The induction process for new salespeople New salespeople will need to familiarise themselves with your business – its products or services, its employees and its customers. You should plan an induction process that you can also use for any sales staff you recruit in the future. Your induction process should cover the following: Your industry – give them the basic knowledge they’ll need about your business sector, your position in… Read More »The induction process for new salespeople

Setting sales targets You need to set clear targets for your salespeople, linked to incentives such as commissions and bonuses – this motivates them and provides a clear indication of the kind of performance expected of them. This process is crucial to the success of your business and needs to be closely tied in with the rest of your business strategy and planning. Be specific when setting targets for sales… Read More »Setting sales targets

Retail selling The selling process starts with preparation. You should aim to always be prepared and look the part. Your surroundings need to be ready and you will need to have a sales plan. Customer service is vital to retail success. Your staff should be well trained in customer service and sales techniques. Retail can be a competitive sector. You should aim to be unique and approach retail sales in… Read More »Retail selling

Create a sales plan from a sales forecast Once you have finalised your sales forecast, you can create an informed sales plan. The questions your sales plan should answer include: What are you going to focus on? What are you going to change? In practical terms, what steps are involved? What territories and targets are you going to give each salesperson or team? The sales plan will start with some… Read More »Create a sales plan from a sales forecast

Create your sales plan In a business, your ultimate goal is to make money. To help you do this a sales plan is required. A sales plan describes and quantifies over a period of time how sales of your products or services will be made and to whom. A sales plan includes information about your business and customers. It can help you map out ways to increase sales with current… Read More »Create your sales plan

Setting sales activity targets As well as setting your salespeople targets for the number of sales you want them to make, you should set them activity targets. These are all the individual aspects of their day-to-day duties that your sales team will carry out as part of their jobs. These activities should ultimately lead to sales. The theory is that if enough of these activities are carried out, they will… Read More »Setting sales activity targets

Develop an effective sales team Introduction Sales are the lifeblood of any business. Running a business involves being able to sell your products or services to your customers. Initially you may decide to take on sole responsibility for this function. However, in time you should consider employing experienced sales staff if you want to achieve a significant growth in sales. If you need to bring in specialist salespeople, it can… Read More »Develop an effective sales team

Developing your sales forecast Start by writing down your sales forecast assumptions. You can then create your sales forecast. This becomes easy once you have found a way to break the forecast down into individual items. Can you break down your sales by product, market, or geographic region? Are individual customers important enough to your business to warrant their own individual sales forecast? Can you estimate the conversion rate –… Read More »Developing your sales forecast

Distance selling Distance selling means selling by: phone mail order email the internet digital television Advantages of distance selling Distance selling is an effective tactic for: approaching hard-to-reach customers repeat orders from established customers reaching new markets through the internet Costs are far lower than if you visit customers, or have retail premises. Disadvantages of distance selling The downsides of distance selling include: you can’t demonstrate your product it can… Read More »Distance selling

What is your unique selling point? Every business needs a reason for their customers to buy from them and not their competitors. This is called a Unique Selling Point (USP). You can identify your USP by completing the phrase ‘Customers will buy from me because my business is the only…’ Your USP can change as your business or your market changes, and you can have different USPs for different types… Read More »What is your unique selling point?