In small businesses, there are very few things that getting more sales cannot fix.

However, the challenge lies in making sure that every sale maximises your return and will keep your customers coming back for more.

There is a lot of competition out there – meaning your sales process can become one of the critical elements in setting yourself apart from the crowd and, of course, generating revenue and profit.

With this in mind, the following are important sales considerations:

• Businesses that do not modernise or streamline their sales processes, or fail to add value, may find themselves struggling with very low conversions.
  • This means that potential consumers come in (either physically or virtually) and leave without buying.
• In the fitness industry, we offer an immediate product that is not expensive but offers a tremendous value, and yet people still walk away from it telling you that ‘they need to think about it’.
  • Staff training and development can overcome this common objection, rather than staff just being ‘order takers’.
  • ‘Order takers’ help interested prospects through the administrative process to become a member (aka paying customer) but have no influence over the prospect’s small objections (i.e. those stalling to make a purchase decision).

• Another challenge you may face is running high value offers, paying big commission on sales and therefore running at a very low profit margin.
  • The key is:
    • Starting the sale in your marketing funnel, so you disqualify the ‘tyre kickers’ and ensure your team get more time with quality prospects; and
    • Giving these quality prospects a genuine experience when they tour your business (whether virtual or physical), and making your ‘value proposition’ irresistible.
• Business owners/managers often get frustrated with sales staff missing sales targets but take no/or little responsibility for weekly training and development or for the poor quality of leads they attract from social media or Groupon-style discount websites.
  • As the business owner/manager it is your responsibility to ensure the quality of leads and the ability of the team to respond to those quality leads.
• Prospects should be clear on how your service will help them to achieve their goals.
  • Your process should communicate how they will achieve their results faster and sustain the outcome longer when choosing you.
  • If you fail to do this or do it poorly, then prospects will find another who can.

Remember, price is an important element in the consumer buying process, but still only one of many.