What you need to do to increase trade. Increased retail store sales

In this review I will give a method for increase sales in a retail store, which includes tools for attracting customers, retaining them, and effectively distinguishing them from competitors. I am sure that you are already familiar with the main directions and specifics of the development of your market, so let's move on to specific steps...

Retail store business strategy

Some experts suggest planning 10 years in advance. I think this opinion is wrong. For a strategy, it is enough to define goals and plans for the coming year and be sure to adjust them quarterly. Planning as long as 3-10 years should be, but this relates to the “vision” of the business and is closely intertwined with the personality of the entrepreneur. Vision can increase business performance by 40%-70%. How to use this business tool is on an individual basis.

The second step is aimed at aligning business and marketing goals. For this purpose, a “marketing mix” or marketing complex is developed.

For a retail store, the 8P system is best suited:

• Product – those products, services and services that your retail store offers to customers.
• Price – the store’s pricing policy.
• Promotion is a set of activities, including non-marketing ones, that are aimed at attracting sales.
• Location – territorial location retail store. If there is a strong brand, the factor may play a minor role.
• Process – a method of providing services.
• Clients (Prospect) - the number of expected visitors to the store.
• Personnel – employees of your store
• Physical evidence – interior, equipment, exterior, .

The main mistake of most retail store owners is the lack of focus on the target audience. Of course, you can sell everything to everyone, but it is unlikely that with this approach you will be able to compete with large supermarkets or your closest competitors for a long time. Selecting your target audience is another step in developing a strategy. It begins with dividing the market into consumer groups with common characteristics - .

The attractiveness of a segment depends on many factors, but what is obvious is that each segment should have its own approach. It would be useful to consider the relationship between the segments. For example, a building materials store can be aimed at both specialists and the average retail consumer. In addition, such stores can be partners with design agencies, plumbing and roofing materials stores. Thus, without having large retail space, you can maximally satisfy the needs of your customers and receive additional profit from the sale of related products.

Now spend comparison of your store with your main competitors, which are aimed at the same audience of buyers as you. Compare them according to the main elements of the marketing mix that you described above. Give points from 1 to 10.

Think about how your store differs from competitors? By product, by service, by personnel, by image, or perhaps by service? Describe and evaluate the most significant factors for your target audience and compare them with your store's existing options.

So, the retail store development strategy is almost ready. All that remains is to create a unique selling proposition. Your USP is designed to give potential customers a reason to choose your store over one of your competitors.

Don't forget about the powerful operational management tool - SWOT analysis. It includes identifying the company's Strengths and Weaknesses; identifying existing opportunities (Opportunities), as well as external threats (Threats); comparing strengths and weaknesses with opportunities and threats; .

Retail store advertising

What to use? There are advertising stands or light boxes on the street in front of your store. Proper display window design and “selling” signs in the store itself. Low-budget advertising media in places where the target audience is densely concentrated.

If you give, then pay attention to the indicator affinity index(conformity index) - the ratio of the rating for the target audience to the rating for the base audience of a particular media outlet.

Additionally, you can work through the group discount service. For example, Groupon, KupiKupon, Biglion and others.

A website is another marketing tool that can significantly increase the number of visitors. If your target audience uses social networks, then this channel is also worth using. Don't forget about sites like Youtube.com, Slideshare.com and Podfm.ru

Sales promotion in a retail store

Here are several tools to increase profits without additional costs:

• Price testing
• Price targeting
• Price increase
• Additional guarantees
• Joint marketing
• Selling additional products
• Additional services

And these require additional investments on your part:

• Discount programs
• Discounts and gifts
• Promotions, sampling, etc.
• Special offers: kits, recommendations, sales windows...

Retail Store Public Relations

Determine what your target audience is reading, watching and listening to. Offer your expertise or support. A well-written article can become free advertising. Next, you need to send the material to editors or journalists.

Be a sponsor or organizer of special events:

• concerts and parties in your city
• organize events and fashion shows
• exhibitions, presentations, local competitions and others work well

Create and promote the distinctive aspects of your retail store. It can be:

• Purchase Features
• Service Features
• Features of the range
• Interesting employees
• Process Features
• Unique visitors
• Features of the building's architecture
• Unusual events that happened in the store, etc.

Conduct surveys. Find out what your customers and other restaurant customers think about what is important to them, what they are happy with, or what needs to change.

Study the specifics of orders from different groups of buyers. Loyalty programs allow you to collect information about the individual preferences and desires of individual customers.

Build personalized relationships with your visitors. Regular customers, if your store is small, need to be greeted by name. Smile at absolutely all clients. Be professional.

If after reading you have any questions, I am ready to answer them in the comments to this article.

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, telephones, printers... Managers, of course, in business suits, already grimy, 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 work in progress, wages are growing...” 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 from 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 operate “the old fashioned way”: standard scheme- 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 accomplished, 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, a huge number of deals break down due to the incompetence of managers in matters of product specifics. 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 your phone, with the words: “Now I’ll clarify,” call the senior, and, not knowing how to formulate the question, you 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;
Third, 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.
Third, 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 the 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 are 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 “trial 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 unique just yesterday trade offer- is considered the norm in the industry today. 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 to 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. The main principle is that the document is “living”. 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 a very creative process. I have come across “sales books” that contain the organizational structure of the department, a description of business processes, and standard reporting forms. 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”! Is not it!?

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 this. 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 would it be convenient for you to purchase services 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 do 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. Every manager needs to collect all contacts potential clients in their 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 business managers. active sales. 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 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 it is?
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 offer:
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 must 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. Leave space between questions to write down the client's answers.
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 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 on 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).

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From this article you will learn:

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

The correct answer to the question: “How to increase sales?” – can lead any company to success. the main objective commercial management of the enterprise - to maximize this criterion. We will look at the most effective methods for increasing your sales volume.

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

1. Thorough market research.

Commerce does not accept ill-considered actions.

You need to learn about all the movements of the modern market, the successes or failures of competing companies, and then use the collected information to develop your own enterprise.

Describe your strategy in writing.

1. Identification of promising directions.

To increase sales volumes, it is necessary to find out which economic areas are the most promising. Data from the analysis of the consumer index and various events in a certain area can help with this.

1. Increase in the number of customers.

A small number of buyers equally affects new companies that have just entered the market structure and have not yet had time to gain popularity, and already established ones, whose clients may go to competitors due to internal problems in the organization itself.

When looking for new consumers, it is very important not to lose old ones.

Often, directors and top managers decide to radically change the operation of the enterprise, completely update the product range - this may force the previous acquirers to leave.

You can act in this way only if you have nothing to lose - for example, you have very few long-time customers.

Otherwise, innovation should be introduced gradually.

1. Advertising of services and goods.

If you can't afford to produce and display full-scale commercials, new technologies will come to your aid: corporate promotion on social networks, email newsletters, phone calls to clients, viral advertising. Don't forget about good old newspaper advertisements and flyers distributed by promoters.

1. Increase your revenue using your phone.

A feature phone can help boost retail sales. It is better to forget the method of calling from several numbers, which is often used by unscrupulous companies: excessive intrusiveness can do your organization a disservice.

Try to offer your products and services to those who are interested in them. You need to have not only a complete set of information about your product, but also information about your potential buyer: who he works, what he is interested in, what problems concern him - and how your product can help solve them.

1. Making changes to the company's work.

Find out which specific methods of your business are not working.

Perhaps it's all about ignorant sellers. Or your product range has long been outdated, while the cost remains above the market level. Or maybe you just need to renovate your premises or rebrand, and the question of how to increase sales will disappear by itself.

1. Creation of highly specialized solutions.

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

1. USP or differentiation from competitors.

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

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

1. Quarterly report on work performed.

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

1. Social proof.

Research shows that customers are more willing to purchase goods and services from companies whose reliability and good reputation are beyond doubt.

Confirmation of these characteristics can be, for example, certificates of conformity or other official documents, sociological research, which is the best way to convince consumers (social proof): “2500 customers cannot be wrong!”

1. Improving the quality of services.

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

1. "Mystery shopper".

This is a specially trained person whom you hire secretly from your employees. He plays the role of an ordinary client and must record all stages of the trade chain using a hidden camera or voice recorder. This allows the businessman to understand how things really are. What the owner of the enterprise knew and the real situation may turn out to be diametrically opposed.

For additional control over employees, you can install special software on work computers that monitors the image on the monitor. The premises should be equipped with a CCTV camera. This will help identify undisciplined and incompetent employees and, ultimately, eliminate the factors that prevent the company from increasing its revenue.

1. Changing the motivation system.

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

1. Development of a selling website.

Modern business needs a high-quality website - this is an axiom. An Internet portal is one of the main ways to attract customers and a tool that helps increase the level of purchases in stores. In order to increase its effectiveness, it is necessary to pay attention Special attention three main elements: home page with good SEO text, application and feedback forms. Here are some tips to help improve your website's performance:

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

1. Improvement and automation of application processing.

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

1. Increasing sales volume through the correct choice of promotion channels.

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

1. Blue Ocean strategy.

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

1. Search for a competitor.

Create a virtual rival for yourself - and the unique advantages of your products and services against his background will become more pronounced. Customers will be much more loyal to you if the competition is conducted in an interesting game form.

Remember, for example, a funny video about the confrontation between the MAC OS and PC computer systems, which helped increase the number of Apple fans several times. Or a classic example of PR battles between Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Co. The undeniable advantage of the latter is the publicly available composition of the drink - this inspires customer confidence (unlike Coca-Cola, which keeps the recipe secret).

1. Analysis of the reasons for low demand.

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

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

1. Targeting thrifty buyers.

There are several techniques to encourage consumers of the first type (24% of the total) to make a purchase.

Here are some examples of how these methods work.

The cost of the offer can be changed without changing anything in essence, but only by dividing it into amounts that are psychologically easier to perceive (for example, $100 per month instead of $1200 per year).

Internet company AOL replaced hourly pay of their services on a monthly basis. This strategy is the opposite of the one described earlier and is aimed at getting users not to track their expenses every day.

All-inclusive resorts provide a sense of security and comfort because tourists feel that all expenses have already been covered and no additional expenses will be required.

Netflix has replaced the pay-per-view system with a flat monthly rate for unlimited access to all content.

1. Complete solutions for consumers.

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

1. "Devil's Advocate".

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

1. Attracting like-minded people.

Tell your potential customers about the high purpose you are pursuing (this could be raising funds for charity or any other social project). This will provide an opportunity to attract like-minded people as committers. 64% of citizens surveyed by sociologists said that it was this factor that prompted them to make a purchase decision.

A good example is a charity event to increase sales of TOMS Shoes. Its essence is simple: when you buy a pair of shoes for yourself, you give a second pair to children in need. The campaign helped sell millions of pairs of shoes - and millions of children received new shoes for free. Thus, good and kind deeds can increase sales!

1. Overcoming the “barrier to entry.”

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

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

1. Sales scripts.

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

1. Explaining to consumers their next steps.

Dr. Howard Leventhal, in his research, argues that a person will not perceive relevant information if it does not contain clear instructions. Buyers believe that the described difficulties do not apply to them and prefer not to worry. But when the description of the problems is followed by instructions for eliminating them, the result exceeds all expectations.

The number of people receiving a flu vaccine has increased by a quarter after clear advice on how to avoid the disease was published. This is one of the most common ways to attract new customers in Insurance companies.

1. Up-sell method.

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

1. Admitting shortcomings.

How to increase sales during a crisis based on your own mistakes? Here you can describe many cases of real industrial disasters that have occurred in recent years (for example, oil spills). Most often, the reason for these situations was the reluctance of companies to notice their mistakes and correct them. This continued exactly until a crisis moment came, when it was too late to change anything. For example, the energy company TEPCO (Japan) admitted only a year and a half later that it had made a mistake that led to a “nuclear crisis” on the Japanese coast.

When working with online applications, you have probably encountered situations where developers send emails apologizing for technical glitches and problems. Such mailings make it clear that the organization is working on mistakes, is not leaving them unattended, and will do everything possible in the future to avoid repeating them.

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

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

1. Keeping customers on their toes.

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

1. Newsletter for potential buyers.

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

1. Surprises for clients.

Pamper your customers with surprises - and you will be able to win their trust and loyalty, receiving a huge number of grateful reviews. The online shoe store Zappos traditionally uses exactly this kind of influence tactics.

Expecting to receive your order within five days, as promised on the website, you suddenly receive it within a day. Or you get the opportunity to return shoes throughout the year. Such surprises helped accumulate a huge number of reviews on the site, which became a powerful marketing tool for influencing potential buyers.

1. Harnessing the power of shortcuts.

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

How to increase sales using prices and promotions

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

Even if the buyer says that he wants to save money, this is not a reason to sell him the most budget-friendly product. The manager can structure the conversation as follows: “Of course, I can offer you a car for three hundred thousand rubles. But you definitely want it to have climate control, power steering and heated seats.” If the buyer answers in the affirmative, it is worth noting: “Why would you spend money on a car that doesn’t suit you?”

You can sell a more expensive product only if it has additional benefits. Let's take, for example, two almost identical refrigerators of different brands and with different prices. Most managers will say that there is no difference between them. But is it? Of course not! The task of the department head is to explain to employees how different models differ in terms of technology, manufacturing standards, warranties, etc.

1. Average check growth.

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

1. Adding shares.

The vast majority of buyers love them very much.

The leader of Ukraine among supermarkets in terms of originality of promotions is Silpo.

Even serious, reasonable people react to their promotions: “Price of the week”, “Hot offer”, “ Thematic days", "Coupons for increasing points", etc.

1. Visibility of commercial offers.

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

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

When new customers contact a company, it can be very difficult to predict what price range of goods and services will interest them. Thus, if you only offer them products in one price range, you may miss their preferences. It would be more correct to offer several alternative options at once - for example, “standard”, “business” and “premium” sets.

In this case, sales psychology will work well. The buyer will understand that he was offered products with a wide price range, and he has very few reasons to refuse the purchase. In this case, it is necessary to correctly compile sets of products of different prices and clearly explain to the customer the differences between them. Start with the most expensive sets - then he will perceive cheaper products positively.

1. Providing expiring discounts.

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

1. Cost differentiation.

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

1. Favorable price image.

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

Means of increasing sales in a retail store

1. Patency.

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

1. Signboard.

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

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

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

1. Cross-selling.

Having sold a certain product, you can offer related services. For example, a person who bought an aquarium can order its correct installation, connection and maintenance - all without leaving the checkout. To do this, the retail store needs to negotiate with the relevant companies, and then attract customers and receive their percentage.

1. Determining the purchase threshold.

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

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

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

1. Payment of change in goods.

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

1. Yellow and red price tags.

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

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

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

1. Hints on price tags.

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

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

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

1. Unique selling proposition.

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

1. Upselling.

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

1. Working with margin.

Perhaps the most accessible method of increasing profits. They say that the low cost of a product is not always perceived by the buyer as the most attractive. Often, buyers consider a product sold at a high price to be of higher quality. Ask yourself a question: does it matter whether the sausage costs 300 rubles or 310? Most often, such a difference seems insignificant to buyers. Now calculate your total profit.

Let's look at the example described in Robert Cialdini's book “The Psychology of Influence.” The owner of a jewelry store could not sell several turquoise jewelry. When leaving on vacation, she left a written order to her subordinates: “*1\2 price for all turquoise.” Imagine her surprise when, upon arrival, she learned that all the jewelry had been sold...at twice the price. The seller simply did not understand her instructions and increased, rather than decreased, the price.

1. Price tags.

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

1. Smile.

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

1. « Free cheese" without a mousetrap.

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

1. Non-standard guarantees.

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

1. Other services.

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

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

How to increase sales in wholesale trade

1. Creation of a marketing department.

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

1. Expansion of the range.

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

1. Demand research.

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

1. Competent work with federal and regional networks.

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

1. Transparent pricing policy.

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

1. Concluding contractual obligations with regular consumers.

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

1. Penetration into the client's business.

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

1. Thorough analysis of customer failures.

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

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

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

1. Compliance with the rules of working with distributors.

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

1. Creating interesting offers.

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

1. Monitoring.

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

1. Working with transport.

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

1. Constant search for new clients.

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

1. Personnel training.

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

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

Store sales growth

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

goods

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

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

Stimulating impulse purchases

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

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

Quality and product presentation

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

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

Increasing purchase volume

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

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

Attracting customers to the store

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

Increased frequency of purchases

Buyers-players - people's dependence on promotions

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

Timely replacement of price tags

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

How to increase sales in a store: 6 reasons low level sales + 3 steps to increase sales volume.

In this article you will learn about.

You will also receive practical marketing tips that will be a real revelation for any entrepreneur.

Why is the focus on marketing?

The situation when an entrepreneur builds his business without developing a promotion plan is not uncommon.

This perfectly characterizes the general level of competencies of entrepreneurs in Russia.

Deny the importance of producing services and products high level it is forbidden.

But how can buyers appreciate all the benefits of a product if they are not explicitly stated?

As someone who has spent a lifetime learning but never applying the skills in life, your product will remain in the shadow of more advertised products.

Telling the buyer about your products is, indeed, often more important than setting up ideal production.

A potential buyer, first of all, perceives the product visually, evaluates its competitive advantages, and only then pays attention to the level of quality.

How to get people to buy your products?

Why is your sales volume low?

To increase sales in a store, first, you need to understand why the previous scheme did not work and what its weak point was.

Possible reasons for low store sales:

Poor location of the establishment.

Isolation from the main customer base leads to problems in implementation.

As an example: a pharmacy located next to a hospital will have an income many times higher than the same one located on the outskirts of the city.

High prices.

Often the desire to get a high income affects volumes.

Such a pricing policy, of course, is aimed at increasing profits.

But you need to take into account the real cost of the product and the markup.

Inconspicuousness of the store’s exterior and interior (in the case of online stores, poor design).

The appearance should attract the buyer and motivate him to buy.

Product location.

Placing products correctly is an art.

In most situations, you cannot do without the advice of an experienced marketer.

Low quality of products sold.

Marketing promotions can increase the number of store visitors only if the product really meets the declared level of quality.

Staff.

In any type of business, personnel occupy one of the key positions.

The ability to correctly present products and behave in accordance with company policy are the main criteria for selecting store managers.

Now do you realize the real importance of marketing in business?

Each element (even the location of the product on the shelf) plays its role - small or heavy.

Create a comfort zone for your clients

It is important to understand: the consumer will only go to the store in which he feels comfortable.

To achieve this effect, you need to surprise with pleasant surprises.

Don’t think that such surprises will only come from low prices and lucrative promotional offers.

The atmosphere of the establishment correct work with the client - that’s where the secret lies.

The ease and ease with which a visitor will give his money is sometimes surprising.

The tactical “game” of marketers is not noticeable to the common man; these wizards are able to radically change the client’s vision of the product.

A practical guide on how to increase sales in a retail store can be presented as a step-by-step algorithm:

Step 1: Determine Retail Features

The retail store is aimed at small customers.

In such an establishment, the client will not make large-scale purchases of goods, rather small ones.

This store format requires a special focus on working with the client.

Staff plays a key role in making a customer want to come back again.

Therefore, it affects the overall conversion.

The variety of types of retail trade is amazing:

Step 2: Find retail store vulnerabilities

Key retail vulnerabilities:

Small volume of a single purchase.

To make a profit you need to serve large quantity clients, which is associated with all sorts of risks.

High markup on products.

The risk of being left without a profit or simply not selling all the purchased goods from the warehouse makes the store owner want to raise prices.

Of course, this becomes a repulsive factor for potential buyers.

Larger volume of clients.

It would seem that this is a plus.

But still, a wide audience (with different tastes and views) is a difficult task for marketers.

And in a retail store his “portrait” is blurry.

Also, many visitors require a larger staff of service personnel.

Step 3: Indicate methods to increase sales in the store

Having identified possible problems in Steps 1 and 2, the entrepreneur must determine measures to solve them.

Based on experience successful businessmen, we can highlight the following methods that will increase sales:

Change the placement of product lines.

The main place should be given to the main product on which the store relies.

Starting from blocks in local newspapers, ending with thematic Internet resources.

Change the exterior.

The goal is to attract people passing by your establishment as effectively as possible.

It is important that the design is not just bright, but matches the products you offer inside.

Clean up the interior.

It is necessary to create an atmosphere that would motivate the client to purchase the product.

And don’t forget: people should feel comfortable in your store.

Change staff behavior standards.

Place a greater emphasis on polite and individual work with the client. The result will not be long in coming.

Having considered these points, we can say with confidence: the main stage of a company in increasing sales is error analysis.

Only with a detailed analysis of the “punctures” in the current state of the store can you determine which advice is suitable in your particular case.

How to increase sales in an online store?

The answer to the question of how to increase sales of an online store will undoubtedly be different.

Online sales services have become very popular in the last 7-10 years (abroad) and 3-5 years (in Russia).

Nowadays literally any thing can be bought online.

As the overall level of competition increases, the conversion rate of each individual store falls.

Simply selling high-quality goods, approaching each client’s requests individually and making payment transactions correctly is no longer enough to build a successful business.

To understand how to increase sales in an online store, it is important to know the answer to the question: why are more and more people turning to online stores?

There are several reasons for the abandonment of offline stores and the transition of market relations to the Internet:

Ease of ordering.

You don’t need to leave your apartment and search for goods – everything is at your fingertips.

On the Internet you can really find stores for every taste.

Huge range of products + easy search.

Finding the product you are interested in takes just a few minutes.

Online stores have a convenient search system that works by product category and name.

Convenient form of payment.

Money transfers have long become the norm for modern man. This payment method suits customers and gives the online store a competitive advantage over regular ones.

These are just the primary advantages of online business.

It is because of them that there are so many online stores.

Accordingly, the conversion of each individual began to decline.

Number of online stores in Russia (2016):

Methods of promoting an online store:

SEO optimization.

Contact a competent SEO specialist and achieve the highest position in the ranking of search queries.

If your store is in the top, your chances increase significantly.

Analyze the store content.

Only the work of a skilled copywriter will ensure the client’s attention to the product.

An option that combines all of the above - contact a website promotion agency.

Spending money will be justified if you do not understand the essence of the methods mentioned and are not ready to implement them yourself.

The main goal of an online store buyer is to purchase the product he needs.

That's why he's interested large assortment products, easy navigation and low prices.

It is profitable to open multi-profile online stores.

This will create enough choice for the user.

To increase sales in your online store, use the tips from this video:

How to increase sales in a clothing store?

Separately, it is worth considering this type of business as a clothing store.

The fact is that he is much more specific than the previous “patients”.

To increase sales in a clothing store, you need to determine for yourself the main focus of its activities.

If your goal is to sell casual clothing, everything is quite simple - you can use standard promotion methods.

But if you work with branded items, the situation will become more complicated. Then the marketing plan is developed individually. It is advisable to involve specialists in this task.

To understand how to increase sales in a clothing store, you need to understand by what criteria the consumer chooses the right product for himself:

As you can see, the problem of low sales in a store may be that the store's policies do not match the products, or that the pricing is incorrect.

Other errors are possible:

• boring interior of the store premises (if an online store is used, therefore, an inconvenient user interface);
• lack of a marketing plan;
• poor selection of personnel and others.

Let's return to the distinctive features of clothing stores and methods of their promotion:

You should focus your marketing efforts on organizing promotions.

Brand awareness plays an important role in increasing clothing sales.

• It is important to equip the store with comfortable fitting rooms.

Recruiting staff for a clothing store is a difficult task.

It is necessary to select professionals who can not only describe to the buyer all the advantages of the product, but can also easily convince the visitor to buy the product.

• Sales, more promotions, loyalty cards are important nuances that will help retain customers and increase sales.

Pay due attention to all these subtleties of organizing activities.

In trading, every detail is extremely important, especially when it comes to selling clothes.

The article discusses three completely different store formats.

The main thesis is general: learn to analyze the store’s problems.

There is no single promotion method for all forms of trade.

Despite their effectiveness, they cannot become an absolute panacea for any particular case.

Understand, how to increase sales in a store, is possible only through a deep analysis of the problems that have arisen.

The results of the study will help you decide how to modify generally accepted advice to suit your case.

Use the knowledge you have gained, and your store will get a positive conversion.

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