Five Top Sales Techniques To Boost The Bottom Line

There’s no point beating around the bush if you work in retail the name of the game is bringing in new customers and increasing profits.

11:04 28 January 2021

These great selling techniques will allow you to do both.

 

Anyone can offer a discount or set up an extravagant sale but just offering a customer a good deal is no longer enough to ensure your company is doing business. With the market becoming increasingly global, there are plenty of potential new consumers for a business but, equally, there are more companies to compete with too.

 

This environment creates several unique and exciting opportunities for business owners to employ the right sales techniques to attract new consumers and convert them into new customers.

 

Nurture Your Online Presence

 

If 2020 taught us anything, it is that the future is online. With so many people working from home worldwide now, some experts expected the retail sector to take a hit. However, the opposite proved to be the case with many online retailers having record years in 2020.

 

This means it is becoming more critical than ever to not only have an online presence but to actively nurture it and help it grow into a crucial part of your sales strategy. This goes far beyond simply setting up a Facebook page and an online checkout service. You need to set up business listings on Google, Yelp, and any other platform you think will be useful to your business and include as many details as possible. People like to know who they are dealing with.

 

Simplify The Point Of Sale

 

Whether online or at a physical location, nothing will hurt your sales more than frustrating a customer when they are on the verge of buying something. Make this process as straightforward as is humanly possible for your business. At stores, this means making sure queues are as short as possible or, if possible, don’t exist at all and training up staff to make sure the whole process is as quick and painless as possible.

 

Sephora, a French cosmetics multinational, has started using mobile point of sale devices in their stores so staff can complete sales anywhere inside the location, so there are zero queues. Another example is the concept of the endless aisle where, in addition to the physical stock, stores have computers or tablets that customers can use to browse the entire catalogue to sell things that aren’t even at the location. The point is to remove as many bottlenecks to making a sale as possible.

 

Offers, Coupons, Discounts, and Deals

 

While in isolation, this is no longer enough to distinguish a company from its competition, there is a reason this type of sales technique remains one of the most common all over the world: It is simple, and it is useful. Sales bring new customers in the door, and they create a sense of urgency to buy something before the special offer runs out.

 

It is used to significant effect in many different industries. For example, international clothing brand H&M is almost always offering some discount code or percentage discount. Still, they do not do it in isolation; they place the deals on websites focused on providing people discounts and deals to increase their online presence at the same time. In entertainment, Netflix has begun offering promotional deals and gift cards to get new customers.

 

It is beneficial for a product like Netflix because they have such a wide selection; once someone is signed up, they will likely remain so for some time. Similarly, it is a common practice in the iGaming industry where websites offer new players the best casino bonus codes like welcome bonuses and free spins.

 

Create A Narrative

 

Everyone loves a good story, and potential new customers are not exempt from the fact. We’re not advocating making something up or falsifying your company's history but don’t be afraid to tell your story. It makes it far easier for people to become invested in your brand and products. When a new customer pops their head into your store and asks what’s up, instead of just replying, “We sell clothes”, tell them why. Tell them how the business got started and how you got to where you are now. Make it easy for them to connect with you.

 

This extends beyond new customers too. It is equally essential for the employees to know the story and buy into whatever you are trying to achieve. Not only are they the ones who are going to be telling the story to customers, but it’ll also help them feel more connected to your company rather than just being another job on their CV.

 

Train Your Staff In The Art of Selling

 

You can’t just deploy staff and hope they know how to sell your products. Training and upskilling staff are indirect, albeit just as effective, way of increasing sales. Make sure your staff not only understand the concepts of upselling and cross-selling but make sure they know how to implement those concepts within the parameters of your business.

 

Upselling is the process of offering a customer a better, higher-priced version of the product they initially wanted to buy, but it is a very delicate process because customers are pretty savvy. If they get even the slightest inclining you don’t have their best interest at heart, you’ve probably lost the sale. Instead of just offering them something more expensive, offer them multiple options and try to educate them why the most expensive one is the superior product or is a better fit for their needs.

 

On the other hand, cross-selling involves presenting the customer with additional products that complement what they are trying to buy. This is less risky than upselling because the customer won’t feel like you are trying to rip them off, but it is still important not to cross-sell too much and overwhelm your clientele.