Increasing business sales. How to increase sales in a retail store

Ilyukha Sergey

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

In this article you will read:

• What technologies to increase sales work effectively
• step by step algorithm unique strategy sales

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

What has changed in the market?

1. Decreased incomes of buyers, increased operating costs (utilities, gasoline, tuition fees)
2. Sanctioned imports from traditional markets
3. Deliveries of goods from new markets have not yet been established
4. Significantly increased prices for imported goods
5. Due to the rise in the cost of loans and the decrease in revenue, almost all companies had financial difficulties.

The situation is similar to the rescue of drowning people after a shipwreck. If you wallow in place and wait for help, you can drown. We must swim to the shore! "The salvation of the drowning is the work of the drowning themselves."

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

1. We are moving from process management to personnel management. In the "fat" pre-crisis times, it was possible to set tasks as a whole, to hold an action, to purchase, lay out, sell. The result was evaluated as a whole. And if at least a small increase was observed at the end of the month, it was believed that the whole team worked well. In a crisis, it is necessary to delve into business processes, it is necessary to set tasks and evaluate the effectiveness of each unit and each employee in achieving the goal. The way it is done with active sales.
2. We set an ambitious but achievable goal.

What technologies to increase sales are effective today

First of all, increase turnover!

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

Suppose a company is faced with the task of increasing turnover during a crisis. By how much can turnover be increased? 1, 3, 5 percent? At first glance, this may seem like a very ambitious task!

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

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

Algorithm for working on increasing sales

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

Synthesizing the situation:

1. Goal (increase in turnover)
2. Decomposition

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

In any trade, the same rules apply:

Turnover = number of sales * amount of sales

To increase turnover, it is necessary to increase the number of sales and the average amount of the transaction (the amount of the "average bill").

To quantify the effectiveness of an offer in a crisis, we use a sales funnel, which is widely used in evaluating the effectiveness of sales in personal sales. The sales funnel for wholesale and retail trade is shown in fig. 1.

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

For retail:

Conversion in retail sales is determined by the ratio of those who made a purchase to the number of people who came to the store. In "personal" sales, it ranges from 0.1 to 0.5. In wholesale trade - 0.6 - 0.8. In retail, it may strive for a unit. Accordingly, to analyze the sales funnel in retail, it is necessary to use slightly different algorithms.

In active sales, the manager can increase the number of requests simply by making an offer. more leads, and, with the same conversion rate, get an increase in the number of sales.

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

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

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

• he needs
• guaranteed to be present in this store

There may or may not be a consultant. At the same time, the conversion rate still tends to 1. As a rule, it is quite difficult and expensive to count the number of store visitors who came but did not make a purchase. In order for the sales funnel indicator to work effectively in retail, it is necessary to set a lower limit (the minimum check amount) at which it is considered that a purchase has been made. Conditionally, 100, 200, 300 rubles. Establishing a lower limit on the check amount will allow you to distinguish loyal customers from customers who did not find the right product, bought the minimum of the most necessary and left unsatisfied.

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

What parameters directly affect the turnover of the store?

• The number of buyers (checks) in the whole store
• Number of checks for an amount exceeding the minimum amount
• Conversion rate
• The amount of the average check for the store

Rice. 2. Information about the amount of the check in general for the store.

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

When managing sales in a product category, the conversion rate is equal to the ratio the number of "receipts" in which there are goods of this category to total checks in the store. (This coefficient is also called category penetration coefficient). The conversion rate is calculated based on information about the number of receipts that contained at least one item from this category.

Calculation of the sum of the average sale (average check) in a product category should be calculated as the ratio of the sum of sales in the category to the number of "checks" in which the product was present (Fig. 3).

To evaluate the quality of work in a category, two parameters must be used:

• Category Conversion Rate
• The amount of the average check in the category

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

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

We will set the tasks on an example close to reality. The current state of affairs in the store is as follows:

Table 1. Current value of indicators.

Goal: Increase turnover.

To increase turnover, you need:

• in each product category to increase the conversion and the amount of the average check. The task is assigned to category managers;
• create an additional flow of customers through advertising campaigns and marketing campaigns. The task is assigned to the marketing department;
• increase conversions and the average check amount in the whole store, by properly allocating advertising budgets and helping category managers achieve their category targets. The task is assigned to the marketing department.

We set the task: within the next 6 months to increase each of the indicators by 5% (quite a doable task!). The target list is shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Target list for increasing turnover.

We define a plan for improving performance.

We make a list of necessary activities:

1. activities aimed at increasing the number of store visitors

• informing customers about promotions aimed at attracting new customers
• promotions to encourage repeat purchases
• conducting loyalty programs
• holidays
• promotions that form the image of the store and the overall loyalty of customers, etc.

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

• provision of cumulative discounts
• sale of sets
• providing a discount on the purchase of a certain amount

3. Activities aimed at increasing the conversion in the category:

1. Cross Merchandising
2. Additional display of products
3. Carrying out price promotions
4. Participation in sets, promotions held in the store as a whole
5. Activities aimed at increasing the amount of the average check in the category:
6. Discount for a set in a category
7. Quantity discount
8. Stimulating the purchase of more expensive goods
9. Any kind of marketing activity

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

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

Table 3. Monthly plan by indicators.

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

We have created the best situation for increasing turnover:

• Determine what indicators affect the turnover
• We found out which departments and employees influence the values ​​of indicators
• Set a task for each department and employee
• Created an action plan to achieve the goal
• Created a plan to achieve the goal for each indicator

Now you need to compose master plan shop.

Table 4. Plan for increasing turnover.

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

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

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

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

And do not forget to keep an eye on the market and the actions of competitors. They, too, can set themselves ambitious goals.

Imagine company N., which is engaged in the wholesale supply of X components for Y enterprises. This company has been on the market for several years, there is a base of regular customers, profits, things are 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, already greasy suits, sit - spit at the ceiling, poison jokes ... Between passing a new level in a "standard" office toy, they process incoming requests from partners. Once a former sales department, it has turned from an actively pushing the market machine into a perverted semblance of customer service. Yes, of course, they have new customers, but from where???! In this regard, the company's reputation and marketing policy help out, that is, our, so to speak, "merchants" work on the incoming stream and "do not blow your mustache." Moreover, they receive quite good money for all this.

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

And what can be done to optimize its performance?

The reason is simple. Managers in the process of “stuffing” the client base constantly increased the number of processed incoming requests. Accordingly, the time for searching became less and less. And one day the number of clients reached the maximum that the manager can handle. He works with them for a day, another, a month, six months and then BAM!!! “Wow: I’m just sitting in the office, and the work is going on, the salary is growing ...”. What happens next - but nothing: the merchant, step by step, begins to degrade ... He becomes lazy: making a couple of calls - now it's a whole problem for him, but holding a meeting - WHAT, WHAT MEETING: “the soldier is sleeping - the service is on” !! ! Such managers are dangerous because the BDI indicator (imitation violent activity) they have very high, this is already working on professional level. As soon as the boss enters the hall, everyone immediately grabs their phones, starts counting, writing, and even asking the head of the council: “Ivan Ivanovich, I just spoke with a client here, he asks for a two-week deferment, to give or not? »
Heads of departments, intoxicated by the joy of reports arriving on time, do not even realize that every day they do not receive a huge amount of money, that competitors have long been ahead and are dividing the market in their own way.

What is the best way to deal with such a situation?

You will no longer be able to make them work as before, never and under no circumstances - this is 100%, if you want 1000%. Therefore, do not even waste your strength and nerves. Because they will sabotage in such a way, albeit “technically”, that it will not seem enough!
And be aware! 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 decision will not be long in coming!
With such a balance of power, it is necessary to simultaneously build a new commercial service, the old one will gradually develop into a customer service department - customer service.
You have a new organizational structure of the sales department, which clearly separates new customers from those who make systematic purchases. Some sell, others serve, the most logical sales model!
It is important to consider that the staff for customer service requires less qualified. Minimum program: knowledge of the product, market specifics, plus a computer. And this means that wages in this department will be much lower, so soon, your obese "comers" will be replaced by young girls with a pleasant appearance.

2. Adjust the motivation system of your salespeople.

A well-built motivation system is a very serious tool for increasing the efficiency of the sales department, and it doesn’t matter what kind of sales we are talking about b2b or b2c.
In one of the companies, there was such a case. Managers of the commercial department, in addition to bonuses from the first sale, received a small percentage of current payments, i.е. from those clients whom they brought a long time ago and now they are served by the client department. So, after a couple of years, this small percentage was enough to not receive a salary. About the fact that employees get money so easily, the manager found out by accident. Once he heard a conversation between an “experienced” businessman and a newcomer in a smoking room, who said: “You will work for two years, and then you will live on interest, from the current ones. The main thing is to be quiet: do not be late, submit reports on time, smile, there are “incoming” ones, we will share ... ".
Imagine how much money was wasted, horror.
If the "dogs" are full, what a hunt! (May sellers forgive me for such a comparison).
The motivation system is a powerful managerial lever! The main thing is to use it wisely.
Revising ratios and percentages is just as important as changing sales plans. Many companies work "the old fashioned way": the standard scheme is salary +%. But that doesn't work anymore, forget it!
If you want to keep sellers in good shape, if you want high intensity in their work, then take into account other indicators when calculating the salary: the number of calls (cold, repeated), the number of meetings, the number of contracts, conversions, average bill, average time “from a call to a contract”, fulfillment of instructions 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 opportunities allow us to make this calculation automatic and take into account dozens of employee performance indicators. For example, the easiest way is an Excel spreadsheet. The manager, filling out a daily report, can immediately see his results in the context of one day or week, how much he has completed, from the sales plan, what needs to be tightened up, where the norms 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 there is, then only formally.
No sales plan = bankruptcy plan.
The planning process is nothing more than creating a virtual model of what is to happen. If you do not have a sales plan, then it will be very difficult for you to evaluate the effectiveness of work and measure the result, and without measurement, there is no management, in principle.

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

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

3) The next step: we break down these amounts by sales departments and for each manager personally. Current dealers - for customer service, new ones - for the commercial department, then - the department of corporate orders, directors of chain stores, etc.
4) Then you divide these figures into quarters and months, taking into account seasonality, the experience of the previous year, the range of goods, and so on.
Using this not tricky 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, as it were, from two sides: from your employees, and directly from you. When they are agreed, something in between is born, and the manager perceives these figures as a document developed by himself, and therefore thinks more about how to implement it, and not how to explain why it cannot be performed.
Everyone has their own idea of ​​the future and everyone will think that his plan is "more correct". You, as a manager, will say that the market allows you to grow and you should use it! And managers, in turn, will fight back saying that their life is hard, the market is not rubber, there are a lot of competitors, and that Russia is not Europe.
Get ready for it!

4. Provide "total" knowledge of the product.

In fact, not all sales managers know the product they are selling well, no matter how strange it may sound. Every day, at meetings, a huge number of transactions are disrupted due to the incompetence of managers in matters of the specifics of the product. This is especially true for technological products. I think: for many, the situation is familiar when, during negotiations, a client asks a question that you did not expect 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 it is extremely important… ". At this moment, your eye twitches and your leg cramps - what did he say? YOU take out the phone, with the words: “Now I will clarify”, - call the elder, and, not knowing how to formulate the question, hand over 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 possession of information about the product, puts the manager in a stupid position. The client forms an opinion about the company by communicating with specific person, You will never be able to explain to the client that “it 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 customer questions related to product characteristics;
Secondly, of course, write down the answers;
Third, conduct an attestation for knowledge of the product (those who did not pass are not allowed to negotiate);
Fourth, 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 technical specifications and product properties.
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 disruption of transactions, equip managers with tables, lists, photographs, 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 to the meeting, one of each. I don’t know the 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 Chinese competitors. He does not believe that you have the best nails, let him try (pull it out of his hand).

But what to do if, nevertheless, a situation arises when you do not know what to answer ?!

Firstly, Don't worry! Until you start to worry, you retain the status of an expert.
Secondly, clarify the question by repeating what the opponent said (writing down). So you show that you are listening carefully and gently indicate 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 turns his eyes away. (“Honestly, I don’t remember when last time I was asked about this...)
Fourth, turn your ignorance 180 degrees in your favor: appeal to the client's competence in this matter. Somehow: "... you rarely meet a true professional in our industry ...".
Fifth, ask permission to clarify the information. It is 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 for the "gaps" in the knowledge of the product to gradually disappear, and the emerging ones could not negatively affect the outcome of the meeting.

5. Form a "sales book" of the department.

What is a "book of sales"?
In any business, there is a difficulty in adapting newcomers to a new place. Now I'm not talking about the "acclimatization" of a beginner in a new team, but about his training in your technologies and principles of work. Of course, there are job descriptions, standards, regulations that fall on the head of a probationary employee: “Study!!! I'll check it out!!!"
What do you think, is there such a knowledge base that will allow you to build a new link into the sales process in a few days (3-4 days)? Which will allow, within a few days, to test a beginner. Do you have time for probationary periods"? Can you wait until a newcomer "has an internship" after which there is a chance to hear: "Nah, this job is not for me"?
So here it is! Such a “litmus test” is the “sales book”.
Nothing stands still - everything evolves! Our business is developing, our customers are developing, the offered goods are being modernized, the approaches to work are changing. What was yesterday a unique selling proposition is today considered the norm in the industry. How to manage to adjust all these standards and regulations, how to respond to external changes with lightning speed?
Keep your business in shape you will allow the "sales book"!
Every day, our managers, performing their professional duty, gain invaluable experience: 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 "book of sales."

The main advantage of the "sales book" is that you get a tool for organizing a self-developing sales department.
About principles:
There is no form or strict plan to create this document. This is its essence. Main principle- the document is "live". It is constantly changing, supplemented, both directly by the head and employees of the sales department. This form of exchange of experience has a positive effect on the formation team spirit in company. All experience and knowledge is stored in one place: all the techniques, all the answers to questions, the best objection handling and effective speech modules - everything “that is acquired by overwork”.
About structure:
The Book of Sales is based on two sections:
1. Organization of the sales process
2. Principles and techniques of sales
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 calls. It describes in detail what they are and how to do them.
Example:
Section 3.14. "cold calls"
Description: "cold calls" - a tool to attract new customers to our company. "Cold" because the potential client is not waiting for our call, and did not consider the possibility of cooperation with us. Blah blah blah…
Scheme:
1. Greeting - presentation
Script: Hello, my name is….
2. Explain the purpose of the call
Script: Who can I talk to...
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 it this way, what technique we use. To pass the awareness of the seller of what he is doing.
Writing a "sales book" is very creative process. I have come across "sales books" that contain both the organizational structure of the department, and the description of business processes, and standard forms of reports. Such a construction of a “sales book” is, in fact, very convenient. I'm sure that, after some time, commercial organizations completely abandon the 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 to anyone that "everything ingenious is simple"! Is not it!?

6. Provide customer feedback.

How do you know what YOU are doing wrong? How to improve the work of the company so as to satisfy not only your needs, but also take into account the wishes of customers? How do I know: what makes my company better than others?
Ask your clients about this.
Many clients, in addition to cooperation 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 in the market. Who and what offers, in what terms and how they deliver, what will be new and when, and a lot of other information is circulating in the client environment.
“Feedback” is not only a way to find out how competitors behave, what they are doing and what they plan, 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 there? ". In the questionnaire " feedback” should be a question of this nature: “What changes in the work of our company will allow us to count on an increase in the volume of purchases from your side? ", -something like this. It is possible in other words, but keeping the meaning - why do you work not only with us?
"Feedback" will help to learn about the affairs 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 customers. Agree: it is worth paying extra for a storekeeper for an hour of work, if this is important for so many clients.

So, make a questionnaire for "feedback". Build 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 customer contact points with your company.
Example:
1. What should be changed in the work of our company?
2. What additional products or services would you like to purchase from us?
3. Rate vocational training 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”, - specify: why not five.
Also an important point in the organization of "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 audit customer loyalty on an ongoing basis.
2. Based on the information received, decisions will be made and specific actions will be taken.
Appoint a person responsible for "feedback", allocate a day to collect information and draw up a report. Do not call too often, one call per month is enough. Conduct a flash survey (for example, questions related to employee aptitude and ease of use), 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 combine harvesters to farms, then in January, call with the question: “What will increase the volume of purchases? ' is a bit silly.
Implement "feedback" and use the information for its intended purpose.

7. Attract customers with cold calls

In b2b sales there is such a thing as "cold calls". This is nothing more than the main active sales tool to attract customers. Many companies neglect this method of increasing profits, and for good reason. The skepticism is easily explained:
firstly, someone tried to implement cold calling in their sales model, and did not receive desired effect, abandoned them forever;
secondly, the marketing policy of some companies allows them to attract a certain number of customers exclusively through advertising, and in principle this is enough for them. But most likely, I would like more!
In the first case, everything is clear: not knowing how to fly an aircraft, you should not sit at the helm. Illiterate "cold calls" can do more harm to the company than give any positive result.
In the second case, the situation is more complicated: things seem to be going well, the number of customers is growing, what else is needed for business development, but ... Imagine: the managers of the nearest competitor make 100 cold calls per day ... And what do you think: in whose favor will the market share in another year?

So, in order to attract customers with the help of 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. For each sector, assign a responsible manager (he may have several more managers subordinate to him, then they divide their sector into several more).
3. Each manager needs to collect all the contacts of potential clients in his sector, and all the necessary information about them.
4. Gather all contacts of your competitors in this sector and information on them.
5. Make a SWOT analysis of the market based on the information received, and develop Commercial offer for each sector.
6. Write a cold call script.
7. Assign a plan for the number of "cold calls" per month and per day.
8. Implement a daily report (Excel format is fine) on the results of calls.
In principle, this will be enough for your "cold calls" to work and begin to give positive results.
It should be noted that a systematic approach is essential when using this tool. 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? ”, - replies guiltily: “I don’t know, I forgot to clarify.” How, in this case, you can build a profitable commercial offer - yes, no way. And calling back with a question: “I forgot to ask here ...” is at least stupid.
In general, “I forgot to ask”, “I forgot to clarify” is a widespread phenomenon among active sales managers. This is due not only to the qualifications of employees, and the lack of proper experience, but also to the notorious "human factor". Serious 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 the head is no longer “cooking” and you really want to go home, turn off the phone and go to bed.
I will tell you about myself easy way improve the efficiency of negotiations!
In order for negotiations to be 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 ask at the meeting.
How to compose it?
To begin with, it is necessary to write out, in the form of questions, the strategically important information that is necessary for compiling an effective commercial proposal:
What suppliers are you currently working with?
- what items does it buy, and in what volumes?
- priority dates?

In general, all information that, one way or another, will influence the formation of the proposal, should be indicated in the "questionnaire":
1. Then these questions must be arranged in the order “from simple to complex”. That is, it is not worth asking at the beginning of negotiations what level of capitalization of their investments when signing the contract, the client expects.
2. Start with simple questions, and better, in general, abstract, not related to the topic of negotiations. Complex questions that require argumentation should be placed in the middle, and towards the end of the list. End negotiations also with simple questions that require a positive answer.
3. Make space between questions to record the client's responses.
4. Try to make sure that your "questionnaire" has at least 10 questions. If their number is less, then there is a risk of missing important details, and besides, such a document will not look serious. The fact is that it is necessary 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. Meetings will be held in the "channel" they set. Why they will easily control the course 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 solve the client's questions. The document lying on the table disciplines the opponent. The seller, on the other hand, feels confident at any “cost” of negotiations.

9. Check what your salespeople are doing.

Look closely at your sales team. Are all managers now at their workplaces. 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 for paper ... but you never know how many other things in the office that can be lost on an hour or even an hour and a half.
It is possible that some types of work indirectly affect the results of sellers: preparing a contract, mailing correspondence, preliminary calculations, booking a hotel or tickets. But if all this takes at least 20% of the seller's time from the main work, then you will lose at least the same amount in profit.
You pay the manager a salary - this is the amount that is the payment for everyday mandatory operations. You also pay a percentage of sales - this is the premium part 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 execution of accompanying documents, and much more you pay for, without even knowing how much money passes by.
But the most interesting thing is that the question: “Where have you been? ”, - they will answer you, with complete confidence in their eyes and voice: “So the paper is over, the delivery is long to wait, but urgently needed - so I ran away quickly ...” (1 hour). The congruence of what is happening will confuse anyone, but ...

In any case 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 who can go for the ill-fated paper, let him go Chief Accountant Otherwise, he won't find a job in the future. By the way, from an accountant, especially the main one, you can hear the opposite: “This is not the task of accounting”, - 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" the sellers spend "left". This is done with the help of working hours. 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, at least. Most likely, you will not wait for 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 overloaded, that the measure is forced and only for one week, in the end: “I am the leader, and it’s up to me to decide whether this is necessary or not.” Yes, and more, the data must be submitted daily. In the early 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, repeated calls, presentations, etc.), and on operations that are not typical of positions. If you get more than 10% of the "left earnings" you need to take action. Which?
Everything that is not related to sales, and which was discussed a lot above, does not require special qualifications and deep knowledge. Accordingly, such work can be performed by an additional employee with a lower salary (usually a small salary).
For example, when making calculations, one manager spends 25% of his working time “left”. On average, one seller sells for 100,000 rubles per month, spending 75% of the allotted working time on this. So you don't get
approximately 33,000 rubles per month. This 25% can be outsourced to a personal assistant. Hire a secretary manager, or an administrator, or whatever you call him, for a minimum salary (15,000 rubles, for example, for a part-time student is not bad money), and this secretary can work for two, or even three managers: preparing documents, answering by e-mail, making simple calculations, agreeing on the time and place of the meeting, booking tickets, hotels, etc. She will do anything that robs the manager of precious capital - the time you pay for.
An assistant, for 15,000 rubles, will pay for itself in the first month, and your salespeople will like this form of work, when you can prepare papers for signing a contract without waiting for the end of the meeting.
By the way, more about the benefits of timekeeping of working hours. Pay attention to the amount of time spent on reporting, it should be no more than 15 minutes a day (if the reports are daily).

Sales is one of the foundations of a successful business, no matter what it does. Even if the most necessary products for the population are produced, they still need to be sold. And as part of the article, we will look at how to increase sales in retail.

general information

1. To begin with, you should take a look at companies that offer goods delivery services. It is quite possible that the supplier sells food products quite expensively and you can find companies on the market with a more pleasant pricing policy. In this case, it will be possible to reduce the selling price.
2. You should experiment with the placement of goods and see what is taken most often together.
3. Considerable attention should be paid to the identified patterns and try to turn them to your advantage.

Non-standard ideas

In this case, the greatest attention should be paid to the following approaches:

1. Sensitivity to trends. Consider an example. When winter ends, the demand for rolled metal products for houses, sheds, fences, and so on increases. For additional effect mutual advertising, gifts and referrals may be used.
2. Exactly the same, but better. The essence of this approach is that there is a choice of goods that are similar in value. In such cases, the highest quality is chosen. Using such a "background" can do a good job.
3. More expensive means better. Many people think that the more a product costs, the better it is. And this is often true. In other cases, they simply profit from it.
4. symbiotic partnership. Consider where is the best place to place a retail outlet? Here are a couple of combinations: a pharmacy and a grocery store, or auto parts and bicycles. Related areas and can help in a very qualitative way in increasing the level of sales.

And if you are interested in how to increase sales in the retail trade in flowers or other fast-moving items, then the latter option will be literally ideal for growth. If you think about it, then find a good place possible almost everywhere.

Automated sales systems

It's a popular way to organize, customize, and improve customer experience when it's done in multiple steps. Let's say we have an online clothing store. Can its performance be improved? How to increase sales in clothing retail in times of crisis and hard times?

An automated sales system will help with this! With its help, you can facilitate the establishment of contact, the clarification of requirements and requests, the formulation of requests, their processing and execution, including delivery. Also, an automated sales system helps in after-sales service and subsequent interactions. Exists a large number of benefits and useful features that they can offer.

Building a sales system

A lively mind, sensitivity to the market and ingenuity provide ample opportunities. But to improve performance, it is necessary to attend to the construction of a sales system. It will allow you to understand the structure of goods sold in the picture of the general assortment and analyze intermediate results.

Using an automated sales system as a basis will significantly streamline the available information. In addition, it will be easier to build relationships with customers, from his first call to the issuance of an invoice. The ability to make accompanying notes also helps a lot. In addition, they may have various add-ons such as the ability to send instant messages or emails.

Various tools to increase sales

Let's consider such a case when a retail sale of something is carried out through the World Wide Web. Only we will pay attention not to sites, but to social networks. These are quite popular sites where a large number of people are located, and all of them are potential buyers.

According to a fairly large number of people, the presence of a company representative who is engaged in maintaining feedback through social media, increases the number of sales in the amount of a third of the existing turnover. You should not neglect various pleasant bonuses and souvenirs that can please customers with their availability. It may also be an offer to make an additional purchase along with the product.

Consider this case: a person buys a computer, and they offer him a router at a reduced cost, or even give it for free. You just have to follow the rule that additional service should not cost more than the main purchase. You can also use the establishment of a certain purchase threshold.

It should be noted that in this case there is no specific model of interaction and you can work here within the framework of your imagination. The general gist is something like this:

1. When the value of purchases exceeds a certain amount, the buyer will receive a gift, a raffle coupon or free shipping. Although it could be something else.
2. When two goods are bought, the third is given free of charge.

Non-standard models

Overall list various ways can go on for a very long time. Yes, and it would be useful to try to turn on your imagination and come up with something new that will help increase the level of sales. Finally, remember this:

1. Payment of change of goods. This technique can not be called widespread, but it is still quite interesting. So, when the buyer pays for the goods, he receives change not in money, but in some small things. For example - chewing gum, sweets or matches.
2. Multi-colored price tags. This technique is used in cases where it is necessary to draw attention to a particular product and show that it is special. For example, that a food product will soon deteriorate, and therefore it is sold at a discount.
3. Time limited price. It has a strong motivating effect on buyers, literally forcing them to buy the product at the moment.
4. Possibility of return. There is a pretty neat trick here. There is a law that requires you to take back an item if it is returned 14 days after it was purchased. You can play extra on this. It is enough to offer customers that if they do not like the product, they can return it after 14 days.
5. Price hints. In addition to the cost, in this case it is useful to post information about what is taken together in this particular product.

Conclusion

It is impossible to say exactly how effective these measures will be. Here much depends on the practical implementation and many different aspects. But the fact that the result will be is without a doubt. The main thing is to build a strategy. No need to put everything in a heap and pile one on the second. In which case, you can always use one first, and then something else. In addition, various special moments can be timed to coincide with dates such as the New Year, the summer season, etc.

But in pursuit of the number of sales, do not forget about the minimum required price. For the client, of course, is a valuable person, but it is not worth working at a loss. Therefore, it is necessary to look for the golden mean. And if one person leaves, you should not be sad, but you need to concentrate on the rest of the people who are in the status of a potential client.

With development market economy The private business sector is growing from year to year. This is quite natural - more and more people do not want to work for someone, they want to open an independent business. And depend only and exclusively on yourself. Despite the fact that your business is always a risk of burnout, business acumen, ability and endurance can help bring your small business to success. But still, owning a business is not an easy task, especially when it comes to trade. Quite often (and at any stage of development of this, the question arises of how to increase the level of sales?

It should be noted that it is quite difficult to give an unambiguous answer to this question. Any trade is both a profitable and very risky business, since it requires a careful study of market conditions, flexibility and resourcefulness in business decisions and, of course, luck from the businessman. Let's consider the simplest, and therefore a clear example, in a store.

First, it should be noted that any trade is based on compromises. There are several. The first is between the price and the quality of the goods. IN Lately such a concept as “brand” has “wedged” into this scheme (which most often does not affect at all, but can increase the price). The quality of the goods (and better both the quality and the popularity of its trademark) should be at the maximum high level, while the price should not be a penny higher than the price set by competitors. On the contrary, an artificial, albeit small, underpricing is encouraged (especially at first).

The second important trade-off that must be observed if you want to learn in practice how to increase the level of sales is the ratio of supply and demand. The first, as you know, gives rise to the second. Accordingly, there are two options: either to sell goods that will always be needed, or to occupy a specialized (narrow) niche of the market sector, securing a lasting influence on it. To do this, either expand or, conversely, narrow the range of products sold.

However, this is not the only way to ensure an increase. First of all, it should be remembered that various kinds of promotions and advertising moves give only a one-time effect, possibly attracting a small wave of buyers, but it is the quality of the services provided that will make regular customers out of this spontaneous wave. To understand how to increase the level of sales, we turn to following scheme. The work of people and for people is always necessary, that is, we start from the individual. In order to ensure an increase in sales, it is necessary that all managers, salespeople, warehouse workers - in general, all staff work like a well-coordinated mechanism, well versed in own functions and understanding what corporate ethics is.

Further, constant and thoughtful work with the client is necessary. Clear, fast and polite service will make the store popular in a fairly short time. We must not forget that the seller himself must be well versed in the goods being sold.

That's the whole answer to the question of how to increase sales. The answer is simple, but the main thing here is to bring all its elements to life. And, perhaps, based on the tips above, come up with something of your own!

04May

Hello! In this article, we will talk about ways to increase retail sales.

Today you will learn:

• What are the characteristics of retail;
• What are the ways to increase sales in retail store;
• : step-by-step instruction.

Retail Features

Retail sales - sale of goods by the piece to the final consumer for his personal use. This short definition characterizes retail in the best possible way.

Retailers sell goods to the most ordinary consumers, individuals who use it for their own needs. To understand what kind of product the end consumer market needs at the moment, it is necessary to carry out a complete analysis.

However, it should be noted that retail covers almost all areas of business: from consulting services and Food Industry to mechanical engineering and construction.

Retail trade requires less capital investment compared to wholesale. This makes entering the market accessible to almost everyone. However, not everyone should jump into retail because of its affordability.

First you need to familiarize yourself with the features of this type of trade in order to understand whether it is right for your company:

1. If you manufacture or purchase goods in large quantities, and you do not have several hundred square meters or a developed distribution system in several geographic regions, then retail is not for you. The end consumer market will not be able to accommodate a very large volume of products. There are exceptions: for example, branded goods. They are bought on the first day they enter the market. Remember the queue on Red Square for brand new apple smartphones. However, this is the exception, not the rule. If your product is not yet very popular, then your offer should match the demand.
2. If you are not ready to spend your money on, then retail is not for you. Emotions play an important role in the retail market, they influence the purchase decision. Brilliant advertising campaign. In addition, retail is characterized by a large number of consumers who buy goods in small batches. And this means that in order to ensure sufficient sales, the company needs to notify a large number of consumers about the product. This can be done through marketing communications. We will definitely talk about them.
3. If you are not sure about the "hardness" of your final price, then retail is not for you. Demand in the end-user market is quite elastic. There are exceptions - these are essential products, such as bread, matches or salt.
4. There is a need for constant marketing research. Otherwise, you will miss the moment when your company's sales began to decline and will not have time to eliminate the negative factors that we will talk about now.

Why sales are declining

There are many factors that can have a negative impact on sales. And sometimes it can be circumstances that we have no control over. These include economic, political, technological, socio-cultural, legal and environmental factors external environment.

To determine the strength of the influence of these factors on your business, you need to conduct a PESTEL analysis. In the event that the strength of the influence of these parameters on the market is too great, then it is better not to take risks and refuse to exit. This will save you from financial losses.

But there are negative factors in the occurrence of which the company itself is to blame. We can influence these parameters, so it will be useful to consider each of them in more detail.

Bad store location.

This is the most common mistake new entrepreneurs make. Before or stall, do a little research. Find out where yours is, in what cases your product is purchased. If you answer these two questions, you can save a lot on marketing.

Example. We want an economy format. Our target audience is female students and working women aged 18 to 35. It is not practical to open a salon near the university, as we will cover only female students. It is also unprofitable to choose a sleeping area for opening, since we will cover only one geographical region. But opening a retail outlet near a shopping center near the university and not far from the sleeping area would be a good solution. It will be visited by both of your segments.

Decor.

We opened and decorated the window. But clients do not come to us. What is the reason? Walk up to your point of sale and look at it through the eyes of a consumer. Perhaps it looks unattractive or does not represent your product, and consumers simply do not understand why they should go to you.

When registering an outlet, follow the following rules:

• The showcase should reflect your product, be associated with it;
• Give examples of prices. This attracts consumers, especially if these prices are low. But do not deceive, they must correspond to reality;
• Duplicate information about your promotions on the showcase;
• Use hot topics for decoration.

Range.

There can be many options here, let's look at each:

• Insufficient assortment width. Your clients don't come back to you after the first visit. This is one of the signs of this problem. Compare your range with your closest competitors, ask consumers what your outlet is missing. This will allow you to eliminate the problem and attract visitors;
• Too wide range. In this case, the consumer simply cannot choose one product and leaves without buying. One of the marketing agencies conducted an interesting study. First, the client was asked to choose one of three jars of jam of different flavors. The consumer made his choice. The same customer was then asked to choose from 24 different jars of jam. In the second case, the consumer either chose the taste that he chose the first time, or left without buying. The researchers concluded that an assortment containing more than eight items negatively affects sales volumes;
• The assortment does not match the location of the outlet. For example, our nail salon is located next door to the bridal salon. A good solution to increase sales would be to include a wedding manicure in the assortment.

Low quality of service.

The modern consumer is very demanding. He wants to enjoy the process of making a purchase. The boorish behavior of the staff will not save even the highest quality product. , conduct trainings, . A good retail salesperson is 90% successful.

Ways to increase sales in a retail store

In fact, there are only two ways to increase sales - increasing the consumption of products by existing consumers or.

Attraction of new clients

This method can be implemented by poaching customers from competitors or by entering new segments.

In both cases, you will have to turn to marketing tricks. Tools for implementing each of these methods are given in the table. Some methods are generic.

Increasing sales with existing customers

It also has two options for implementation: increase in consumption and increase in sales conversion.

Increasing sales conversion.

Sales Conversion - the ratio of the number of visitors to the store to the number of buyers.

From the definition, we can conclude that the conversion is mainly influenced by the parameters of the outlet itself. Therefore, we will work with them.

• We improve the quality of service. A good seller will be able to sell any product. The bad one will not sell and the best one. There is such a thing as intra-company marketing, which is determined by the company's attitude towards its staff. How better conditions labor, the more sales you get. Also, don't forget about training and motivation;
• Merchandising. has a direct impact on the sales of your products. There is a rule in marketing outstretched hand. According to this rule, the client in 80% of cases takes the goods to which he can reach without special efforts. If your product is above or below this zone, then sales will be low;
• Promotions, sales, bonuses. This method will allow you to increase the conversion, but only for the duration of the incentive events.

Increase in consumption.

In this case, all our actions will be aimed at increasing the average check.

You can do this in the following ways:

• Price increase. By increasing the price of your products, you will increase the average purchase amount, but may decrease the conversion rate. So you won't get an increase in sales. To prevent this from happening, remember a simple rule: any price change must be justified. The client must understand that you raised the price for a reason, but because your packaging has changed to a more convenient one (in fact, the price and packaging may not be related to each other).
• Additional services or goods. After your consumer has chosen the main product, offer to complement it with a service or another product. For example, you sold a necklace, offer the buyer a gift box. This add-on will not be a significant expense for the client, but in total will bring you a good additional sales volume in monetary terms.
• Loyalty program. Map regular customer will not increase the average check, but will lead to an increase in the number of purchases by the consumer in your store. There are several types of discount cards: bonus, accumulative, privileged. Each of them has its own tasks, but their common goal is to increase sales.

How does the loyalty program work? For example, we own a grocery store and we have a loyalty card, which is provided free of charge when buying from 1000 rubles. There is another grocery store across from us, but it doesn't have own program loyalty. Customers who have a card of our store will come to us to receive a discount, bonuses or gifts (depending on the type of card). Thus, we "tie" consumers with a card, forcing them to buy only from us, increasing sales.

Step by step guide to increase sales

Each business is unique, but there is a certain sequence of steps that will increase sales for both a furniture store and a consulting company.

Step 1 . We define the specifics of our outlet.

There is a huge amount various forms retail stores.

They can differ in the following parameters:

• Form of service: self-service, Internet trading, catalog sales, self-service machines and stalls, traditional service, pre-order;
• According to the form of organization: a single outlet, a network, small retail trade, mobile trade;
• By type of goods: food and non-food.

The shape of the store determines the range of problems that can affect the decline in sales. For example, in a clothing retail store, the main reason for the decline in sales may be the low qualification of contact staff, and this is unlikely to be the reason.

Step 2. We are looking for weaknesses.

Main weak side retail stores are:

• Small volumes of a one-time purchase by one client;
• Too high price. Big margin is good. But do not go too far, otherwise you will lose customers;
• Too wide target audience. You want to sell everything to everyone, but it is very difficult to do so. A much more effective solution would be to focus on one segment.

Separately, I would like to highlight the problems of online trading:

• Inconvenient location of active buttons. These include the button "buy", "pay", "place an order" and others. If the client has to look for such a button for a long time, then he will simply leave without buying;
• The site is not adapted for mobile devices. According to statistics, about 40% of sales are made from mobile devices, so displaying a site from a phone should be as convenient, understandable and informative as from a computer;
• Too complicated and long checkout and registration forms. The client is not enough nerve cells to fill out your form and place an order. Don't test his patience;
• Insufficient information about the product, low quality photos. The consumer must know what he is buying.

Step 3. We choose methods for solving the problem.

Scroll up and see which method and tool to increase sales can increase sales in your store.

For example, if your customers are shopping for small amounts, then you should use the increase consumption method. Offer additional goods at the checkout, enter a cumulative bonus card.