In trading, the issue of increasing sales is absolutely commonplace. No matter how much you sell now, the plan will always be a little higher. Otherwise, it's simply not the right plan. And most importantly, the answer to the question of how to increase sales has long been found. You just need to take the time to use the best practices and developments of successful companies.
Sales Success Formula
On the difficult path of increasing sales, it is important to know the formula for success in sales. This formula works for everyone, this formula reflects the very essence of sales. If you learn to use it, you will get what you want. Here is the formula for sales success:
The sales success formula tells you several important things:
- If you want to increase sales, influence the following: traffic, conversion and average bill;
- You must constantly monitor the above indicators. If you do not know your current values of these indicators, this is an alarming signal - you are not in control of the situation;
- It doesn’t matter who you are a business owner or a simple seller, these indicators do not depend on scale, they can simply be called differently;
- While working on one indicator, monitor and control the others. It often happens that the conversion rate has increased, but the average bill has fallen and, as a result, has not changed.
- In an established system, these indicators are in balance and are not so easy to influence.
The last point is especially important on the way to increasing sales. For example, suppose you have a store that sells food products in a residential area of the microdistrict. The store’s audience is constant, the average check and conversion will not change much. In such a system, without changing the assortment and without attracting new customers, sales cannot be greatly increased; there is a ceiling on the consumer market. And your task is to decide whether you have reached the ceiling of this market. If yes, then all the standard methods to increase sales will not help you much; you are unlikely to recoup the costs.
What influences the main KPI indicators
So, when examining the issue of increasing sales, we have already learned 3 main indicators by which sales can be increased. Let's figure out what affects these indicators.
How to increase traffic
Traffic is the number of visitors to your store i.e. potential buyers. Generally speaking, there are two main ways to influence traffic.
Attract new customers to the store
It is worth noting that there are a lot of ways to express yourself to the consumer. All you need to do is choose those that suit you and are the most effective in your sales segment. Here are the main sources of attraction:
- Outdoor advertising and;
- Internet advertising – contextual advertising, targeted advertising, banner advertising;
- SEO – search engine optimization, as well as other free advertising on the Internet;
- SMM – promotion in social networks;
- Customer recommendations (word of mouth);
- Advertising in the media - TV, newspapers, magazines;
By the way, in network marketing you increase incoming traffic solely due to your active actions. This tool is also available to stationary sellers, primarily by working with the existing customer base.
Bring back customers who previously purchased
Customer return is influenced by such indicators as: quality of service, competitiveness of your offer, loyalty systems and bonus cards. IN in this direction Every sane salesperson works. In sales to the corporate segment this is called collecting a database. A seller with a large customer base is highly valued. At the same time, not all trade organizations are seriously engaged in collecting contacts of their clients and their further attraction.
Very interesting point is the long-term nature of these activities. New clients can be attracted quickly enough, but the price of attraction events is quite high. Conversely, creating conditions for clients to return to you again and again is less expensive, but you will not get the effect quickly.
How to increase conversion
Conversion is the percentage of customers who purchased to the total number of potential customers (traffic). The number of leads for each sales type will be different. So for a store this will be customers who come to the store, for a website this is website traffic, for SMM audience coverage, for contextual advertising number of ad clicks and number of ad impressions.
First of all, the internal state of the store (seller, website) is influenced by the more conditions created for purchases, the higher the conversion will be. Conversely, the difficulties that the client encounters when purchasing reduce conversion. Conversion is a hygienic indicator of management professionalism. The main difficulties that reduce conversion in the store:
- , or rather its absence, for example, lack of price tags or inconvenient navigation around the store;
- Queues at checkouts and other factors that reduce the speed of purchase;
In fact, these points are relevant for other types of sales, for example, for a website:
- Ease of site navigation, intuitive design, mobile version etc.;
- Unqualified personnel;
- Complex form to fill out on the website;
- High prices for goods or non-competitive offers;
In general, as we see, to increase conversion and, as a result, sales, it is necessary to restore order and train staff. While generally not that difficult, it is much more difficult to maintain order and the level of knowledge, skills and abilities of your salespeople.
Increasing the average bill
Average bill is how much money one customer spends in your store. The average receipt consists of two components - the number of goods in the receipt and the average purchase price. There are many ways available to you:
- Cross sale (cross sale) is a related product to the main one;
- – this is the sale of a more expensive product to the client;
- – location of related products next to the main one;
- also increases the number of goods in the receipt;
- Expansion of the assortment - often the increase in the average bill is hampered by the lack of one or another product or the lack of expensive goods;
What types of clients are there?
Increasing the average check is, first of all, the correct monetization of incoming traffic. Remember that among the clients who come to you there are always loyal people who will buy everything you offer them. Anyone who has worked in sales will confirm that there are 3 categories of clients:
- Shopaholics buy everything in their path. They receive true happiness from the purchasing process and feel free to communicate with the seller. The main thing is to create a positive attitude for them. They are rare, depending on the sales area from 2 to 10% of the total number of clients.
- Skeptics are suspicious of any activity of the seller. They like to make decisions on their own. With the advent of the Internet, such clients almost completely moved there, although life still drives them to offline stores. No more than 5% of all clients.
- The middle class is ordinary clients for whom it is important to understand what they are paying for. They can exhibit the qualities of both shopaholics and skeptics, it depends on the conditions of sale. The vast majority of clients are like this. If you correctly explain to them that the product meets their needs and is worth the money, then they will buy from you.
Your task as a seller is to create conditions so that shopaholics and the middle class get what they need. Unfortunately, many sellers avoid using methods to increase the average check because they see no point in scaring customers. At the same time, the same seller may be puzzling over the question of how to increase sales.
For the last six years I have been selling myself and teaching others how to sell.
At one time, I was lucky to develop the sales department at IPS (Isaac Pintosevich Systems), close space checks at the Amazon Chamber of Commerce, and now I am building sales in the LABA educational platform.
We sell our products in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Germany and the Baltic countries. This is a rather complex process that requires coordinated work of the entire team.
What happened during these six years?
In the first week of working as a sales manager, I signed 3 contracts totaling $23,000
For a year he held first place in sales among thirty people
Personal record - 372% of plan
Over the course of a year of work, I went from trainee to acting. head of the sales department of the IPS company with thirty sales managers subordinate to him
In one day of the conference I signed contracts with thirty unfamiliar clients
Doubled the turnover of the LABA educational platform in the first month of operation
I am constantly learning, I have completed trainings with the best specialists: Belfort, Adizes, Cialdini, Ferrazi, Gandapas etc
Another personal record - sales of a product in the budget price category for $62,000 per month
I sold a lot, experimented with various schemes and made enough mistakes until I came up with the perfect sales formula for myself. This formula can be used to increase the turnover of the ENTIRE sales department, not an individual manager.
Myths that are often found among novice sales managers.
You have to be born a salesman
This is what most people think, especially those who are just starting their journey in this direction. In fact, selling is an accessible formula that anyone can master.
If you start juggling or driving a car for the first time, you will most likely make mistakes at first.
But if you have good teachers, over time, you will learn to do it easily and with minimal mistakes. Sales is no exception!
Sales is a ploy
You can hardly tell 97% of sales people apart from each other. From the very beginning of the conversation, these inept managers try to tell as quickly as possible that they are the best, they have best company, best delivery, conditions etc.
They don’t know and don’t try to find out what the client actually needs. With this approach, it really is a gamble. What benefit does such a salesperson bring to the client and what is the likelihood that the client will buy the product from you and be satisfied?
Selling is bad
Every day we all sell something. A trip to the cinema, what dish to eat for dinner, an idea for clients or management, services, etc.
When selling a quality service or product that can help the client, this cannot be a bad thing. If you help a person, then what's wrong with that?
In fact, selling a high-quality, in-demand product is prestigious, and most importantly, they pay very well for it.
Myths of sales managers or business owners
A good sales manager is easy to find
Now I will probably upset you. Good sales managers don't look for work - work finds them. There are practically no good sales managers on the market. It’s not enough to just post a job and sales geniuses will come to you.
A good sales manager has long sold his competence and, of course, has highly paid commissions. Not in your company.
Practice has shown that you need to look for potential employees who are ready to learn and develop real “sales wolves” out of them. This is difficult and requires certain knowledge and effort. But it definitely works.
Sales managers will actively sell themselves because they want to earn more
Alas, no matter what thoughtful system you have material motivation- it’s not enough to keep your employee’s passion at the highest level.
A sales manager is a person with his own inner beliefs, fears, interests and priorities. Only through the right approach to the management of each employee will you be able to keep your sales department at a high motivational level.
The Worst Myth That Can Destroy Your Sales Team
Once I set everything up, everything works great and it will always be like that.
I think each of you has thought this at least once or hopes that this is possible.
The sales department is the link that should bring most of the finances to the company. And it should be constantly worked on and improved.
Every three months it is necessary to improve and review the strategy in the sales department.
Set new bonuses for individual indicators, change teams or projects they worked on, set plans for a month, three and six months.
Sales managers are stormtroopers by nature, and the usual routine has a negative effect on them - motivation is lost, performance begins to fall, and there are fewer satisfied customers.
Therefore, you must constantly keep your finger on the pulse of your sales team and, if it begins to weaken, take prompt action.
7 tips to increase your sales department's turnover
RIGHT PEOPLE
The right people are the backbone of any sales team.
How often do you conduct interviews? How often do you manage to find a good sales manager?
Most companies conduct personal interviews. This approach works when selecting top management, but not for the sales department.
Competitive interviews must be conducted. This way you can save your time and, no less important, emphasize the value of the vacancy in the eyes of the applicant.
If your new employee Not only did he pass the interview, but openly competed for his position with competitors, he will value it much more.
One of the most important skills of a salesperson is determination. Make the competition such that he can demonstrate this quality. The selection process must take place in several stages.
It is important that each stage is much more complex - this way you can understand how purposeful a potential employee is.
ADAPTATION SYSTEM
In many companies, in the first days of work, an employee in the sales department encounters the following problems:
- they don’t know what or how to do, so they walk around, drink coffee and disturb other employees;
- they try to sell without having all the tools yet and simply burn leads or, even worse, ruin your reputation.
You must have a clear adaptation system. It is necessary to equip the employee with all the knowledge about the product and scripts for working with the client. This will allow you to get rid of turnover and get a manager into position as quickly as possible.
NEW TECHNOLOGIES
Surprisingly, most companies do not use the most important tools for the work of the sales department, even though they are quite simple to master - CRM, IP telephony, speech recording system, etc.
The implementation of a CRM system (customer relationship management system) will help you see the picture of how your relationship with each client is managed. Here you can enter the client’s phone number, full name, position, city and many other data into the database.
With the help of such a system, it is convenient to monitor issued invoices, prepayments and completed transactions - this will allow you to quickly respond to any changes in sales.
The implementation of such a system usually increases turnover by at least 15%. And cloud solutions do not require large budgets.
In the educational platform LABA, we write our own software product that meets all our sales analytics needs. We will definitely devote a separate article to this product, it’s worth it).
SALES TOOLS
Many people know what scripts are (algorithms for talking with a client), but few people use them. Managers understand that such tools increase sales in the company, but for some reason they give their managers the opportunity to improvise in a conversation with a client.
Improvisation is the worst scenario in a conversation when the manager needs to understand the client’s needs and correctly explain all the benefits of the product.
The script needs to be developed, and believe me, this is not the easiest task you have encountered. It constantly needs to be tweaked and tested in conversations - this is a permanent process.
However, the game is worth the trouble - the introduction of such a tool can increase a manager’s sales volume by 30% after the first month.
Don't forget about the product book. This is your company's product catalog, which every manager should know by heart. Every detail and little thing, every characteristic of your product. Customers consider a salesperson who knows his product well as a professional - this is an axiom.
AUTOMATION
At this point, it is important to note that your sales department should work automatically. Like a Swiss watch - without interruption.
To do this, you need a technical specialist - an administrator. This employee will monitor overdue tasks for managers and unloading of potential clients. Also, his tasks are to ensure that telephone accounts do not run out of money.
It is very important to constantly work with your customer base. The sales department administrator will be able to control clients who take a lot of time. At the same time, the result from such clients is zero.
Create a black pool where you will add clients who have not bought anything for a long time or many contacts with them.
Imagine company N., which is engaged in wholesale supplies of X components for Y enterprises. This company has been on the market 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, phones, printers... Managers, of course, in business suits, already slick, 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 of 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 accident 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 be quiet: don’t be late, turn in reports on time, smile, there are “inboxes”, we’ll 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 easiest way is an Excel table. A manager, filling out a daily report, can immediately see his results in the context of one day or week, how much he has completed, from the sales plan, what needs to be improved, where 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 the past 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 departments and by each manager personally. Current dealers are assigned to customer service, new dealers are assigned to the commercial department, then to the corporate orders department, store directors of the chain, 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, it breaks down huge amount transactions 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 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 a 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 conduct a detailed survey with suggestions and recommendations. Also take into account the seasonality of your business, if you sell diesel fuel for combines to farms, then in January, call with the question: “What will allow you 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 without getting the desired effect, they 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 commercial offer 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 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 will tell you about the easiest way to increase the effectiveness 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, you need to write out, in the form of questions, strategically important information, which 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 will not 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).
Hello! In this article we will talk about increasing sales in the wholesale business.
Today you will learn:
- What is wholesale trade;
- How to increase the volume of wholesale sales;
Features of wholesale trade
The production volumes of your enterprise are quite large and you do not have time to sell the products? Then it's time for you to think about wholesale sales.
Wholesale sales - a type of trade in which one enterprise provides goods to another enterprise in large quantities.
If you decide to hire new employees, then it is best to take a closer look at the sellers of retail stores of similar specifics. They are already familiar with the product, know the specifics of sales, and know how to work with needs.
Another, no less successful source of personnel is competing companies. By luring several employees to your staff, you will kill two birds with one stone - you will unsettle your competitor and get professional sales people.
However, be careful. A competitor's employee may turn out to be a spy or simply return to his old place over time, taking your customer base with him.
You can also look for employees in companies from related industries. Such candidates will be easier to train than those who have worked with a completely different product.
Instead of looking for new employees, you can train existing ones. In addition, there is various ways aimed at increasing sales volumes. For example, organize a competition among account managers and award the best salesperson of the month.
How to attract new clients
- Using cold calling. We have already talked about them earlier, so we won’t dwell on them. Let's just say that when choosing this method special attention You should pay attention to the database itself with contacts of potential clients and information about them, as well. A script is a conversation script that your manager will adhere to.
- A great source of clients is your customers.. If you have established a trusting relationship with your customers, then ask them to recommend your company to their partners. This is a pretty effective method.
- Look for clients at various events: get acquainted, exchange contacts.
- Use to attract clients. Personal sales via the Internet or telephone will be especially relevant.
Mistakes in optimizing wholesale sales
Mistake 1. A good salesperson will ensure high sales volume.
There are not so many really good traders, so there won’t be enough for everyone. In addition, it is very difficult to determine the degree of professionalism of each individual employee. Therefore, if you rely only on your staff, you are unlikely to get good results.
Mistake 2. Expanding the product range will cause an increase in sales.
This misconception most entrepreneurs. The introduction of new product categories can reduce profits, especially if the new product is in no way related to the main one.
Example. The Biс company several years ago introduced solid perfumes into its product range, the bottles of which resembled a lighter in shape. However, the project turned out to be unprofitable and soon the lighter perfumes were discontinued.
No, it won't. It is necessary to advertise a product, but in moderation. Excessive advertising will not only hurt your pocket, but will also irritate potential consumers. It is better to advertise not a lot, but of high quality, that is, personalize your messages, choose the right communication channels.
Mistake 4. We lower the price and sales will increase.
This doesn't always happen. Wholesale business is characterized by large volumes procurement, which increases the risk of purchase for the consumer. If your price is lower than the market average, the client may suspect the low quality of the product or your dishonesty.
Remember that a price that is too high or too low should always be justified.
For example, if you set a high price, you can show the customer that your product is of very high quality. In the case of a low price, tell the client that you have your own system on which you save, or you own several levels of production at once, or the raw materials from which the product is made are supplied to you at a large discount due to long-term cooperation with the supplier.