There are three basic ways that an individual salesperson can increase their sales. The first way would be to get more people to come into the store that you can sell. Now the question is: What can an individual salesperson do to get more people to come into the store?
There are several things. One way would be to ask every existing customer for referrals. Not in a pushy and aggressive manner but by simply saying, “Who else do you know that may be getting engaged?” Or: “Who else do you know that might be interested in fine jewelry as a holiday gift?” Then simply say, “Would you mind taking a few of my business cards? I would love to meet them as well.”
I know that people that are getting married tend to hang out with other people that may be getting married in the near future. People that buy fine jewelry tend to hang out with other people that may be interested in fine jewelry.
Another way would be through networking. Join the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, the PTA, your church or other civic organization. In other words, get involved in the community so other people know who you are.
In many cases success in sales comes down to who and how many people you know and meet. Be out there shaking hands and kissing babies. Be proud of who you are and your company and carry business cards with you to pass out when the appropriate opportunity arrives. For example; someone was commenting on your jewelry, give them your card and invite them to come see you.
Another way to increase traffic would be to get your existing customers to come in more often through a successful telephone or e-mail campaign. The secret here is to get the customer to ask you to call them for their next special event or occasion. You can provide such extraordinary customer service that it actually causes word of mouth advertising. I know when someone gets a new piece of jewelry they show it off to many people. The customer can say either, “look at my new ____ that I got from ABC Jewelers” or “look at my new ____.” I want them mentioning the store name. That is done through providing exceptional customer service.
Another way to get more people to come in is to invite friends and family in for their special events or occasions. As you can see, there are numerous things that an individual can do to drive more people into the store. Don’t just sit back and wait for customers to come in; don’t rely solely on the company’s advertising or marketing to drive traffic in. Look at the company you work for as an opportunity to grow your own business within the business. For as long as you are with the company, develop customers into being your personal customer.
A second way an individual can increase sales is by selling more of the people that are already coming in. By that, I mean increase your closing ratio. If you are selling three out of every ten customers now and you increase that number to four out of every ten, you just produced a 33% sales increase.
Now the question is, how can I sell more of the people that are already coming in? That is simply by taking responsibility for your own personal growth and development. Don’t wait for somebody to offer you increased knowledge or training – go get it yourself. Read the trade journals (which I know you are if you are reading this article), books on sales & customer service; try some new things to increase your skills, abilities, and knowledge. Too often, salespeople reach a certain level of competency or incompetence (depending on how you look at it) and they let their training and education stop. Don’t do that; constantly look for ways that you can improve.
The third way an individual salesperson can increase sales is through selling more to the customers that they are already selling. In other words, learn how to bump a sale up or how to sell add-ons. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen a salesperson make a sale only to have the owner or manager step in and make a sale that resulted in being two or three times as large as the original sale. This is done through learning how to increase a customer’s perception of value or how to take a repair opportunity to a retail sale and so on. There is an entire additional skill set in learning to sell add-ons.
Again, it takes study practice and application to be the professional that your customers expect you to be and the expert professional that you want to be. Nothing is easy, dedicate yourself to learning one new skill a day and you will be well on your way to increasing your personal sales.
Author, trainer, consultant, and speaker Brad Huisken is President of IAS Training. Mr. Huisken has authored several books and training manuals on sales and produces a Weekly Sales Training Meeting video series along with Aptitude Tests and Proficiency Exams for new hires, current sales staff and sales managers. In addition, he publishes a free weekly newsletter called “Sales Insight” For a free subscription or more information contact IAS Training at 800-248-7703, info@iastraining.com or visit his website at www.iastraining.com.
