Boost Business with Product Sales
Like it or not, the conversation on how to navigate life as a small business owner in post-Covid times is going to stick around for a while. As business ramps up, there are inevitably fewer clients walking through the door, which makes it imperative to make the most of each client by selling product to them. Before you panic, we’ve got some tips to help you out.
Products can’t walk or talk like in a cute Pixar movie, so they can’t sell themselves. The only way to move product off your shelves is to incentivize and train your staff. So let’s get into it:
Make Sure To Properly Train Your Staff
Training needs to include not just full product knowledge of each product on your shelves, but also how to sell that product. Selling is a science, so provide scripts, prescription forms, and closing tactics to help your staff feel comfortable and set up for success.
Set Attainable Goals with Profitability in Mind
Take a detailed look at your product and service sales from 12 months before, and then set your new monthly target based on those figures. Be reasonable and aim for 20% higher sales.
Break Your Monthly Goal Down To Weekly Staff Targets
Set weekly sales targets. The dollar number is smaller and more attainable, plus gives your staff the feeling of a fresh start week-to-week.
Morning Huddle
Each morning, lead a five-minute huddle to review each staffer’s goal for the day. Be sure to have created a roadmap for each staff member on how to hit their goal. Review each incoming client and see if there is an opportunity to upsell an additional service, review the client history to see what they are ‘due’ to purchase, plus review the client’s past packages to see how many services they have left in a package and if it’s time to renew.
Set Fun Incentives
If you want your staff to sell, they need to be incentivized—so offer a prize! Prizes can be anything from a product in your retail boutique to a service from your spa. If you really want to build the competition, partner your services and products with other popular local businesses and use their services and products as prizes.
Keep Staff Motivated
Begin your workweek with a motivational email to your staff that sets the competition goals and prizes. Midweek, send another team email with an update on how much each staff member has sold and how far they have to go to reach their target. Lastly, send a team email at the end of each week congratulating the winner. Most importantly, start the process all over again the following week!
Creating this goal-oriented selling system is like any other system you introduce and implement in your business—so be consistent. Sure, initially your staff might be resistant to your new selling methodology. But once they realize this system is a consistent part of their staff responsibilities, they’ll get on board. Plus, once they see a noticeable bump in their paychecks, it’s likely they’ll have more energy and enthusiasm than ever before! And remember, by creating a more equally distributed revenue responsibility across your team, you will be able to focus on your business’s bigger picture!