Having solid sales strategies is a necessity if you want to boost your sales and reach out to newer markets. If you have the knowledge about proven sales strategies that actually work, you will be able to drive more leads, improve your conversion rate and drive more prospects through the sales funnel.
Strategies are of utmost importance when it comes to increasing sales. Therefore, you must be well aware of the best sales strategies that have the efficacy to take your business to new heights. In this article, we will provide you with a list of the 11 best sales strategies that have been proven and guarantee you success.
What is A Sales Strategy?
A sales strategy is a set of well-laid-out plans, decisions and actions with clear objectives for selling a company’s products and services to a targeted group of buyers. It involves the use of best practices to attract new clients, drive more consumers through the sales funnel and improve the overall conversion rate.
With the help of great sales strategies, a company will be able to increase its sales revenue by a large amount.
1. Have Clear Goals
When you want to increase your sales, you need to set clear goals that you wish to achieve. Increasing sales alone is not a clear goal as it is not measurable. By setting your goal simply as ‘increasing sales’, you will not be able to analyze your progress. Therefore, set targets that you can work towards.
You can do this by setting an amount by which you wish to improve your revenue collection and a deadline before which you want to achieve your goals. This will let you track the progress you are making and also understand what steps you need to take in order to achieve your goals before the deadline.
Setting goals or targets that can be measured is really helpful for analyzing if you are making the correct efforts. This will also enable you to stay focused on your target.
2. Pick Small Niche Markets
Picking small niche markets is a quick way to boost your revenue collection and also an efficient way to pitch your services. By picking small niche markets, you will be able to pitch your services or products to a more specified group of people. You will be able to shape your marketing campaign according to the needs and demands of that specific group.
On the contrary, if you decide to sell your product to larger markets, you will be shooting arrows in the dark. You will have no idea about efficiently marketing your product as you will not have a specific target audience. Also, you will not be able to customize your marketing strategy for your customers as you will be dealing with customers with different needs and demands.
Another benefit that selecting smaller niche markets provides is that it involves little to no risk. If you are successful in your niche, you will be able to sell your product in that market for a long time. But if you fail, you can exit that market quickly owing to its small size. You will also have the freedom of choosing a market as per your interests and convenience. Therefore, it is important that you target smaller niche markets.
3. Be Attentive To Your Prospects
Being attentive is the key to mastering sales. You always need to pay attention to what your prospects have to say about your product or service. You need to be respectful of their feedback and utilize them to further improve your product. Just pitching about your product will get you nowhere as prospects will not be able to connect with your ideas. You have to ensure that prospects are engaged and that it is a two-way conversation.
Being attentive to your prospects will also contribute to building a good rapport with your prospects. They will be able to connect more to your product, which will help increase the conversion rate. Also, by listening to their feedback, you will get an understanding of their needs and will be able to shape your pitch accordingly.
Therefore, instead of just explaining the benefits of your products ask your prospects about their needs and demands. Then use the information that they provide to explain how your product will solve their problems and fulfil their demands.
4. Stand Out From Competitors
Prospects always compare the options that they have before committing to purchases. Thus, it is crucial that you stand out from these other options and attract prospects. If you differentiate yourself from others, prospects will be more inclined to try out your products.
The best way to do this is by raising your standards and providing solutions that your competitors fail to offer. You also need to conduct extensive market research and perfect your pitch accordingly. As such, you will be able to reach out more to your target audience and drive them through the sales funnel.
5. Provide Free Trials
Providing free trials for your services is a great way to attract prospects and let them know about the benefits of using your services. Through free trials, you will be able to convey the message that your services or products are actually helpful and you are not trying to sell something that you do not believe in. Free trials also help consumers to experience your product and let them decide if they wish to buy it or not.
But make sure that you incorporate free trials correctly. You would not want to stretch the free trial period for too long as it will hamper your revenue collection. Furthermore, statistics report that users do not explore free trials for more than 3 days in a row. To add to it, shorter free trials would create a sense of urgency in the minds of users and urge them to explore your product more in this short period.
Also, try to engage with users and provide some more information about your services or products during the free trial period. The benefits of your services will still be fresh in the minds of users during this period, making it an appropriate time to let them into some more details about your services. This would ensure more conversion.
6. Incorporate Storytelling
The human brain is hardwired to retain logical facts for a long time. However, it is capable of retaining information provided through stories for a long period of time. This is what makes storytelling an impactful sales strategy. Through storytelling, you can captivate prospects and take them on a creative journey to increase their interest in your product.
According to reports, the sales of paintings increased by 11% when the artists’ stories were featured below it. Stories have the capability to retain people’s interest and give rise to curiosity. By providing the narration of the story behind your product, you will be able to hook in more leads.
You can also provide stories of your existing customers and explain how your product solved their problems and met their needs. Including their testimonies will create a sense of trust in your product. Thus, stories can be a great way to leave a deep impact on the minds of customers regarding your product.
7. Be Flexible
When you start reaching out to more and more prospects, you will come across more challenges and demands. Clients may want some additional benefits from you or may demand your services at a lower price. In these situations, you can’t afford to say ‘no’ to them as you will be losing sales just for a mere margin. Hence, try to be flexible in such situations and be open to negotiations.
You must be open to counter-offers and willing to bring down your pricing by a bit. Or you can also stick to your pricing and provide some additional features instead. Your openness to negotiations depicts your willingness to work with your clients. This will make your company trustworthy in the eyes of your clients and they would like to use your services over and over again.
8. Follow Up Until You Get an Answer
Following up with your clients should be an important part of your sales strategy. Letting your prospective clients vanish after a couple of conversations is a huge loss and you may find yourself pondering upon if you could have sold to them later on. Hence, keep following up with your clients until they provide you with a definitive answer.
Studies show that only 2% of sales occur in the first meeting itself. People have various reasons for not being willing to make a purchase in the first place or provide an answer. They may be too busy, have other important things in their mind, may be concerned about the price or are unsure about your brand and so on. But it is your duty to keep following up with them and keep providing them information about your product until they come to a final decision.
Furthermore, reports suggest that 80% of non-routine sales take place after at least 5 follow-ups. Hence, do not think of following up with your clients as shooting arrows in the dark. Just keep doing it routinely until you receive a final answer.
9. Analyze Your Past Sales
Analyzing your past sales will help you to set achievable goals in the future. Your past records will provide you with great insight into the sales strategies you previously implemented and the result that they provided. These results will let you understand whether you took the right decisions in the past or not.
You will also be able to recognize your past mistakes and take measures to ensure that they are not repeated. Furthermore, you will be able to adopt new strategies that you may not have implemented in the past and thus, hinder your growth.
10. Sell More to Your Existing Customers
Reports suggest that acquiring new customers is about 5 times more expensive than retaining your existing customers. This is because your existing customers already have a good understanding of your product. You have been able to establish a relationship of trust and reliability with them.
Hence, try to sell more to your existing customers. Try to sell them upgrades of their existing plans or strike a deal that is more beneficial to both of you. You can also ask them to try out your new products and provide their reviews. This information will help you to make important modifications and pitch your product in a more effective way.
11. Provide Solutions
When you set out on a mission to increase your sales, you might forget what you are selling in the first place- solutions to people. The urgency to meet your goals may lead you to dive into the details and pricing of your product even before your prospect understands what exactly you are selling to them.
While making sales, always remember to get the message of your product through. You need to make sure that you and your prospects are on the same page and that they have a clear understanding of the solutions that you are providing.
Doing so will create the image that you actually care about your prospects and are trying to solve their problems instead of just making sales. This will contribute to creating a trustworthy image of your company.
Conclusion
Sales strategies are of utmost importance for increasing your revenue collection. Without having a solid set of sales strategies, you will not be able to achieve your goals in the stipulated time. But by incorporating the right sales strategies, you will be able to skyrocket your sales.
In this article, we talked about 11 of the best sales strategies that are proven and actually work. Incorporating these strategies will go a long way in growing your user base and selling more to your existing customers at the same time. I hope you found this article helpful.
FAQs
1. Why are sale strategies important?
Sales strategies help you set realistic, achievable goals and help you figure out methods to achieve them as soon as possible. They help you to convert more leads and boost your sales.
2. What is the need for analyzing past sales?
Analyzing your past sales will provide you with insight into your past efforts to increase sales. You will be able to understand whether you achieved your past targets or not and recognize the mistakes that stopped you from doing so. You will also be able to set new targets and employ methods to ensure that past mistakes are not repeated.
3. Is it necessary to follow up with your prospects multiple times?
Yes, it is crucial that you regularly follow up with your prospects until you get a definitive answer. It does not matter if they provide a positive answer or not. According to studies, non-routine sales happen after at least 5 follow-ups. Thus, keep following up with them until they come to a final decision.
4. Why is storytelling important in sales?
The human mind can retain more information through stories. Also, stories also leave a deeper impact on prospects and make them interested in your product or service. Thus, storytelling can help you to captivate your target audience to a greater degree.
5. How is picking small niche targets beneficial?
Smaller niche targets help you focus your pitch on a more specific set of consumers. You will be able to craft a customized pitch, particularly for that market and as such, attract more prospects. Furthermore, if you do not succeed in the market that you choose, you will be able to exit quickly owing to its small size.
