Small business firms have to be very careful as even a small negative change also causes big losses. In today’s day and age, not many small businesses last for a long time. The sole reason being the lack of sales of products.
Most companies start small and then they make their venture big. That is only possible when you do exceptionally well with selling your products. If your sales report is not good then the profits remain stagnant or you start going into losses.
To solve these sales problems or to improve your sales, all you need to invest in sales training. The sales training will help you in getting new sales techniques as to what changes need to be made. Even big corporate companies go dry with selling ideas. Being a small company, you need to make even more updates to your selling techniques.
There are seven definite sales tips that can be really beneficial for any small business organization.
1. Attain knowledge of the Sales Cycle:
You need to know what the Sales Cycle is before you start your business. What are the steps in the Sale Cycle? “Prospect,” “Connect,” “Research,” “Present,” and “Close”. If you are familiar with these sales cycle steps then half your work is done. The other half is to apply these steps to your Sales techniques.
In terms of the sales cycle, you have to know who your customer is. For e.g., if you are selling furniture, then your potential customers will be schools, offices, retail shops, etc. These are called as our prospects
Once you know your potential customers, you need to find a way and connect with them. Find out who is in need of your product and get in contact with them. Make them aware of your business and the product.
Then comes an important step in the sale cycle that is to do research. You need to do research about what is the market missing particularly in regards to your product.
For e.g., XYZ, a sales training company did research before they began with their company. They found out that the existing sales training companies gave a very basic sales training format. Therefore, they came up with the idea of Product-based customized Sales training.
After that comes the art of presenting your product to your potential customers. Make them aware of the different features you offer to them. Your presentation should be on a large scale and so appropriate that the potential customers only think of your product.
The final step is to close the deal. You have to know when the correct time to close the deal. Make sure to remind your customer what he will lose out on if he does not buy your product.
2. Create an Attention-Seeking summary:
When you are putting your product across to your customers, make sure to have a brief and interesting description.
Your product’s description should be like a film’s trailer. Short but it makes a person watch the movie. The same way your product’s description should be so attractive that customers wish to buy the product.
Use videos, make a brochure, Make pamphlets, etc. Use all possible ways for your product summary to reach your customers.
3. Know your Audience:
You should know who to target for your product. If you don’t know the correct audience for your product, then it is a big blunder.
Only people who are looking for your product, will buy your product. If someone just wants to buy something for leisure time then don’t waste your time on that customer. You might lose out on other potential customers.
I have given an example of furniture earlier. Where I have mentioned that if you sell furniture then your target audience should be schools, offices, retail shops, etc. These places require furniture in bulk. If they give you their complete order for production then you know you have a big order straight away. Receiving big orders at the start is always a brownie point. So that for your next order, you can always boast that you have done something big.
4. Create a USP:
What does USP stand for? USP stands for Unique Selling Proposition. The word itself is self-explanatory. Your USP is what describes the uniqueness you possess in comparison to others.
See customers are bored of seeing the same things. They expect something different all the time. According to statistics, it is proven that being unique attracts 20 times more customers.
For e.g., Samsung mobile phones offer a unique style to charge your Samsung phone. They give a wireless charging unit where you just place your phone on the stand and it charges. The sales of Samsung had increased just by the introduction of this feature.
The same way your product has to be unique and different. Research about your competitor’s product and find out what they lack. Whatever they lack is the success of your increase in sales.
5. Solve your Sales Problems:
It is okay to have a bad start to your business. What you need to do is find out what the sales problem is. Revise your selling techniques on your own staff. Ask them for an honest opinion on where changes need to be made.
You may have a problem with the unity of your staff too. A non-united staff gives poor sales results. That is when you have to be a good leader and get your staff together. There will be many problems like these that will arise, which you as a leader have to take care of.
For e.g., If your sales have been down for the last two months due to your unknown reasons. You need to find out why is it so. Let’s say here the problem is pricing. Your product pricing was way too high for your customers to afford it. The very first thing you need to do is re-calculate your production price. Then you need to set your target rate according to the market. Like if your product price is 2000 then the maximum you should target is 3000. Once you have got your target price set, put your product on an offer. Sell two products for 5000. Which means you are still getting a profit of 1000. This will get you sales faster and the customers will get carried away with the offer.
6. Negotiate smartly:
Customers always look for scenarios where they can negotiate on something they buy. It just gives them the satisfaction that they did not pay the seller how much he wanted. That’s a harsh truth but it cannot be denied.
You as a seller have to be smarter than the buyer. If you know that buyers will negotiate with you, keep enough amount so that you still make your profit.
For e.g., If your product’s cost price is 3500, keep your selling price at around 4200. So even if your buyer gives a big order with a discount of 500 on each product, you are still making good profits.
If you do think that your negotiation skills are weak or your buyer can overrule you, you should enroll yourself in sales negotiation training. These sales negotiation training sessions will help you improve your negotiating skills.
7. Have Frequent Sales Training:
Your sales techniques get outdated as time goes on. You will need newer sales techniques often to keep the sales report good.
With frequent sales training, your salespeople will refresh their selling ideas. Sales training will help your salespeople gain greater knowledge about selling skills. Salespeople need to explore more on selling techniques, only then your business will expand.
Therefore be sure to invest in sales training for better sales results. Not only will the business flourish but it will also keep your sales team motivated.
So for a successful long term business, you need to keep the Sales high. For good sales, follow these sales tips and you won’t be disappointed. If you do think you can add something let me know in the comment section.
