality products nor thoughtful after-sales service will allow a company to occupy the market position it needs if the selling division does not do its job correctly. Standard reasons for developing a development plan are:

  • the need to create;
  • the need to strongly motivate his employees to achieve better results;
  • constant lag behind the sales plan with an already formed department;
  • transition of the division from the active sales mode to the mode of working with regular customers.

Plan Objectives

The development of a document providing for the development of the sales department is aimed at solving several important problems. With it you can:

  1. get big profits;
  2. improve work efficiency;
  3. guide sellers to attract strategically important customers;
  4. improve business processes and interaction patterns between various departments.

The absence of a sales division development plan may not be too critical for small company. Here, employees are usually forced to perform the functions of several specialists (an example of typical sales-related tasks is schematically shown in the diagram). Planning and evaluating work is often done by the director or owner.

And the sales department not only looks for new clients, but also prepares all documents for the transaction and further services.

To receive a decent salary, sellers of such organizations have to actively attract new customers all the time, since small companies value every client.

In more large companies At a certain stage of development, a fairly large base of regular customers appears. This allows sellers to get good wages by renegotiating old contracts. The strategy of a large firm usually involves capturing a certain market share.

A limited circle of clients prevents active promotion of the brand.

Optimizing the work of the sales department can eliminate this problem. In large companies it is necessary, because without it the following arise:

  • problems with monitoring the work of the selling department;
  • transfer of specialists to competitors;
  • loss of regular customers;
  • deterioration in the quality of service, etc.

Development and writing

Creating a good sales plan requires commitment. In order for the developed document to be useful in your work, you need to pay due attention to preparation. Its key stages include:

  1. goal setting (the need to make changes to any business processes should be determined by the strategy);
  2. creation of an objective analysis system(adjusting sales schemes can increase productivity only when there is an example of effective completion of tasks with measurable indicators);
  3. searching for optimal means to achieve a goal(it is important to choose the appropriate method of implementing the plan, which is most suitable in terms of speed of implementation, level of impact, cost, etc.);
  4. assessment of the current situation(without understanding current problematic and promising areas of work, it is impossible to develop a development plan that will significantly improve business processes and schemes);
  5. choice of strategy (strategy influences the principles and methods of development of both the sales department and the company as a whole);
  6. defining a list of specific actions(having a detailed list of tasks will allow you to get the desired results more quickly).

The process of developing a plan for the development of the sales department can be represented as a sequential implementation of a series of actions. To optimize the main processes as successfully as possible, you need to:

  • determine the role of the sales department in the implementation of corporate strategy(the development plan of the department must correspond to the general plan of the company);
  • define a chronological framework(you need to indicate the time period required to implement the entire plan and schedule the completion dates for each task; usually they plan for 3–5 years);
  • find out the suitability of the existing staffing and outline the main ways to improve the situation(the company's strategy can be correctly implemented if the required number of specialists is available and the required professional level of employees is provided);
  • consider the possibility of standardizing business processes(the development plan should provide for work according to uniform standards, which will increase efficiency and improve the quality of service);
  • consider automation of certain stages of interaction between the sales department and internal and external clients(modernization of existing equipment and improvement software will help you save time and pay more attention directly to working with customers);
  • prescribe the stages of performing tactical and strategic tasks, as well as their performers and controllers(the department’s development plan should be scheduled monthly or quarterly; it is advisable for each stage to indicate the specialists responsible for completing tasks and employees checking the correctness and timeliness of the performers’ actions).

Implementation example

There are many options for improving the work of the sales department.

A successful example of optimizing the sales department of one company can be successfully applied to another that has similar goals:

first good example– a clear delineation of the areas of responsibility of all department employees, in which each specialist is assigned work in a specific area;

The second no less good example is the division of the sales department into 2 separate structures, one of which is exclusively engaged in active search (sales department), and the second is responsible for supporting and servicing already attracted clients (client department).

Which example to choose for the development of a selling division is determined by the company’s strategy, its financial opportunities, the allotted time frame for the implementation of the plan. Understanding the importance of optimization and a responsible approach to solving this issue will help you find the most suitable tools and methods.

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