6 Infallible Tips to Increase Sales in Your Franchise
Oct 10, 2023
I don’t know any business owner who doesn’t have “Increasing sales” as one of their top priorities. In fact, this concern tends to be the main issue of why my clients and prospects approach the American Franchise Academy.
- The reason is simple: sales are the oxygen of any business.
Therefore, having a strategy to sell more is a must for any franchisee who wants to have more money at the end of the month. Take note of these six infallible tips to boost your business sales.
Infallible tip #1: Get new customers
This is the healthiest way to increase sales in the long run. To attract new clients to your franchise, you must make yourself known so that more people have access to your products or services.
I recommend you dedicate more than 50% of your marketing efforts to these actions so that those who have not bought from you yet, becomes frequent buyer tomorrow.
Infallible tip #2: Increase the frequency of purchase
The sales process gets shortened with those who have already tried your product or service. The goal for these customers is to have them visit your store more often and offer a unique experience each time so they want to repeat it over and over again.
You might even consider implementing a loyalty program in which you reward those frequent customers for their continuous purchases, with benefits like discounts, special promotions, cashback, or a gift.
Infallible tip # 3: Make your customer buy more
Appealing to your existing portfolio, this tactic involves selling more to those who already buy from you so they increase their average ticket on each visit to your business.
At this point, suggestive sales are very important. This means adding something extra to the purchase to increase the amount of the transaction.
One of the brands in which I worked years ago used this strategy a lot, training their staff to achieve these suggestive sales. The goal was to offer the customer something they initially didn't intend to buy.
It may sound dishonest, but they did it through service, suggesting clients buy an item they have not considered or something to complement their experience.
Suggestive selling is a great way to boost your sales and it does not have to be aggressive for customers; you can train your team members to do it in a friendly and positive way.
Must read: Focus on these areas to strengthen your customer experience
Infallible tip #4: Reduce your discounts
It's amazing how many companies get into the dynamic of discounting without realizing they are affecting the business. Sadly, it's a game that's hard to get out of.
Here’s an example: a long time ago, Subway had the “$5 Footlong promotion”, in which the 12-inch subs cost only 5 dollars. It was a success but it took the brand many years to get out of this discount problem. Even today, some customers still ask if they have that promo.
Offering a discount is a good way to attract customers to buy more and more often. But these strategy has to be intelligent, which means attractive to customers but also profitable for the business.
I recommend analyzing all the promotions you offer in the business to ensure there are not too many and that all of them meet these objectives.
Infallible Tip #5: Reduce or eliminate theft
Thefts may be causing a decrease in sales. Lacking procedures, custody of money and offerings, or audits for your processes and security systems could also have a negative impact on your earnings.
I remember a particular business in which, unfortunately, this issue represented up to 34% of their sales. The owner discovered that three team members were behind the thefts and they even committed the robberies at the same time. And, since he didn’t have a proper follow-up process or continuous audits, he was an easy target.
Once the problem was solved, he managed to increase the sales and, therefore, the profits.
Protect your business from theft! Tips to shield your operations
(Infallible) Tip #6: Raise prices
Charging more for your product or service is a dangerous strategy because if it is not done with a good strategy behind it, you could affect your sales as well as your customer experience and loyalty.
Monitor your cost every six months and, if you detect a strong variability, make a price adjustment but do it only once a year.
Be careful: although raising your prices will have an impact on your income, this tactic should be your last resort. And if you're going to use it, make sure it's not going to affect your business negatively.
More than just increasing sales
Many times we focus only on increasing sales as a strategy to have more profits. But think about this: for every dollar you increase in sales, only 10%, or 10 cents, becomes net profit. That means that all that effort translates into a return of only 10% percent.
- However, every dollar you save on costs is a whole dollar that becomes profit. So, if aside from the sales plan you also have a cost reduction strategy, any savings you have will automatically transform into profit!
Of course, that doesn’t mean that you don’t try to sell more. Rather, you should combine both techniques to increase your profits. Remember: the best way to make more money is by increasing sales and reducing expenses.
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Reflections:
- Where can you find customers who are avid for your products and services?
- What suggestive sales can you apply to your sales cycle?
- Do you offer too many discounts? Can you sell without them?
- Can you reduce some of your costs to increase your profits?
