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Technologies for increasing sales: a step-by-step algorithm for a unique strategy. Step-by-step plan to increase sales volume

Ilyukha Sergey

For a year now, all sellers have felt that crisis phenomena are occurring in the market. Customers come to the store less often and buy fewer and cheaper goods. Sales and income are falling and expenses are rising. And the reason for this is not only sanctions, the depreciation of the ruble, the complication of access to loans and their rise in price. The reason is that all these factors act simultaneously. Let's consider technologies for increasing sales in such a situation.

In this article you will read:

  • What technologies for increasing sales work effectively?
  • Step-by-step algorithm for a unique sales strategy

Technologies to increase sales, which all market players use today, have become ineffective. The reason is that the conditions of the game in the market have changed. And those who understand the new rules earlier and learn to work effectively in a new situation will be able to grow in a crisis.

What has changed in the market?

  1. Customers’ incomes have decreased, current expenses have increased (utilities, gasoline, tuition fees)
  2. Imports from traditional markets came under sanctions
  3. Deliveries of goods from new markets have not yet been established
  4. Prices for imported goods have increased significantly
  5. Due to the rise in the cost of loans and a decrease in revenue, almost all companies experienced financial difficulties

The situation is similar to rescuing drowning people after a shipwreck. If you flounder in place and wait for help, you might drown. We must swim to the shore! “The rescue of drowning people is the work of the drowning people themselves.”

In a crisis, a company must fight and move forward. At the same time, go faster than others. We need to use new technologies.

  1. We are moving from process management to personnel management. In the “fat” pre-crisis times, it was possible to set tasks in general, carry out a promotion, purchase, lay out, sell. The result was assessed as a whole. And if at the end of the month there was at least a slight increase, it was believed that the entire team worked well. In a crisis, it is necessary to delve deeper into business processes, it is necessary to set goals and evaluate the effectiveness of each department and each employee in achieving the goal. Just like it is done during active sales.
  2. We set an ambitious but achievable goal.

What technologies for increasing sales are effective today?

First of all, increase trade turnover!

At the same time, of course, we must not forget about profitability and the budget that has to be spent on increasing trade turnover. In retail, you can also use sales increasing technologies used in wholesale trade.

Let’s say a company is faced with the task of increasing turnover during a crisis. How much can you increase trade turnover? By 1, 3, 5 percent? At first glance, this may seem like a very ambitious goal!

  1. We set goals for each department and employee to achieve the goal.

IN wholesale sales To increase turnover, they set goals for clients and goods. Retail sales technologies have long been known to everyone; everyone uses these methods. It is necessary to look for and use new tools and technologies for retail sales of goods. To solve ambitious problems, I recommend using the best-situation synthesis technique.

Algorithm for increasing sales

  1. Formulate a goal
  2. Determine the indicators that influence the achievement of the goal (decomposition).
  3. Define objectives by indicators to achieve the goal
  4. Determine ways to improve performance
  5. Create a performance improvement plan
  6. Conduct a synthesis and define tasks and a schedule for achieving the goal.

Let's synthesize the situation:

  1. Goal (increase in trade turnover)
  2. Decomposition

In order to sell a lot, it is necessary to increase all the components that affect sales volume.

The same rules apply in any trade:

Turnover = number of sales * amount of sales

To increase turnover, it is necessary to increase the number of sales and the average transaction amount (the amount of the “average check”).

For quantification To evaluate the effectiveness of supply during a crisis, we use a sales funnel, which is widely used in assessing sales performance in personal sales. The sales funnel for wholesale and retail trade is shown in Fig. 1.

As can be seen from the figure, the sales process in retail trade contains more stages (in order to come into contact with the buyer, he must be attracted to the store). And the formulas for calculating the sales funnel are different.

For retail:

Conversion in retail sales is determined by the ratio of those who made a purchase to the number of people who came to the store. In “personal” sales it fluctuates in the range of 0.1 - 0.5. In wholesale trade - 0.6 - 0.8. In retail trade it may tend to unity. Accordingly, to analyze the sales funnel in retail, it is necessary to use slightly different algorithms.

In active sales, a manager can increase the number of inquiries by simply making an offer more potential customers, and, with a constant conversion rate, get an increase in the number of sales.

In retail trade, the marketing department is primarily involved in attracting customers to the store. It must create an image of the store that is most attractive to the buyer. The task is complex and in this article I will not dwell in detail on the issues of creating additional traffic.

Retail conversion rates vary significantly depending on the industry. When trading in a boutique, it can be 0.5 or even 0.1. But the boutique has a consultant who makes “personal” sales and can directly influence the conversion rate.

The situation at the grocery store is completely different. As a rule, a buyer goes to a grocery store for a product that:

  • he needs
  • guaranteed to be present in this store

There may not be a consultant. At the same time, the conversion rate still tends to 1. As a rule, counting the number of store visitors who came but did not make a purchase is quite difficult and expensive. In order for the sales funnel indicator to work effectively in retail, it is necessary to set a lower limit (minimum receipt amount) at which the purchase is considered to be completed. Conventionally, 100, 200, 300 rubles. Setting a lower limit for the check amount will allow you to distinguish loyal customers from customers who did not find the product they were looking for, bought the bare minimum and left unsatisfied.

The second multiplier is the amount of sales, or the amount of the average check. IN general view The distribution of check amounts is as follows, shown in Figure 2. The figure shows an example of the distribution of purchase amounts and the average check amount for 20 purchases. With a larger number of checks, it makes sense to determine the number of checks that fall within a certain range.

What parameters directly affect the store’s turnover?

  • Number of customers (receipts) in the store as a whole
  • Number of checks for an amount exceeding the minimum amount
  • Conversion rate
  • Average check amount for the store

Rice. 2. Information about the amount of the receipt for the store as a whole.

The store's assortment consists of an assortment of product categories. The overall level of sales is influenced by two groups of employees: a marketer who determines positioning, a strategy for attracting customers and a general promotion policy, and category managers who solve the same problems, but at the product category level.

When managing sales in a product category, conversion rate equal to the ratio the number of “receipts” containing goods of this category to the total number of receipts in the store. (This coefficient is also called the category penetration coefficient). The conversion rate is calculated based on information about the number of receipts that contained at least one unit of product from a given category.

Calculation of the amount average sales(average receipt) in a product category should be calculated as the ratio of the amount of sales in the category to the number of “receipts” in which the product was present (Fig. 3).

To assess the quality of work in a category, you must use two parameters:

  • Category Conversion Rate
  • Average bill amount in the category

Rice. 3. Information on sales of the product category.

We divided the general task of increasing turnover into intermediate tasks: increasing customer flow, increasing the average check in the store and by category, increasing conversion in the store and by category. Different departments and employees are responsible for these indicators. Now you can set specific tasks for them.

We will set the tasks using an example close to reality. Current situation Things to do in the store are as follows:

Table 1. Current value of indicators.

Objective: Increasing trade turnover.

To increase trade turnover you need to:

  • in each product category, increase conversion and average check amount. The task is assigned to category managers;
  • create an additional flow of customers through advertising campaigns and marketing campaigns. The task is carried out by the marketing department;
  • increase conversion and the average check for the store as a whole, by correctly allocating advertising budgets and helping category managers achieve their target indicators in categories. The task is carried out by the marketing department.

We set a goal: over the next 6 months, increase each of the indicators by 5% (a completely feasible task!). The target list is shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Target list for increasing trade turnover.

We define a plan for improving performance.

We make a list of necessary activities:

1. activities aimed at increasing the number of store visitors

  • informing customers about promotions aimed at attracting new customers
  • holding promotions to encourage repeat purchases
  • carrying out loyalty programs
  • celebrations
  • promotions that shape the store’s image and overall customer loyalty, etc.

2. measures aimed at increasing the average check and store conversion

  • provision of cumulative discounts
  • sale of sets
  • providing a discount upon purchase for a certain amount

3. activities aimed at increasing conversion in the category:

  1. Cross merchandising
  2. Additional product display
  3. Carrying out price promotions
  4. Participation in sets and promotions held in the store as a whole
  5. Activities aimed at increasing the average bill in the category:
  6. Discount for a set in a category
  7. Discount for quantity of goods
  8. Incentivizing the purchase of more expensive goods
  9. Any type of marketing activity

Each manager is required to draw up an action plan for 6 months.

Based on the action plan, we draw up a monthly plan for achieving indicators. When drawing up a plan, we take into account seasonality and sales statistics, since the task of our technologies is to increase sales in retail trade in addition to seasonal and other factors.

Table 3. Monthly plan by indicators.

At the first stage of technology application retail sales goods, when setting the task, we considered an increase in trade turnover by 5% as an ambitious goal. At the same time, we knew the general set of methods, but were not ready to use them purposefully and evaluate the effectiveness of the selected retail sales technologies.

We have created the best situation to increase trade turnover:

  • We determined which indicators affect trade turnover
  • We found out which departments and employees influence the values ​​of indicators
  • We assigned a task to each department and employee
  • Created an action plan to achieve the goal
  • We drew up a plan to achieve the goal for each indicator

Now you need to create a master plan for the store.

Table 4. Plan for increasing trade turnover.

Table 4 shows that our plan, which provides for an increase in individual indicators of only 5%, can increase store turnover by 10%. If the growth plan for all categories is fulfilled, then the growth in trade turnover could be 16% due to the synergistic effect. At the same time, a specific performer is responsible for the growth of each indicator.

The same technique can be used to solve the problem of reducing costs, increasing profits and other tasks facing the company.

In order to be the best in a crisis you must:

  1. Select indicators that are important for assessing the company’s performance
  2. Determine what and who influences the value of each indicator
  3. Assess the values ​​of these indicators among competitors and industry leaders
  4. Set a goal for each indicator
  5. Using the best situation synthesis technology, develop a plan to achieve target values
  6. Determine and reserve a budget to achieve the goal
  7. Regularly evaluate the results and, if necessary, adjust the technology to increase sales.

And don’t forget to monitor the market and the actions of your competitors. They can also set ambitious goals for themselves.

1. Introduce bonuses for the number of meetings for managers exceeding the average.

2. Strengthen the visualization of sales results using chips, buttons, squares, pictures

3. Introduce negotiation matches for managers once a month.

4. Run a test drive of your product, service, service, etc. For a few days, for a week, for a month.

5. Place stickers on your products with information about a special offer.

6. Buy an expensive coffee maker for clients.

7. Place a video greeting from the director on the main page of the site.

8. Mail memorable postcards to clients.

9. Implement interactive map directions in the contacts section.

11. Conduct correspondence with clients via WhatsApp.

12. Post a fun corporate newspaper in the public domain.

13. Make a beautiful design commercial offer to PDF and use it in business correspondence.

15. Create an original greeting that the client hears during the call.

16. Implement letter templates for managers for all occasions.

17. Implement cloud CRM.

18. Create a script for successful negotiations and monitor its implementation.

19. Launch 2-3 new marketing campaigns every month.

20. Hire a sales department assistant and shift as much paperwork from the managers to him as possible.

21. Give an employee a monthly bonus for best idea to increase sales.

22. Appoint one of the employees as the chief information officer on competitors.

23. Launch remote sales without opening an office in all key regions.

24. Hire another employee for cold calls.

25. Compare your website and 10 competitors in your industry - maybe it's time to improve it.

26. Make a selling price list.

27. Work with managers on 3 options for presenting your company: in 1 minute, in 10 minutes and in 30 minutes.

28. Convene a strategic sales session with the participation of consultants and all managers.

29. Develop a system of guarantees and returns without any conditions for customers.

30. Analyze the sources of information about potential clients.

31. Teach managers to quickly determine what is most important for the client - price, quality, speed of problem resolution, completeness of the solution, reliability.

32. Delegate more authority to managers to provide discounts and bonuses.

33. Find several assortment items for which it is painless to raise prices.

34. Work on the company's presence on social networks.

35. Move to an open-space office.

36. Add 3-4 lead generation channels.

37. Order a professional photo session for all employees and place it in the reception area.

Introduction

The Russian stationery market is growing rapidly, which is associated with the opening of new companies and, accordingly, new offices. In addition, the number of so-called home offices is growing, so the demand for office supplies is not slowing down. The approximate annual growth in stationery consumption is 15%.

Compared to Western countries Demand for stationery remains low. The assortment of stationery, which is in great demand among us, amounts to approximately 1–3 thousand items. Western companies on average have an assortment of 5–7 thousand items, and large distributors of office supplies offer their consumers, along with the accompanying assortment, up to 15 thousand items of products.

In the import structure a large share occupied by products from Southeast Asian countries; in some product groups the share of Asian products reaches 30–60%. However, the market leaders are European brands. Their strengths: low price, a wide range and frequent changes in the model range.

The main trend in the stationery market is the growth of Russian production, import substitution of groups of goods with maximum turnover (folders of all types, writing instruments, trays, proofreading). The quality of Russian stationery is not inferior to imported ones, and the prices are lower.

There is an obvious trend in the market of growing demand for value-added products - consumers are willing to pay more for high-quality and functional products with a modern design, as well as for new products.

The majority of the stationery market is occupied by the office goods segment. The main types of office goods include: A4 and A3 paper (white and colored); writing instruments; file folders; soft plastic products (various folders, corner folders, file folders); hard plastic products (trays, vertical storage units), glue and proofreading. The structure of the office goods market is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 – Russian office goods market

Annual Capacity national market Office supplies in general today amount to $2–2.4 billion. At the same time, the share of office supplies, including office paper, is $1.5–1.8 billion. The growth of the office supply industry is due to an increase in supplies of office supplies for office. The share of sales of Russian paper, which is cheaper and is gradually replacing imported paper, has increased significantly.

As a result of the analysis of the market situation, it is obvious that, along with the overall economic growth, the growth in consumption of stationery and office paper will also grow in proportion to the overall growth. According to market experts, Russians will increase purchases of office supplies by approximately 20% annually over the next five years. Market growth will be achieved primarily due to increased consumption of office supplies and format paper.

For the average office supply buyer, the priority criterion when choosing a store or company is a wide assortment, but keeping everything that exists on the office supplies market on the counter or warehouse of an office supply company is not only impossible, but also extremely thoughtless.

Therefore the chosen topic thesis“The development of measures to increase sales and expand the assortment of Matr-L LLC is relevant, since the stationery market is expected to grow significantly in the coming years.

The consumer, including corporate, now perceives office supplies as an integral part of their consumer basket, although their level of consumption lags far behind the level of consumption of other product groups, there is potential for the development of this market.

The goal of the work is to develop measures to increase sales and expand the range. In accordance with the goal, it is necessary to solve the following tasks:

Consider theoretical aspects marketing in trading activities;

Determine the principles of assortment management;

Give organizational and economic characteristics of the enterprise;

Conduct an analysis of the enterprise’s turnover, labor resources, distribution costs and financial results in trade;

Conduct analysis financial condition trade organization.

Conduct an analysis of industrial hazards in the organization;

Develop measures aimed at increasing sales volume and expanding the assortment of Metr-L LLC;

Consider the software and hardware used in the enterprise and the improvement of information processing technologies;

Make an economic justification for the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed measures to increase sales and expand the range of office supplies.

The theoretical basis is regulatory documents, works and publications in periodicals by the following authors: Abryutina M.S., Artemenko V.G., Bellendir M.V., Babaeva Yu.A., Berdnikova T.B., Vasilyeva L.S., Petrovskaya M.V. , Voitolovsky N.V., Gilyarovskaya L.T., Lysenko D.V., Dontsova L.V. Nikiforova N.A. Efimova O.V., Melnik M.V., Ionova A.F., Selezneva N.N., Kravchenko L.I., Markaryan E.A., Gerasimenko G.P., Ronova G.N., Savitskaya G. .V., and others.

1. Theoretical part

1.1 Marketing in trading activities : purchasing and sales

Implementation of marketing in trading activities extremely relevant, since trade marketing is an important part of the overall marketing concept and actively influences the production sector. The industry, through a network of intermediary structures, receives timely information about customer demand for certain products. In some cases, taking into account consumer demand makes it possible to reorient production to produce new goods based on an economic assessment of the cost of goods and their impact on the existing assortment.

Marketing research, helping to implement a targeted assortment policy, thereby contributes to increased profits and reduced commercial risk. A comprehensive study of consumer demand guides manufacturers (suppliers of goods) to timely update the range and quality of products.

Conducting marketing research in trade structures, as in any area of ​​their application, involves the use of publicly available methods of system analysis, program-targeted, economic and statistical approaches, methods of probability theory and mathematical programming.

Research can be carried out in-house or with the assistance of specialized organizations and involve a targeted search for reliable information. In the near future, commercial transactions with will be carried out with the involvement of Internet marketing, which will open up wide opportunities for the sale of goods not only in our country, but throughout the world.

At the same time, the process of carrying out various commercial transactions will significantly speed up. The use of modern information trade and intermediary organizations is the basis for increasing the efficiency of their commercial activities.

1.1.1 Procurement marketing

Purchasing and marketing of material resources in conditions market relations is unthinkable without the use of marketing elements both at the enterprise itself and in the market for the purchase and sale of goods. Let's consider the main directions of marketing research in the purchasing and sales activities of intermediary organizations.

The main goal of procurement marketing is to identify the necessary goods in the right quantity, of appropriate quality, in right time to subsequently meet consumer demand. Approximate diagram product distribution is presented in Figure 2.


Figure 2 – Scheme of goods distribution with the participation of a trade and intermediary organization

With such a supply chain, the information flow follows in the opposite direction - from the consumer to the supplier in order to satisfy consumer demand for types of products, quantity, quality, time of receipt, prices for materials and other characteristics of materials.

As already mentioned, organizing the purchase of material resources from industrial enterprises for the purpose of their subsequent sale to consumers is one of the main functions of wholesale intermediary organizations. At the same time, when purchasing material resources, intermediary structures influence suppliers in order to improve the quality of products, expand their range and subsequently meet consumer demand.

Purchasing activities include a set of operations to identify sources of procurement of materials, study consumer demand, form and submit orders to suppliers for production, and subsequently supply the necessary goods. The decision to purchase material resources is made taking into account price, quantity, quality and level of customer service.

After determining the need for material resources, suppliers are identified who can supply the necessary products. When choosing suppliers, prices for supplied products, delivery times and quality of goods must be agreed upon. An important criterion is the reliability of the supplier, which reduces the risk of untimely deliveries.

Procurement marketing can be represented in stages:

Definition of consumers;

Analysis of procurement sources;

Procurement market research;

Selection of material suppliers;

Using a procurement marketing tool;

Negotiations on delivery terms;

Placing orders;

Control over the receipt of goods;

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From time to time, websites run advertising promotions to attract customers. Even if a company offers the consumer some kind of discount, it is not at all a fact that this promotion will attract the customer’s attention. Why? How do stores usually reason when giving a customer a discount? A simple example. Gave a 10-15% discount to visitors and sit, sip coffee and don’t forget to count the money from sales. But that was not the case.

In fact, if you follow this principle, store sales will tend to zero. Competition is growing every day. And there is less and less creativity, and advertising campaigns are no exception. Everyone gives a 10-15% discount for selection and waits for something, working at a loss. But there is a discount! What promotions are needed then to increase sales?

Promotions to attract customers

1. Express savings as a percentage and in rubles

Let's consider an example: the company decided to hold a promotion to attract attention: “Gives a 15% discount on a product that costs 7,590 rubles.” It may seem that the prospect of saving 15% will help attract a client and increase sales.

What really? The client does not see his benefit: 15% is how much in rubles? Correct answer: 1138.50 rub. But do you think customers will calculate this themselves to understand how much they are saving? Most won't bother with this. Rather, they will look for another store where it is clearly and specifically indicated how much they can save. Fortunately, there is a lot of choice now.

The solution is obvious: To attract, indicate exactly how much the client saves when purchasing a product in the store. Agree, “savings - 1138.50 rubles.” sounds clearer and more interesting than “some 15% discount.”

2. Short deadline

The shorter the duration of your promotion, the better for increasing sales. What does the client think when the company decides to hold a promotion that is valid for 1-1.5 months? “I’ll have time, what’s the hurry. I have a whole month ahead of me.” It’s not hard to guess that the client will simply forget about the interesting promotion. And the company will wait for him to remember about the excellent offer and hurry up to place an order.

Promotion to increase store sales

This promotion is very popular among car sellers to increase sales. An example of an attraction method: On the last day of the month, car buyers can receive a RUB 5,000 discount. True, there are no cheap cars available, but there is one in a more expensive configuration. With a discount it will cost the same as a cheap one without a discount.

And another interesting condition of the promotion: the sale must be completed today, before the last day of the last month ends. Many customers are aware of the tricks of sellers, but still fall for these promotions.

Example of a promotion: Today is SALE! TODAY ONLY... Bring this car home in time for dinner. The keys are in the ignition, the tank is full, she's waiting for you!

Time is a tool for creating scarcity. Phrases like “Offer valid for a limited time” create the effect of time pressure. This helps attract customers to the store.

3. Prepayment

Does the company provide prepayment services? A client who is ready to pay 100% immediately should be given a discount.

4. Pre-order

Another situation: soon some new goods or services should go on sale in the store. But you can start actively promoting them now. Warm up your customers' interest in upcoming new products, including through interesting promotions. Example: take and provide a discount to those customers who placed an order for a new service/product before the start of sales.

5. Rationale

Any promotion launched by the company must be “transparent”. “What’s the point of such generosity,” the buyer might think. Perhaps they are selling him another product that has been left behind or is not in demand? And no one wants to be a donkey.

To prevent this from happening, it is important to justify your interesting promotions. Example: “In honor of a holiday”, “For the company’s birthday”, “Store opening”, “Seasonal discounts” or something else.

6. Gift

A discount is good, but a gift is better. It is more tangible and understandable for the client.

Marketing campaign for stores

Example: “When purchasing in our store for an amount of 6,900 rubles. one of four exclusive shower gels as a gift” (Fig. 1)

Fig. 1 A discount is good, but a gift is better

7. Club cards

Pamper your regular customers. Don't forget about them. They are your loyal fans, cheerleaders. They need to be treated with care. Come up with some special, interesting promotions for them. Available only to them. Show that they belong to a privileged, exclusive club.

8. 1 purchase = 10 gifts

Be more creative in your sales. Come up with new formats promotions.

Promotions for stores

Example: Provide a discount when purchasing a larger volume (Fig. 2). Or make not one gift, but several - a kind of set. “For any purchase in the amount of 3,000 rubles. in the period from June 1 to June 10, you receive 10 gifts."

Fig. 2 A discount for the volume of a one-time purchase encourages buyers to purchase a larger “batch” of goods

9. Cumulative discounts

This type of promotion will help attract new customers and form a base of regular ones. It will be more difficult for the client to leave and make a purchase from someone other than you. You thereby “softly” tie him to your company.

10. Related products

Make an interesting promotion not for the main product, but for some related product. Thus, the sale is no longer just one product, but a complete set. At the same time increasing store sales.

11. Only one pair left in your size

An artificial shortage in a store is created very simply. When we see the phrase “Only one pair left in your size” or “Last set left in stock,” we subconsciously feel that we better hurry up and make a purchase. Artificial scarcity is good for attracting attention and increasing sales.

Example of a promotion for travel agencies

“Buy now! Only 2 tickets left at this price!

Thus, if there is a shortage of any product, its value in our eyes increases and we want to get it even more. The product becomes more valuable and desirable to us.

12. Expensive things can’t be bad.

The promotion is that the more expensive the product (and therefore less accessible), the higher its quality. We subconsciously prefer expensive goods. Our subconscious tells us: expensive means good!

13. Sorry, but you can't have it.

Another promotion is to introduce restrictions from time to time. When something cannot be obtained, then real scarcity begins. The more inaccessible the goal, the more stronger desire achieve it. As a result, the stricter the prohibitions in stocks, the more we will strive to circumvent them.

Bottom line: The value and desirability of any thing often depends on how difficult it is to obtain. Limited products or promotional periods create a subconscious fear among visitors that they may be late. And this forces them to act.

Promotions to attract customers: 3 important rules

  • The promotion must justify your costs. Don't work at a loss.
  • Don't sell discounted items en masse. On the one hand, you will get more attracted customers, but you are sure that they will buy your product without a discount. Introduce promotions proportionally - only for a limited set of goods.
  • Make new promotions on miscellaneous goods at different periods of time. And watch the reaction of buyers.

Efficiency of the actions carried out

Take a look at your stocks and adjust them based on the recommendations outlined. Using the 13 examples of the best options outlined in the article.

Successful promotions to you!

P.S. Do you want to increase sales without increasing your advertising budget? Then this is the place for you - Increase conversion

The article was written for the magazine “Marketer”

Read other useful articles

Imagine company N., which is engaged in wholesale supplies of X components for Y enterprises. On the market this company has been there for several years, there is a base of regular customers, profits, business is slowly going uphill... Well, everything, in general, is more or less normal.
Now imagine the sales department of this company. A large, bright room, tables, computers, telephones, printers... Managers, of course, in business suits, already stained, sit - spit at the ceiling, tell jokes... Between passing a new level in a “standard” office toy, they process incoming applications from partners. The once former sales department has turned from a machine actively pushing the market into a perverted semblance of customer service. Yes, of course, they get new clients, but from where???! In this regard, the reputation and marketing policy of the company helps out, that is, our, so to speak, “merchants” work on the incoming flow and “don’t give a damn.” Moreover, they get pretty good money for all this.

What led the department to such a “collapse” decrease in the efficiency of the functions it performs?

And what to do to optimize its activities?

The reason is simple. Managers, in the process of “stuffing” the client base, constantly increased the number of incoming applications processed. Accordingly, the time for searching became less and less. And one day the number of clients reached the maximum that the manager can process. He works with them for a day, another, a month, six months and then BAM!!! “That’s it: I’m just sitting in the office, and the work goes on, the salary grows...” What happens next - and nothing: the businessman, step by step, begins to degrade... He becomes lazy: making a couple of calls is now a whole problem for him, but holding a meeting - WHAT ARE YOU, WHAT A MEETING: “the soldier is sleeping - the service is in progress”!! ! Such managers are dangerous because their IBD (imitation of vigorous activity) indicator is very high, this already works at a professional level. As soon as the boss enters the room, everyone immediately grabs their phones, starts counting something, writing, and even asking the head of the council: “Ivan Ivanovich, I just talked to the client, he’s asking for a deferment for two weeks, should I give it or not?” »
Department heads, intoxicated by the joy of reports arriving on time, do not even realize that every day they are missing out on a huge amount of money, that competitors have long been ahead and are dividing the market in their own way.

What is the best thing to do in such a situation!?

You will never be able to make them work as before, never and under any circumstances - this is 100%, if you want 1000%. Therefore, don’t even waste your energy and nerves. Because they will sabotage in such a way, even in a “technical” way, that it won’t seem like much!
And take note! They already have such friendly relations with clients that, if desired, they will take their entire accumulated base to competitors.
However (But fortunately), everything is not as bad as it seems at first glance! And the solution won’t take long to arrive!
Given this balance of power, it is necessary to build a new commercial service in parallel, while the old one will smoothly develop into a customer service department - customer service.
You have formed a new organizational structure of the sales department, which clearly separates new customers from those making systematic purchases. Some sell, others serve, the most logical sales model!
It is important to take into account that less qualified personnel are required for customer service. Minimum program: knowledge of the product, market specifics, plus a computer. This means that wages in this department will be significantly lower, so soon your obese “commercials” will be replaced by young, pleasant-looking girls.

2. Adjust the motivation system for your sellers.

A well-built motivation system is a very serious tool for increasing the efficiency of the sales department, and it doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about b2b or b2c sales.
In one of the companies, there was such a case. The managers of the commercial department, in addition to the bonus on the first sale, received a small percentage of current payments, i.e. from those clients whom they brought a long time ago and are now being served by the client department. So, after a couple of years, this small percentage was enough not to receive a salary. The manager found out by chance that employees could get money so easily. One day he overheard a conversation between an “experienced” businessman and a newcomer in the smoking room, who said: “You will work for two years, and then you will live on the interest from the current ones. The main thing is to behave quietly: don’t be late, submit reports on time, smile, there are “inboxes”, we will share...”
Can you imagine how much money was wasted, it’s terrible.
If the “dogs” are full, what kind of hunting can there be! (may the sellers forgive me for such a comparison).
The motivation system is a powerful management lever! The main thing is to use it wisely.
Reviewing ratios and percentages is as important as changing sales plans. Many companies work the “old fashioned way”: the standard scheme is salary +%. But it doesn't work anymore, forget it!
If you want to keep salespeople on their toes, if you want high intensity in their work, then take into account other indicators when calculating your salary: the number of calls (cold, repeat), the number of meetings, the number of contracts, conversions, average bill, average time “from call to contract”, carrying out assignments within the framework of the project (to improve the quality of service, to study consumer demand, etc.).
Of course, the main principle of any motivation system is its transparency and ease of perception. But fortunately, today's capabilities make it possible to make this calculation automatic and take into account dozens of employee performance indicators. For example, the simplest way is Excel spreadsheet. A manager, filling out a daily report, can immediately see his results in the context of one day or week, how much he has accomplished, from the sales plan, what needs to be improved, where the standards have already been exceeded.

Check the relevance of your motivation system!

3. Set sales plans

Maybe someone will consider this method absurd, but believe me, there are many commercial organizations where there is no sales planning, and if they exist, it is only formally.
No sales plan = bankruptcy plan.
The planning process is nothing more than creating a virtual model of what should happen. If you do not have a sales plan, then it will be very difficult for you to evaluate the effectiveness of your work and measure the result, and without measurement, there is no management, in principle.

Let's look at the main stages of drawing up a sales plan:
1) Planning begins with an annual sales plan. Yes, yes, exactly since the year!
Without complicating things, you take the indicators for last year(100 million rubles), add to them the percentage of growth in the industry (10% = 110 million rubles) and add the percentage of growth that you would like to receive (10% = 121 million rubles).
2) Next, you break down the plan by sales channels, according to your specifics, example:

  • Current dealers (40% = 48 million rubles)
  • Newly attracted dealers (20% = 24 million rubles)
  • Tenders and government procurement (10% = 12 million rubles)
  • One-time corporate orders (10 = 12 million rubles)
  • Own sales network (20% = 24 million rubles)
  • Etc. (1 million rub.)

3) Next step: we break down these amounts by sales department and by each manager personally. Current dealers work in customer service, new dealers work in the commercial department, then in the corporate orders department, chain store directors, etc.
4) After which you divide these figures into quarters and months, taking into account seasonality, the experience of the previous year, product range, and so on.
Using this simple method, you can set sales plans for all departments for the whole year.
It is important to note one trick!

Ideally, a sales plan is drawn up from two sides: from your employees, and directly from you. When they are agreed upon, something in between is born, and the manager perceives these numbers as a document developed by himself, and therefore thinks more about how to implement it, rather than how to explain why it cannot be fulfilled.
Everyone has their own idea of ​​the future and everyone will believe that their plan is “correct.” You, as a leader, will say that the market allows you to grow and you need to take advantage of it! And the managers, in turn, will fight back and say that their life is hard, the market is not rubber, there are a lot of competitors, and that Russia is not Europe.
Be prepared for this!

4. Provide “total” knowledge of the product.

In fact, not all sales managers know the product they sell well, no matter how strange it may sound. Every day, at meetings, a huge number of deals break down due to the incompetence of managers in matters of the specifics of the product. This especially applies to technological products. I think: many people are familiar with the situation when, during negotiations, a client asks a question that you never expected to hear: “Please tell me the exact data on the heat transfer resistance coefficient of your concrete, since we will use it in the northern regions, for us this is extremely important… ". At this moment your eye twitches and your leg cramps - what did he say? YOU take out the phone, saying: “Now I’ll clarify,” call the senior, and, not knowing how to formulate the question, hand the phone to the client...
Any buyer wants to work with professionals! Such a desire is justified at the level of human psychology - they trust professionals, and if there is trust, then there is a purchase.
First of all, the client should see the seller as an expert, an expert in his field, capable of solving any problem and knowing the answers to all possible questions.

Ignorance, or superficial knowledge of information about the product, puts the manager in a stupid position. The client forms an opinion about the company by communicating with a specific person. You will never be able to explain to the client that “he was a beginner, forgive him, now we will send a pro, wait.” No one will wait for you! But you can definitely eliminate such situations in a simple way:

Firstly, collect all possible client questions related to the characteristics of the product;
Secondly, Naturally, write down the answers;
Thirdly, carry out certification for knowledge of the product (those who do not pass are not allowed to negotiate);
Fourthly, supplement the list with new issues that managers face during negotiations;
And finally, fifthly, in case of the slightest change in any characteristics or properties of the product, when adding a new product to the line, add new questions.

Thus, you will constantly form an updated “knowledge base” on the technical characteristics and properties of the product.
Conduct training in the form of “question-answer” - this is the simplest and most effective model for memorizing such material.
Naturally, it is impossible to foresee everything. Therefore, to reduce the risk of deal failure, arm managers with tables, lists, photographs, and any materials that will allow the manager to get out of an awkward situation when selling your product.

Example:
You sell nails. Have your manager carry these nails with him to meetings, one of each type. I don’t know a table with the characteristics of the metal from which they are made: torsional stress, bending, tension, what else is there. And in the car, let him have a hammer, a board, and all the same notorious nails, but only from Chinese competitors. He doesn’t believe that you have the best nails, let him try (to pull it out of his hand).

But what to do if a situation arises when you don’t know what to answer?!

Firstly, Don't worry! Until you start to worry, you still have the status of an expert.
Secondly, clarify the question by repeating what your opponent said (writing it down). This way you will show that you are listening to him carefully and gently point out that you are not ready for such a question.
Thirdly, say that you haven’t been asked such a question for a long time, always with a smile, and looking straight into his eyes until he looks away. (“To be honest, I don’t remember when last time I was asked about this...")
Fourthly, turn your ignorance 180 degrees to your advantage: appeal to the client’s competence in this matter. Somehow: “...it’s rare to meet a true professional in our industry...”.
Fifthly, ask permission to clarify the information. It’s better to do it in this form: “...let me check this data with the brand manager, perhaps something has changed, it will take no more than a minute...”.
These recommendations will be enough so that “gaps” in product knowledge gradually disappear, and those that arise cannot negatively affect the outcome of the meeting.

5. Create a “sales book” for the department.

What is a “sales book”?
In any business, there is the difficulty of adapting newcomers to a new place. Now I’m not talking about “acclimatizing” a beginner in a new team, but about teaching him your technologies and operating principles. Of course there is job descriptions, standards, regulations that fall on the head of an intern employee: “Study!!! I'll check!!!"
Do you think there is such a knowledge base that will allow you to integrate a new link into the sales process in a few days (3-4 days)? Which will allow you to test a newbie within a few days. Do you have time for " probationary periods"? Can you wait for a newbie to “pass an internship”, after which there is a possibility of hearing: “Nah, this job is not for me”?
So there you go! This “litmus test” is the “sales book”.
Nothing stands still - everything develops! Our business is developing, our clients are developing, the products we offer are being modernized, and our approaches to work are changing. What was a unique selling proposition just yesterday is today considered the norm in the industry. How to manage to adjust all these standards and regulations, how to react to external changes with lightning speed?
The “sales book” will allow you to keep your business in shape!
Every day, our managers, fulfilling their professional duty, gain invaluable experience: they find new solutions for effective sales, initiate changes in the sales system, open up new opportunities for concluding deals... Where can we accumulate this knowledge and findings? That's right - in the “sales book”.

The main advantage of the “sales book” is that you get a tool for organizing a self-developing sales department.
About the principles:
There is no form or strict plan for creating this document. This is its essence. Main principle– a “living” document. It is constantly changing and supplemented both directly by the manager and by the sales department employees. This form of exchange of experience has a positive effect on the formation of team spirit in the company. All experience and knowledge are stored in one place: all the techniques, all the answers to questions, the best objections and effective speech modules - everything “acquired through back-breaking labor.”
About the structure:
The Sales Book is based on two sections:
1. Organization of the sales process
2. Sales principles and techniques
In the first part, you indicate all the schemes of interaction with the client: who is the client for you, what does he look like, how to work with him, the client’s path, what documents to fill out, where to place them, pricing principles, USP, customer loyalty incentive programs, etc. . In general, everything related to the sales process is contained in the first block.
The second block is devoted to the principles and technologies of sales used in your company. For example, “cold calling”. It describes in detail what they are and how to make them.
Example:
Section 3.14. "cold calls"
Description: “cold calling” is a tool for attracting new clients to our company. “Cold” because the potential client is not waiting for our call, and has not considered the possibility of cooperation with us. Blah blah blah...
Scheme:
1. Welcome – presentation
Script: Good afternoon, my name is….
2. Explanation of the purpose of the call
Script: Who can I discuss with...
3. …
4. …
In short - yes.

The main thing is that you describe in detail all the algorithms and specific scripts, preferably with an explanation: why we say this, what technology we use. So that the seller is aware of what he is doing.
Writing a “sales book” is very creative process. I have come across “sales books” in which the organizational structure of the department, a description of business processes, and standard forms reports. This construction of a “sales book” is actually very convenient. I am sure that, after some time, commercial organizations They will completely abandon standards, regulations, instructions and other bureaucratic “pornography”. Personally, in my business, I have already abolished many documents. The simpler the better and more effective. After all, it’s no secret that “everything ingenious is simple”! Isn't that right!?

6. Provide customer feedback.

How do you know what YOU are doing wrong? How can you improve your company’s performance so as to satisfy not only your own needs, but also take into account the wishes of your customers? How to find out: how can my company be better than others?
Ask your clients about this.
Many clients, in addition to working with your company, have one or more suppliers, that is, they work with your competitors.
Clients, like no one else, know the state of affairs on the market. Who offers what, in what time frame and how they deliver it, what’s new and when, and a lot of other information is floating around in the client environment.
“Feedback” is not only a way to find out how competitors behave, what they are doing and what they are planning, but also a way to get ahead of them, that is, to use the information received when developing a USP.
Naturally, you should not ask: “Well, what are our competitors doing?” " The “feedback” questionnaire should contain a question of the following nature: “What changes in the work of our company will allow us to count on an increase in the volume of purchases on your part? ", something like that. You can use other words, but keeping the meaning - why do you work not only with us?
“Feedback” will also help you learn about matters within the company: about minor problems that are not so significant, but create certain inconveniences in work.
For example:
If your warehouse opens an hour earlier, it will be convenient for 5 of your clients. Agree: it’s worth paying the storekeeper extra for an hour of work if it’s important for so many clients.

So, create a “feedback” questionnaire. Construct the questions in such a way that the answer is detailed (open questions). Use assessment questions. The number of questions is not critical and depends on the number of points of contact between the client and your company.
Example:
1. What should be changed in the work of our company?
2. What additional products or services would you be comfortable purchasing from us?
3. Rate the professional training of the customer service on a 5-point scale.
4. Rate our work.
5. ….

If, when answering a question with an assessment, the client says: “Yes, everything is fine - a solid 4,” then clarify: why not five.
Also an important point when organizing “feedback” is systematic approach. That is, it is not enough to call the client once a year with the question: “How are you?”

The effect of this tool will be noticeable only in two cases:
1. You will conduct customer loyalty audits constantly.
2. Based on the information received, decisions will be made and specific actions will be taken.
Appoint someone responsible for “feedback”, set aside a day to collect information and compile a report. You should not call too often, one call per month is enough. Conduct a quick survey (for example, questions regarding employee suitability and ease of work), and once a quarter do a detailed survey with suggestions and recommendations. Also consider the seasonality of your business if you sell farms diesel fuel for combines, then in January, call with the question: “What will allow us to increase purchase volumes? " - a little stupid.
Introduce feedback and use the information for its intended purpose.

7. Attract clients using cold calls

In b2b sales there is such a thing as “cold calling”. This is nothing more than the main active sales tool for attracting customers. Many companies neglect this way of increasing profits, and in vain. The skepticism is easily explained:
firstly, someone tried to introduce “cold calling” into their sales model, and not getting the desired effect, abandoned them forever;
secondly, the marketing policy of some companies allows them to attract a certain number of customers solely through advertising, and in principle this is enough for them. But most likely, I would like more!
In the first case, everything is clear: if you don’t know how to fly an airplane, you shouldn’t take the helm. Illiterate cold calling can do more harm to a company than produce any positive results.
In the second case, the situation is more complicated: things seem to be going well, the number of clients is growing, what else is needed to develop the business, but... Imagine: managers of your closest competitor make 100 “cold calls” a day... And what do you think: in whose favor will the market percentage be? in another year?!

So, in order to attract clients using cold calls, you need to start making them! You ask how? In eight steps:
1. Divide the region in which you work into sectors: if you work for the whole of Russia, divide Russia; if you work for the whole world, cut the globe.
2. Assign a responsible manager to each sector (he may have several more managers subordinate to him, then they divide their sector into several more).
3. Each manager needs to collect all contacts of potential clients in his sector, and all the necessary information about them.
4. Collect all contacts of your competitors in this sector and information about them.
5. Make a SWOT market analysis based on the information received, and develop a commercial proposal for each sector.
6. Create a cold calling script.
7. Set a plan for the number of “cold calls” per month and per day.
8. Implement a daily report (Excel format is fine) based on the results of calls.
In principle, this will be enough for your “cold calls” to work and begin to produce positive results.
Please note that when using this tool, a systematic approach is essential. The first calls will not be as successful as we would like, but everything comes with experience.

8. Structure the negotiation process.

Your manager returned from negotiations, and to the question: “Well, who are they working with now?” “, - he answers guiltily: “I don’t know, I forgot to clarify.” How, in this case, can you build a profitable commercial offer - yes, no way. And calling back with the question: “I forgot to ask…” is stupid, to say the least.
In general, “forgot to ask”, “forgot to clarify” is a widespread phenomenon among active sales managers. This is due not only to the qualifications of employees and the lack of proper experience, but also to the notorious “human factor”. Heavy workload, irregular schedule, high intensity, sales plan - all this affects the quality of negotiations. Especially if the meeting with the client falls in the evening, when your head is no longer in your head and you really want to go home, turn off the phone and go to bed.
I'll tell you about myself in a simple way increase the efficiency of negotiations!
To make negotiations easier, faster, and more effective, use a simple but extremely effective tool -
"questionnaire". What is it?
This is an A4 sheet with a list of questions to be asked at the meeting.
How to compose it?
To begin with, it is necessary to write down, in the form of questions, strategically important information that is necessary to draw up an effective commercial proposal:
What suppliers is it currently working with?
- what items does it purchase, and in what volumes?
- priority deadlines?

In general, all information that, one way or another, will influence the formation of a proposal should be indicated in the “questionnaire”:
1. Then these questions must be arranged in order “from simple to complex.” That is, at the beginning of negotiations, you should not ask what level of capitalization of your investments the client expects when signing the contract.
2. Start with simple questions, or better yet, abstract questions that are not related to the topic of negotiations. Place complex questions that require argumentation in the middle and towards the end of the list. End negotiations too simple questions requiring a positive response.
3. Between questions, do free space to record client responses.
4. Try to make sure that your “questionnaire” contains at least 10 questions. If their number is smaller, then there is a risk of missing important details, and besides, such a document will not look serious. The point is that you need to use this tool openly. That is, during negotiations, you put a “questionnaire” on the table in a beautiful, branded folder, and, without hesitation, use it for its intended purpose, while writing down the client’s answers.
This tool will allow your managers to structure the negotiation process. The meetings will take place in the “channel” they set. This is why they will easily control the progress of negotiations and their duration. Such a “questionnaire” shows the client that your employee is not an ordinary manager, but a well-trained professional and he is here to resolve the client’s issues. A document lying on the table disciplines the opponent. The seller feels confident at any “cost” of negotiations.

9. Check what your salespeople do.

Take a close look at your sales team. Are all managers now at their jobs? Probably not. Someone is at a meeting, someone is on a business trip, someone is at lunch, and someone left on behalf of the accounting department... or went to the stationery store to get some paper... but you never know how many other things there are to do in the office that you can get lost in an hour, or even an hour and a half.
Perhaps some types of work indirectly affect the results of sellers: preparing a contract, sending correspondence, preliminary calculations, booking a hotel or tickets. But if all this takes away at least 20% of the seller’s time from his main work, then you will lose at least as much in profit.
You pay the manager a salary - this is the amount that is payment for daily mandatory operations. You also pay a percentage of sales - this is a bonus for its immediate results. But in practice, you pay for his trips to the store, and long calculations of the cost of the first batch, and the preparation of accompanying documents, and a lot of other things you pay for, without even suspecting how much money is passing by.
But the most interesting thing is that to the question: “Where have you been?” ”, - They will answer you, with complete confidence in their eyes and voice: “So the paper has run out, it’s a long wait for delivery, but I need it urgently - so I ran quickly...” (1 hour). The congruence of what is happening will confuse anyone, but...

Under any circumstances and under any circumstances, the SELLER MUST SELL!

If this is not the case, you are losing money. Even if the manager is the only one left who can go for the ill-fated paper, let the chief accountant go, Otherwise, he will not find work in the future. By the way, from an accountant, especially the chief one, you can hear the opposite: “This is not the task of the accounting department,” - remember, this is your accounting department, and YOU pay them, so what they will do is up to you to decide, this is so - by the way.
How to solve this problem?
First, you need to find out how much “working time” sellers spend “to the left.” This is done using working time tracking. Every day, managers must fill out a form in which they record everything, absolutely everything, the operations that they do during the day (the more detailed, the better). Opposite each operation they put the start and end time of work on it. This must be done within a week, no less. Most likely, you won’t receive applause from your employees when you tell them about the innovation, this is normal. Explain that this is being done for their own good, and you just need to understand: are they not overloaded, that the measure is forced and only for one week, after all: “I am the leader, and it’s up to me to decide whether this is necessary or not.” Yes, and also, data must be submitted daily. In the first days, literally stand over them, checking the filling.
This simple tool will allow you to seriously discipline managers - many unnecessary things will go away by themselves.
Secondly, according to the data obtained, it is necessary to divide the time spent directly on sales (cold calls, meetings, preparation for negotiations, follow-up calls, presentations, etc.) and on operations not inherent to the position. If you get more than 10% of your earnings, you need to take action. Which?
Everything that is not related to sales, and which has been discussed a lot above, does not require special qualifications or deep knowledge. Accordingly, such work can be performed by an additional employee with lower pay (usually a small salary).
For example, when calculating, one manager spends 25% of his working time “to the left”. On average, one salesperson sells 100,000 rubles per month, spending 75% of the allotted working time on this. So you don't get extra,
approximately 33,000 rubles per month. This 25% can be outsourced to a personal assistant. Hire the manager a secretary, or an administrator, or whatever you call him, for a minimum salary (15,000 rubles, for example, not bad money for a correspondence student), and this secretary can work for two or even three managers: preparing documents, answering by email, making simple calculations, agreeing on the time and place of the meeting, booking tickets, hotels, etc. She will do everything that takes away the manager's precious capital - time for which you pay.
An assistant, for 15,000 rubles, will pay for itself in the first month, and your sellers will like this form of work when you can prepare papers for signing an agreement without waiting for the end of the meeting.
By the way, more about the benefits of timing working hours. Pay attention to the amount of time spent on reporting; it should be no more than 15 minutes a day (if reports are daily).