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Sales make the business world go round. You rely on sales to generate income for your company. Therefore, if you’re not selling enough products/services, then you’re not making enough money. This can put your business in a very difficult situation. A lack of income makes it hard to make a profit. No profit means you’ll most like be making a loss. As a result, your business starts on a slippery slope to absolute failure.
When most companies realize they’re not making a profit, they tend to focus on the wrong side of the coin. Most of their efforts go into reducing expenditure to make sure your business isn’t spending so much money. In reality, you should focus on making more money by boosting your sales figures. This will set your business down the path to success.
So, how do you do it? Here are a few sales strategies and tips that will help you close more deals and generate more income:
Identify your target market
This is the number one rule for all business. You will boost your sales straight away if you zero in on your target market. One of the main reasons companies don’t make sales or waste a lot of money trying to make sales, is because they don’t focus on a core group of people. You have to realize that not everyone wants to buy what you’re selling. So, don’t waste time, effort, or resources trying to convince them otherwise.
Instead, conduct market research to find your target market. Consider what your business has to offer, then think about the type of people who will be interested in buying it. You’ll soon narrow things down to an ideal customer profile. This will tell you all about your target market, and you can start approaching them.
Now, you waste less time trying to sell things to random people, and you increase your chances of sales success.
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Scale Search Engine Results
A key to any business’ success nowadays is appearing at the top of a search engine results. Chances are, if someone out there is looking for a product that you provide, they’ll put a few keywords into a search engine and click one of the top options that comes up. Think about it – when’s the last time you went beyond the first page or two to buy something? Probably a long time ago! People like convenience and tend to choose the easiest and most straightforward option, so you need to make sure you’re that option – not one of your competitors. Now, this can be generally basic. But have you considered laying focus on Google shopping too? Google shopping places your products in search results when people click the “shopping” tab on the search engine and you may have your products featured at the top of standard search results too. This is a great way to catch potential customers’ attention, which will boost brand awareness, pull them through to your site and potentially make them a paying customer. To thrive in this area, take a look at this full Google Shopping guide!
Focus on inbound sales techniques
Outbound sales techniques are no longer as effective as they used to be. Back in the day, cold calling was successful. Businesses could close so many sales by calling random leads up, knocking on their doors, or going out in public. These days, attitudes to these techniques have really changed. Consumers absolutely hate being bombarded by them, so they’ll ignore your approaches.
Ironically, the success of outbound methods was its undoing. Too many companies started ringing people too often, and it got overbearing. Nowadays, you need to focus on inbound sales techniques. While outbound ideas focus on going out and finding the customer, inbound ones make the customer find you.
For example, you use things like content marketing to draw the attention of your target market. They take in your content, spend time on your website, and decide if you’re the business for them or not. Of course, you promote your business all the time, but you’re not too bold about it. You don’t directly contact them and beg for their money. Let the customer come to their own decision, just make sure you subtly influence them. Once you have this sorted out you may want to have a look at how to increase saas sales and then train your employees.
Start generating positive reviews
To make more sales, you have to get in the mind of a consumer. Luckily, we’re all consumers! We all buy things, so think about what encourages you to purchase one product over another. Why did you choose your current car insurance provider over all the rest out there? A big part of your decision was based on the reviews.
Reviews tell you what other consumers think about the business and its products/services. As such, you need to start generating lots of positive reviews for your company. Google reviews will help, as will reviews on other websites like Feefo. In fact, it makes sense to choose as many review platforms as possible. This just adds to the power of the reviews as many consumers like to look at the reviews on multiple sites before making their decision. If you’ve got a positive reception across the board, then things look great.
The consequence of positive reviews is that consumers believe they can trust you. They think you’re a legitimate company that offers an excellent service because other people have said so. As a result, you will reel in some new customers and make more sales. Obviously, the key to all of this is providing an excellent service to your paying customers. Give them reasons to leave positive reviews!
Give people more ways to pay
Payment methods have a stronger significance on sales success rates than you think. What difference will this make to someone? Well, it turns out it means a great deal. Some people will only carry their cards around in their wallets. They never have any cash, so they physically won’t buy things from places that only accept cash payments. It’s too much effort to go and get cash from a cashpoint, so they move on and find someplace else.
The same goes for doing business online. If you only give your customers one payment option, then you basically force their hand. Some people would rather pay via PayPal than use their credit cards. It’s much faster, and they find it safer. If you lack different payment methods, then you close yourself off to so many potential leads. Introduce as many as you can, and you’ll be surprised at how many consumers are eager to choose your business.
On this topic, there’s a trend of buy now pay later in the online world. You have companies like Klarna offering online businesses a chance to offer installment payments to their customers. Instead of paying in full, they will pay per month. This opens up the market to so many new customers. Loads of people may have been interested in your business but didn’t have the money to pay for what you’re selling all in one go. With something like this, they can split it up into manageable payments. Just like that, you’ve found some new customers.
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Make use of influencer marketing
Next, you should call upon some assistance to help you make more sales. Influencer marketing is a modern phenomenon that’s wildly effective. For those that don’t know, it’s the act of using people with influence to sell your products to their fans. Really, it’s been happening for years in the form of celebrity endorsements!
However, the online world has taken this to new levels. Now, you can use online influencers with thousands, sometimes even millions, of followers. Agree a deal with them where they advertise your brand and use your products. In return, they either get paid or get things for free. The result is that your products and your business are being seen by thousands of fans who value what this influencer has to say. If they see that the product/service is great, and the influencer really likes it, then they feel encouraged to buy it.
The key is making sure your partner with relevant influencers. Obviously, they need to have a strong following and be very active. However, the main rule is that they have to align themselves with your brand. Partner with influencers who fit into your target market, or whose fans fit your target market. This is a match made in heaven as you know the influencer will be interested in what you offer – and so will their fans.
Dabble in affiliate marketing
Alongside influencer marketing, you should look into affiliate marketing. This is somewhat similar in that you use other people to promote your business and generate sales. The difference is that you don’t have to restrict yourself to influencers.
Join an affiliate marketing network, and anyone can help your business. Basically, you provide people with an affiliate link. This link is unique to each affiliate, and they will encourage people to click on it. Typically, bloggers or influencers will sign up to affiliate sites because it benefits them as well as you. Whenever someone clicks on their link – and goes on to make a purchase – the affiliate gets money. So, you make sales, and you only pay the affiliate when you make sales! They scratch your back, they scratch yours.
Like we said, anyone can be an affiliate. A random person can use a link and post it in their Twitter bio for people to click on. It’s a brilliant method of boosting sales as you’re spreading the word about your business. Plus, the fact that affiliates gain something from your sales means they actively promote your company. They encourage people to click the link and buy the products because they’ll make money. It’s almost like you’ve extended your marketing team!
If you’ve been having problems with your sales figures, then take all of this advice to heart. The only good thing about your situation is that it can be improved. Don’t focus too much attention on reducing your expenses if your business is generating a loss. Use these tips to improve your monthly sales figures. Now, you’ll start making more money and generating a profit without needing to cut your expenses!
